nra-restaurants food labor minimum-wage tipped-workers lobbying
related: US Chamber of Commerce National Association of Manufacturers UNITE HERE
Who They Are
National Restaurant Association. The largest trade association for the restaurant and foodservice industry, representing over 500,000 restaurant businesses employing 15.5 million workers. Known informally as “the other NRA,” the association is the primary lobbying force against minimum wage increases, particularly for tipped workers.
The NRA PAC contributes $1-2 million per cycle, with lobbying spending of $5-8 million annually. The association’s political operation focuses primarily on labor policy: opposing minimum wage increases, fighting overtime expansion, blocking paid leave mandates, and defending the tipped minimum wage ($2.13/hour federally, unchanged since 1991).
What They Want
Preservation of the $2.13/hour tipped minimum wage, opposition to federal minimum wage increases, reduced OSHA enforcement in restaurants, opposition to paid sick leave mandates, favorable labor classification rules (keeping gig delivery workers as independent contractors), and reduced employer healthcare coverage requirements.
What They’ve Gotten
The Tipped Minimum Wage Freeze: The federal tipped minimum wage has been $2.13/hour since 1991 — 35 years without an increase. This freeze represents the NRA’s most significant policy victory: maintaining a labor cost structure that shifts worker compensation from employers to customers (through tips) while insulating restaurant owners from wage increases. The tipped minimum wage freeze has survived every federal minimum wage increase since 1991 because the NRA successfully lobbied to decouple tipped and non-tipped minimum wages.
State-Level Victories: The NRA has successfully blocked minimum wage increases and paid leave mandates in dozens of state legislatures, particularly in Republican-controlled states where the association’s lobbying operation combines with Chamber of Commerce and ALEC model legislation.
Money
The $2.13/hour tipped minimum wage — unchanged for 35 years — is the longest-running wage suppression in American labor law. The National Restaurant Association’s $5-8 million annual lobbying investment protects an industry labor model where 2.7 million tipped workers are paid $2.13/hour by their employers, with the remainder of their income dependent on customer generosity. The cost of the NRA’s lobbying: $5-8 million/year. The savings to restaurant owners from the wage freeze: estimated $20+ billion annually in reduced labor costs.
Sources
- OpenSecrets: National Restaurant Association organizational profile (Tier 1)
- Department of Labor: Minimum wage history (Tier 1)
- EPI: Tipped minimum wage analysis (Tier 2)
- Ballotpedia: National Restaurant Association (Tier 3)
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