Human Costs: Tipped Workers Bear the Brunt

Beneath the glitz, the human toll is profound. Tipped workers, the lifeblood of the service economy, report incomes halved in recent years. A deep dive by the New York Post reveals servers and bartenders struggling as fewer tourists mean slimmer gratuities, compounded by automated kiosks and reduced foot traffic. One cocktail waitress described her earnings dropping from $1,200 weekly pre-pandemic to under $600, forcing side gigs. Union leaders from Culinary Workers Local 226 point to corporate greed—executives pocketing record profits while frontline staff face cutbacks—as the culprit, fueling labor tensions that could erupt in strikes.