Mayor Muriel E. Bowser announced Monday that she will seek to repeal a voter-approved law gradually increasing minimum wages for tipped workers, as part of a broader effort to stabilize D.C.’s economy amid major federal workforce reductions.
The controversial measure, known as Initiative 82, was passed overwhelmingly by voters in 2022. It raises the base pay for tipped workers in yearly increments, eventually matching the minimum wage for non-tipped employees by 2027. Bowser’s proposal, to be included in her fiscal 2026 budget, would undo the initiative in an effort to ease financial strain on local restaurants grappling with rising rents, inflation, and a drop in federal employment.
“We are a hospitality-based economy,” Bowser said at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Northeast D.C. “If restaurants close, there are no jobs.”
Her remarks came against the backdrop of a projected $1 billion revenue decline over three years, largely due to the Trump administration’s deep cuts to the federal workforce. With tens of thousands of federal jobs expected to vanish, Bowser is repositioning D.C. as a hub for hospitality, sports, and tech.
Supporters of the repeal, including business owners and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), applauded the move. “The industry is at a breaking point,” said RAMW President Shawn Townsend. “Repealing Initiative 82 is about saving jobs, saving restaurants, and stabilizing a vital sector of the District’s economy.”
But labor advocates and hospitality unions decried the proposal as an attack on worker rights and D.C. democracy. “Mayor Bowser is siding with industry lobbyists over voters who twice backed fair wages,” said Saru Jayaraman of One Fair Wage.
Critics also noted that the D.C. Council had previously overturned a similar measure in 2018, further frustrating advocates for wage justice. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said he personally opposed Initiative 82 but questioned whether there was sufficient council support to repeal it again.
Bowser defended the move as a necessary response to new economic realities. “We’re not in the same place we were three years ago,” she said.
The repeal is part of a sweeping budget plan aimed at revitalizing downtown D.C., easing business regulations, and mitigating the effects of a federal pullback. The council’s upcoming decision on the budget will likely test both economic priorities and the strength of the city’s democratic process.
