Local
Referendum to end D.C. tipped wage system delayed by lawsuit
Move reignites controversy for city’s service workers
A D.C. bartender filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of Referendum 8.
A proposed voter referendum to overturn the D.C. City Council’s decision to repeal Initiative 77 that voters approved in June to end the city’s tipped wage system was placed on hold Monday when a D.C. bartender filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the referendum.
The lawsuit reignited the heated controversy from earlier this year that pitted the majority of the city’s tipped workers at bars and restaurants against a New York-based labor group that organized Initiative 77. The group ROC United said the initiative was needed because the tipped wage system resulted in lower wages for tipped workers and promoted sexual harassment against female tipped workers.
The tipped workers who opposed the initiative argued that the current system, in which they receive a lower wage from their employer but make overall substantially higher earnings through tips, works well for them and would be jeopardized if the tipped wage system were eliminated.
The bartender who filed the lawsuit on Monday, Valerie Graham, states in the lawsuit that the referendum’s summary statement, which had been approved by the D.C. Board of Elections on Nov. 9, includes what she says was the same misleading wording as that of Initiative 77.
The lawsuit was written by the law firm that represents the leading opponents of Initiative 77, of which Graham says she is a part. Among other things it says the proposed referendum’s summary statement would mislead voters by claiming Initiative 77 “gradually increases the minimum wage for tipped employees from the current wage ($3.89/hour), to the same minimum wage as non-tipped employees by 2026.”
The lawsuit points out that tipped workers already receive the equivalent of the full minimum wage that non-tipped workers receive because under existing D.C. law employers of tipped workers are required to pay the difference if their employees’ tips fall short of the full minimum wage.
Supporters of what the Board of Elections has named Referendum 8 denounced the lawsuit as yet another ploy to deny the will of the city’s voters who approved Initiative 77 by a 56 percent margin.
They note that the timing of the lawsuit places a temporary hold on the Board of Election’s release of petitions that supporters must circulate to collect approximately 25,000 signatures needed to place the referendum on the ballot.
Under the city’s election law signatures for a referendum seeking to overturn a law passed by the City Council must be obtained between the time the bill calling for the law is passed and the time it becomes law. The election board has interpreted that to be the 30 “legislative” days that Congress takes to review all laws passed by the city.
Congress is expected to complete its review of the Council’s bill to repeal Initiative 77 by Dec. 13. Thus, if supporters of Referendum 8 are unable to complete the signature gathering process by that date, the referendum would be killed.
The restaurant industry filed its lawsuit “at the eleventh hour,” a spokesperson for Referendum 8 said in a statement. “It’s their latest effort to thwart the democratic process. We will fight this delaying tactic in court, and we will prevail in the end,” said the spokesperson, Rev. Graylan Hagler, pastor of D.C.’s Plymouth United Church of Christ.
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Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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Calendar: April 10-16
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
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