How the ‘other NRA’ stymies critical progress in Massachusetts.
New report published in partnership with our allies at One Fair Wage details the Massachusetts Restaurant Association’s efforts to, as part of the National Restaurant Association’s agenda, derail legislation that would end the subminimum wage for tipped restaurant workers and phase in a $15 per hour minimum wage for all workers nationwide.
The report found that:
- Over the last two and a half years, the MRA has been a principal opponent of new workers’ rights policy. It has spent more than a quarter of its lobbying budget opposing nearly every bill that could have advanced workers’ rights — including legislation to eliminate subminimum wages and to guarantee emergency paid sick time.
- The MRA’s primary lobbyists are making well-placed campaign contributions to influential politicians like former House Speaker Robert DeLeo to sway legislation.
The report paints a picture not only of how fast food and fast casual chains are crippling public policy at the public’s expense, but also how restaurant and food service industry workers, and a concerned public, can fight back.
