The Halls and The Streets ft. Congresswoman Barbara Lee & One Fair Wage’s Saru Jayaraman

On this episode of She the People with Aimee Allison, we’re taking to the halls of congress and organizing in the streets with two women who have worked tirelessly for decades to bring America into a new era. First up, you’ll hear Aimee’s conversation with California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the highest ranking Black woman in Democratic Party Leadership. Congresswoman Lee shares what she hopes for young Black women who will extend the lineage of Black women running for office- a lineage she has been a part of since organizing for Shirley Chisolm as a college student.

“I am determined that especially young Black women and women of color don’t have to go through what I’ve been through and what Black women have gone through,” Lee says. “And that’s about how we build power and make sure these younger women know that they’ve got to forge ahead and not in the image and likeness of white men because so, so often, you know, black women and women of color think they have to go along to get along. Shirley Chisholm said, no, these rules weren’t made for you. They weren’t made for me. We got to get in there and change the rules of the game.”

Then, Aimee sits down with Saru Jayaraman, the founder and president of One Fair Wage who has been fighting for economic justice for American workers for over two decades. Jayaraman explains why, in 2024, we are closer to ending the subminimum wage for restaurant and service workers than ever before. 

“I’ve been screaming for 22 years. You cannot ignore this workforce. They largely don’t vote. But we know the thing that gets them out to vote. It’s their wages,” Jayaraman tells Aimee. “So the fact that tipped workers are in the news being in the mouths of both presidential candidates is like radical and euphoric for tipped workers. They’re hearing themselves and their needs talked about. So the question is then what? How do we distinguish between the candidates? If both candidates are talking about tipped workers, how do we distinguish?”

And stay tuned to the end for Joyful Noise- this week featuring NYC Councilwoman Shahana Hanif! To close, Aimee shares the findings of a new, groundbreaking poll of women of color voters conducted by the 2040 Strategy Group in collaboration with She the People.

Also discussed in this episode:

• How Jessie Jackson’s presidential campaigns changed delegate rules
• The Congressional Black Caucus’ Support of President Biden and VP Harris
• The history of tips in America

Subscribe to She the People with Aimee Allison on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to us. 

Transcript

Aimee Allison Welcome to She the People with Aimee Allison, the home for women of color who are leading America into a new era. I’m Aimee. How does America’s transformation into a new era take place? It happens both in the halls of Congress and in the streets. And women of color are doing both, as we will see with today’s guests. Up first is my interview with California Congresswoman Barbara Lee. And as always, stick around for our Joyful Noise segment at the end. 

Crowd chanting Shahana Shahana Shahana

Aimee Allison I’m Aimee Allison and I’m here with Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us today. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Yeah, glad to be with you. 

Aimee Allison And you know, for those of you who may not have the history and background of this amazing leader, Congresswoman Barbara Lee has been representing California’s 12th District in Oakland and Berkeley since 1998. And I always say, you know, I’m her. I’m a big fan, but I’m also her constituent sitting here in Oakland. The congresswoman is the highest ranking Black woman in Democratic Party leadership. And throughout her career has been a leader in issues of peace, racial justice, economic justice, gender justice. In my view, she’s singular nationally. And although her story is still being written, there’s no doubt that her leadership has shaped the lives and the work of generations of Americans, me included. And so today, we’re catching up with her at this historic moment to assess the state of American democracy, the challenges that we currently face and what the future could and should look like. I just want to start by asking you from the long view, Congresswoman, you organized as a very young woman at Mills College for Shirley Chisholm, the iconic first woman, first Black woman to run for president, when you were an undergrad. And that’s such a powerful story. What parallels do you see with where we’re at right now? What evolution have you have you noticed, you know, in terms of American political culture? 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Well, thanks a lot, Aimee, for that very warm and loving introduction. And thank you. Because you know this my life is just about justice. And wherever we see and know that there are injustices and the lack of opportunity, then it’s up to myself as a Black woman to try to provide that opportunity and provide the opening and the space for people to move forward. Because believe you me, I know this country very well. And the history is just you know, it’s hard to believe we’re where we are because of people like those involved with yourself, with She the People. I mean, I’m really proud of everything that you’re doing. And with Shirley Chisholm, I mean, it was a very tough time for women, for African-Americans, for women of color, for poor people, for low income people, for the Latino community. It was it was very similar to now the disparities, the racism, the economic inequalities. But Shirley Chisholm came forward. And just like so many now, young Black women and Black women in general, women of color and say, we’re not going to tolerate this anymore and we’re not going to tinker around the edges. We’re going to disrupt these systems that have been built on on sexism and racism. And we’re going to build from the ground up rather than just say, well, we’re going to reform this, we’re going to reform that. And Shirley Chisholm was the epitome of that. She told me, she said, you know, I want you to register to vote. I want you to get involved, my campaign. I want you to help me. I don’t have a lot of money. And so consequently, here we are today. And of course, we have our Vice President, from my congressional district, a daughter of Oakland and the East Bay, running for the presidency. And when I endorsed her, when she ran initially in 2019, she used Shirley Chisholm’s colors and she lifted up her legacy and is still doing that because if it weren’t for Shirley Chisholm, there would be no Kamala Harris. I am because of Shirley Chisholm and you know, Fannie Lou Hamer, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman. There’ve been so many Black women who have fought so hard just to get to this point. But we have a heck of a lot more to do. And that’s where we are building upon what Shirley Chisholm led, being the only Black woman in Congress. Can you imagine? I mean, let me tell you, there are about 31 of us now, and it’s still hard and very difficult to to to force  yourself, a seat at the table. And I’ve been in Congress 26 years. I’m the first Black woman or Black person north of Los Angeles, first Black woman north of Los Angeles to ever be elected to Congress. 

Aimee Allison It’s really it’s profound when when we think about you are on the stage for the very first She the People convening in San Francisco, and you were back then as you are now of a fellow kind of you shared the vision of Black and brown women rising to the level of leadership and influence that at that point we really hadn’t seen. I mean, there were some Black women, Latinos, Asian-Americans in Congress, but barely in the Senate. We hadn’t seen any in the White House, but you held that vision. And I guess my question is now, as we see this new generation of of young people come up, what do they need to know that you know right now about where things are and, you know, kind of how to assess and how to build power in this moment. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee They need to know how to build power. Period. They need to know how to fight to get money out of politics because money in politics is corrupting. And well, I know this personally from my California Senate race. I mean, you know, a Black woman coming from California who’s progressive. If you don’t have the party structure and if you don’t have the privileged people with their money, there’s no way you’re going to break through. And we have to get the public financing the campaigns to level the playing field. That’s the first thing. Secondly, building power, we have to know how it works from the inside and how money influences the media, how the media influences the polls, how the polls influence the donors how the donors… And, you know, it’s a vicious cycle. And so we have to build power, understanding those relationships within those within the establishment institutions. And we have to have our own establishment and we have to build power in a way that we’ve never built it before. And I think we’re beginning to understand that. And I just use myself as an example in the campaign. We have a phenomenal grassroots organizational effort in California. We probably have more endorsers, more grassroots organizations from that was multiracial, multigenerational all over the state. Actually, at the Democratic Party convention, we just came a few votes short of getting the 60%. That’s due to the grassroots momentum and grassroots organizing. But what we didn’t have was the money and how you translated that into, you know, the polling data and and the polls. And so it’s very it’s a very sophisticated system, but it’s something we’ve got to break up. 

Aimee Allison And it’s sophisticated in a way that I think, you know, your every day they call regular degular voter, does not perceive that most of us participate in democracy as voters. And we read some news or look on social media. But what you’re talking about are big drivers to who ends up being successful in politics. And it’s one of the I would say, you know, one of the reasons that there aren’t more women of color, more Black women in some of these key roles. What’s changed right now where you look at, you know, Kamala Harris campaign vis a vis polls and money, is there something new here? 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee There’s a lot new here. And it’s and I think one thing is you saw how she… Once President Biden said he was not running again. And we had the hold tight supporting President Biden, knowing that if he decided not to run, there were those who wanted to undermine Kamala Harris so that we could get to the second ballot, mind you, at the convention, so they could wipe her out. So we, and that was a very shrewd, sophisticated strategy that the Black Caucus had. And you didn’t hear too many, but you heard everybody else saying “Mr. President resign. You can handle it. The debate was horrible. You don’t need to run. Why don’t you?” You know, there were many saying that and the Black Caucus and the Black community said, no, Mr. President, we’re behind you. You make your own decision. We, you know, knowing that if he decided not to run, we’d have to circle the wagons around Kamala Harris. 

Aimee Allison Yeah, what you’re saying I don’t think a lot of people understand behind the scenes how and when you talk about the Black Caucus, you’re talking about the Congressional Black Caucus of a fellow, your peers in Congress and how many members now? 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee 60. And when I chaired is several years ago, the first term when President Obama was elected, we had about 30 members of that. 

Aimee Allison Amazing. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee All but one member said we support President Biden and we’re going to stick with him regardless. 

Aimee Allison And and that behind the scenes made it possible. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Because had we not circled the wagons around President Biden, there was a strong possibility that Kamala Harris would not have been the nominee because there were those who wanted. You heard people saying, “well, let the party decide. Let the convention decide. Let it go to a second ballot.” Okay. That did not happen. And that did not happen because we said no, and we had the rules after the Jesse Jackson campaign. This goes back to looking at your historical context. I was involved Shirley Chisholm campaign, but also Jesse Jackson’s 1984 to 88 campaign. We helped change the rules so that something like this could not happen. 

Aimee Allison And these are struggles and fights that are both in the public and behind the scenes. Changing the rules of how the Democratic Party functions, is not something that people had focused on. But I always I think it’s really interesting, Congresswoman, the the legacy and the tie that you’re making between Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, who famously built a rainbow coalition, a multiracial coalition around him, similar to what’s happening now, and Kamala Harris. And I think most people would point to maybe, let’s say, Barack Obama as as kind of like the basis of her campaign. And certainly he had a role. But you’re kind of tracing a line differently. It’s really interesting. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Most definitely. And it was Jesse Jackson who coined Keep Hope Alive. And you see how hope and joy and and optimism undergirded the explosion of when Kamala was the nominee became the nominee. And so I don’t we can’t sidestep, Keep Hope Alive. And where hope came from in the political process. And that was Reverend Jesse Jackson. 

Aimee Allison It’s really amazing also to think about the ways in which you and your public life took a lot of bold stands, well ahead of fellow Democrats, well ahead of or in step with many people, many Americans, but ahead of colleagues who were elected. You’re willing to take risks. Famously, you took a lone vote against the kind of unchecked use of military force after the September 11th attacks, something which it took a couple of decades, correct me if I’m wrong, for your colleagues to say, actually, you were right and we were wrong. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Yea and now I’ve been trying to read, I actually read the Iraq authorization. We were able to get off the floor with Republican votes to repeal it. 

Aimee Allison Okay. That’s amazing. But this is what I want to just bring back into people’s consciousness. When you took that when you took that vote, how hard that was on you as a person. I remember coming to see you speak at the in front of the City Hall in Oakland surrounded by, I was just one of tens of thousands of people that were every walk of life showing you love and support. And yet you were receiving death threats, I think, at that time. What a tough time. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee First of all, it was awful because people, one example, one is taught me one lesson also that people really don’t understand the essence of democracy. That is, you have a right and a responsibility to say no or to dissent or to offer a different point of view. If you believe that, you know that that needs to be done. Not face death threats for that different point of view. And I have faced numerous, numerous, numerous that someone kept calling my house and leaving gunshots, shooting a gun into the voicemail. Still, someone says, Barbie, we have forgotten about you. 

Aimee Allison Frightening. The reality of violence in just everyday American politics. I mean, we’re seeing this political violence come up. But are you are you concerned about it’s it’s its effect on and impact on this election now. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Yeah, I’m very concerned. I was sitting on the floor. There were a few of us sitting on the floor on January 6th and barely got out of there. I’m the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit now, which the NAACP is working on to hold this man and the Proud Boys and the other groups accountable. I mean, it’s it’s really, really bad. I mean, the lawsuit is a great lawsuits, we’re moving through the courts. But right now, you know, there’s some white supremacists who it looks like they want to fight the Civil War because they lost. I mean, this stuff is crazy.  

Aimee Allison I mean, what’s it going to take, Congresswoman, to really turn the page on these folks who are trying to, like, refight the Civil War? 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee I don’t know if we can turn the page. But what we what I do know is it’s a cult and there are more of us than them. There are more people in this country who are silent, who need to begin to push back and hibernate again to raise their voices, independents, Republicans, people who just are not engaged. Well, believe you me, they need to speak up and they need to get involved and they need to push back because there are more of us than them. But this cult is the prominent, you know, cult and movement that is trying to, you know, take their country back. Anyone who is the other, they’re they’re after. So this is a very dangerous time. Look at what’s happening in Springfield, you know, with the Haitian American community. 

Aimee Allison You’re mentioning. Springfield, Ohio, is so critical because we have a long history in our country of groups using the violence or threat of violence to stop people from. Full citizenship, voting and advocating for issues. And that to me. Blaming immigrants is another thing that that happens. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Divide and conquer. I mean, look, it’s always been in this country. It’s in the DNA to see other people other than white Europeans as the other. But you know those. This country has changed. And the and those who want to maintain the status quo are afraid. They’re fearful. They feel like they’re backed in the corner. Sometimes I wonder, do they think we are going to treat them like they treated us? No. We’re we’re decent people. We want everyone to be joyful, happy to have the life that they deserve, raise their kids, have a family. That’s what we want for everybody. And so they’re afraid of us. And why they’re afraid is because people like Donald Trump, they know how to push that button of fear. And fear is a powerful emotion. And so he’s preyed on their and played on their fears. And we’ve got to stop that. And the only way we can stop it is by more people, more, you know, around the country just pushing back and say no to hate, no to hate, and no, we’re not going to let them do this to the country. We’re going to move forward. And I think that that’s going to happen. But we have to fight really hard and everyone has to understand the threats and the moment we’re in, because it’s a it’s a moment where a dictator could emerge. And he said what he would do or it’s a moment when we can move forward and try to broaden our democracy and try to make sure we protect and enhance and broaden our freedoms for everybody in this country. And this is a defining moment. And this moment is getting everybody to step up and do something, as Michelle Obama said. 

Aimee Allison Do something. And I also hope that this is a moment that people really understand and start stepping into the legacy that you have left, Congresswoman. I want 50, 100, 1000 more, Barbara Lees. People that are that are leaders in the way that you have led because there is no moment like this without you. And the more that generations, even this newer generation of voters and activists, the more they come into their own power, they need to understand that the the path that’s been walked that you’ve walked is actually a long one. That goes to the very beginning in this country that you have done so much to bring us forward. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Well, Aimee, thank you so much. But you know what? I’m forging ahead in this next chapter in my life. And we’re going to build power, real power. And I’m hoping that yourself and everyone is going to be involved in this, because I am determined that especially young Black women and women of color don’t have to go through what I’ve been through and what Black women have gone through and what women in general, but especially Black women and women of color. And that’s about how we build power and make sure these younger women know that they’ve got to forge ahead and not in the image and likeness of white men because so, so often, you know, Black women and women of color think they have to go along to get along. Shirley Chisholm said, no, these rules weren’t made for you. They weren’t made for me. We got to get in there and change the rules of the game. And so that’s what we have to do. 

Aimee Allison I mean, your time is, of course, there’s this like few this these months ahead which are going to be so full. And then your your time as a congressmember will come to a close next year. But your new chapter sounds like you’re going to be launching because we need we actually need that that part, how to build power, how to continue to consolidate any gains that we have. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Yeah. And we’re going to do it. And I’m determined. So this is like a happy time for me. You know, I’m you know, I may miss fighting with people every day like…. So I’m looking forward to this next step. 

Aimee Allison Well, we are, too. And please, please keep us, you know, in the loop and anything that we can do to support that support you. And listen, our time is almost over. But I got to ask you something, because you mentioned joy and how important joy is as a strategy and as a as a way to for us to cut through the violence and the vitriol and the hate. What’s something that brought you Joy this week? 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee My grandkids, I have four of them here for the Black Caucus weekend, Joshua, Jonah, Simon and Gisele. And oh my God, it was deep. Having them with me at the Black Caucus dinner, seeing how they worked the the room. And my granddaughter Gisele was with me when we took a picture with President Biden and the Vice President behind stage. And it was just like, it was so great. And, you know, they just see me as Bibi. Now Bibi is Grandmother in Swahili when my son had when they had their first daughter, Jordan. I said, I am not old enough to be a grandmother. They can’t call me grandmother. I love this little baby. But wait a minute. And I looked up what grandmother was in Swahili, and it’s a Bibi. And so being Bibi is really great. And so and all of a sudden they see me as something else in addition to Bibi. So that was kind of fun watching their eyes twinkle. 

Aimee Allison I love it. To have a Bibi like you must be something else. Well, thank you so much, Congresswoman. 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee They can’t even hang, they can hardly hang with me. 

Aimee Allison And now a master class for how wonderful ideas in the movement can translate into positively affecting the lives of millions of people. Saru Jayaraman is an attorney and activist from Los Angeles, now lives in Oakland, who’s president and founder of One Fair Wage, an organization that works to raise the federal minimum wage and eliminate what’s called a sub minimum wage that restaurant and other service workers often make around the country. She’s also director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC Berkeley and the founder of the Restaurant Opportunity Center. Saru is one of those leaders that’s pushing for economic justice in the midst of an historic election. And she joins us just as she’s wrapping testifying in Congress today. I’m so glad to have you with us, Saru. Thank you. 

Saru Jayaraman Thank you. Thanks for having me. 

Aimee Allison And tell us first what you did this morning with Congress. 

Saru Jayaraman Yeah, well, tipped workers who I’ve been organizing for 22 years, restaurant workers are in the news. First, President Trump put forward this idea of no tax on tips. We replied with research showing that two thirds of tipped workers don’t even earn enough to pay federal income tax. So that kind of proposal is maybe nice, but not really what’s needed. That was followed by the Harris-Walz campaign endorsing what’s really needed, which is ending the sub minimum wage for tipped workers. And yesterday, Congressmember Horsford, who’s the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, introduced a federal bill, the Democratic response to no tax on tips in a bill that would end that sub minimum wage for tipped workers and get rid of a limited amount of taxes on tips. That’s what we really need. And today, Republicans responded by having a circus of a hearing on the Biden administration’s attacks on tipped workers. Where we got to bring up the fact that it was Trump who tried to take tips away from workers, making them the property of owners. And it’s the Harris-Walz team that’s really trying to, you know, or has endorsed, raising the minimum wage and ending the sub minimum wage for tipped workers. Still $2.13 an hour, a direct legacy of slavery. In a moment, Aimee, when the cost of living and jobs with living wages are topping every poll of young people, Black voters and LatinX voters. 

Aimee Allison So let’s take a step back, because in your scholarship, both at UC Berkeley and your writings and speaking, you referred to, you know, the history of tip workers being tied back to slavery. Tell us a little bit about that and why we still are seeing that practice, you know, in play today. 

Saru Jayaraman Yeah, it’s so connected to your work, Aimee, because it’s honestly the epitome of a story of how when you devalue women of color, you end up hurting everybody. And when you value women of color, you end up lifting everybody up. Because prior to emancipation, waiters in the U.S. were mostly white men. They got an actual wage. No tips. And in 1853, they went on strike and the restaurant industry immediately started looking for cheaper labor. At first they started replacing these guys with white women. After emancipation, they felt like they hit upon a jackpot, hiring Black women coming up from the South, newly freed Black women. There were two industries that actually did this, the Pullman Train Company, which was hiring Black men to work as porters on the trains and the restaurants hiring Black women, both telling workers, you’re not going to get a wage, you’re going to live on this new thing that’s come from Europe called a tip, which, you know, was the first time in world history that tips had been used to replace wages rather than being an extra hour bonus on top of a wage, as they had been for generations. First time in world history because of slavery, because of Jim Crow, because of our unique racist history, we as Americans mutated tipping for the first time in world history from being an extra bonus to becoming a replacement for wages. And we went from a $0 wage in 1865 to $2.13 an hour. Now in the midst of that history, the Pullman car porters, the black men organized and won the right to one fair wage, a full minimum wage with tips on top. And it was really in response to their organizing that an entity called the National Restaurant Association was formed to ensure they wanted to make sure that the Black women in the restaurants never got with the Black men in the Pullman trains got. And so that restaurant association, that trade lobby has been around, I mean, they were on the panel with me today in Congress. They’ve been around since early 1900s fighting to maintain that absurd and ridiculous sub minimum wage for tipped workers, arguing that. They shouldn’t have to pay their workers because these workers get tips. 

Aimee Allison I remember a couple years back, maybe 2 or 3 years, where the Democrats had the majority in Congress, where the House Democrats had passed legislation to increase the minimum wage and it went over to the Senate. Why don’t we have a federal $15 an hour, an hour minimum wage now, what happened? 

Saru Jayaraman Yes, two things happened. First, the House passed this, the Democratically controlled House passed $15 for all workers, including tipped workers and all Democrats but eight voted for it. Eight Democrats, including Manchin and Sinema. But also the two New Hampshire Democrats, two Delaware Democrats voted no. And when that happened, it it killed our ability to move forward. But at the same time, there was an effort to include the bill as part of the Covid relief package, as part of budget, the budget, and the Parliamentarian of the Senate ruled that it couldn’t be included as part of the budget. And, you know, a ridiculous ruling, no real reasoning for it. She doesn’t even have any real authority or power. And the Senate Democrats just went with the Parliamentarian. The president just followed the ruling of the Parliamentarian. All of which resulted in 60 million workers not getting a raise and losing the opportunity at that time because we’ve not had a fully Democratically controlled Congress since then. And Republicans, many of them don’t even believe there should be a minimum wage. 

Aimee Allison I mean, I guess that just speaks to, it isn’t just the party, it isn’t just the party. It’s got to be what people do when they have the power, when they have the majority. Which is why, you know, I have to ask, you know, when you look at this moment, you know, people are talking about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz going in the White House. The Democrats now are about four seats away from a majority in Congress, have a bare, bare minimum majority in the Senate. You know, what’s your assessment in terms of being able to have some long term win on this issue? 

Saru Jayaraman I’ll give you my assessment pre November and post November.  

Aimee Allison Okay. 

Saru Jayaraman So pre November, I don’t think we can count on anything. We have to keep working and we have to reach people who typically don’t vote. And that means working people. That means young people. That means people of color. And as I said, the top issue on every poll, young people, Black voters, Latinx voters is the cost of living and jobs with living wages, which is why I think finally, it was great to see the Harris-Walz campaign come around and endorse some really great economic issues, including raising wages, ending the subminimum wage for tipped workers. Now that they’ve endorsed it. They need to run on it. They need to run on it. And then we’ll be able to mobilize millions of people to get excited that they’re going to get a raise and turnout because it’s top of mind. The ability to pay for gas and groceries is top of mind right now. That’s what’s going to get people excited. My people excited to turn out to vote. My people, meaning 14 million restaurant workers who typically don’t vote but could turn out. 

Aimee Allison Is this the first election cycle where the issue of subminimum wage has been mentioned or at least part of a platform? 

Saru Jayaraman Oh my God, I’m so glad you asked. 22 years of trying to scream at the top of our lungs that this is an enormous industry. 14 million workers, 1 in 10 American workers, largest employer of youth, largest employer of women, 1 in 2 Americans have worked in this industry at some point in their lifetime. I have been screaming for 22 years. You cannot ignore this workforce. They largely don’t vote. But we know the thing that gets them out to vote. It’s their wages. It’s their income because they’re so low wage, they’re lowest wage workers in America, actually. So the fact that tipped workers are in the news being in the mouths of both presidential candidates is like radical and euphoric for tipped workers. They’re hearing themselves and their needs talked about. So the question is then how do we distinguish between the candidates? If both candidates are talking about tipped workers, how do we distinguish? Well, one is saying no tax on tips. And he’s the guy, by the way, that tried to make tips the property of owners during the Trump administration and the other has endorsed raising the wage and ending the wage for tipped workers. But people haven’t heard that yet. People haven’t heard that in a big way yet. And so we have the opportunity right now to draw a contrast between these two campaigns and candidates on this issue. But you’re right, it’s been years and years and decades and decades of trying to tell everybody, you can’t ignore these folks. They are voters and they could turn out to vote. But we have to prioritize their needs. 

Aimee Allison I was going to just ask you about something which is more your perspective. I heard you mention. Maybe over a year ago, long before Kamala Harris was the presidential candidate. Long, you know, long before the current cycle is, you know, was heated up and people were focusing. You said there are there’s more in common. With people with different backgrounds. People have more in common than the current political culture would lead us to believe. Tell me more. Tell me more about that. Your personal philosophy. Your political philosophy. 

Saru Jayaraman Yeah, I mean, I’ve been working on raising wages for decades and over the years have never encountered working people, very few working people in any state, red or blue, that don’t agree that when you work, you deserve to be paid enough to feed your family and not be on public assistance. And a few examples of that in 2016, no excuse me, in 2020, when it was Trump versus Biden and we were in Albany, the state capital of New York, fighting for $15 for tipped workers to get $15, with tips on top. And the day we were there happened to be the same day that the MAGA folks had shown up at the state capitol arguing that New York State electors should vote for Trump as the nominee from New York instead of Biden. And so they had their rally right next to ours, and we were terrified. We were a bunch of people of color come up from New York City to the state capitol. We thought all these white folks, these MAGA folks would beat up on us. But they came over. They said, What are you protesting? Why are you here? We said, we have $15 for restaurant workers, and they joined our rally. They joined our rally because they said, well, we agree with that. Of course we agree with that. Over and over again, we see that most people in this country agree that when you work, you should be paid. It’s only fair, enough to feed your family. So much so that this issue can really, like you said, unite people across divides, across race and gender and even political spectrum. Again, especially when the top of every poll is the affordability crisis, everybody’s feeling it right now. I mean, I don’t know about you, Aimee, but even me, I’m a professional. You go to the grocery store, I come home and it hurts sometimes. 

Aimee Allison Oh, it hurts. I had a bag and a half of groceries. I was just shopping for my myself and it was $160. I was like, how is this possible?

Saru Jayaraman  Yes, it hurts. 

Aimee Allison So we’re feeling it. 

Saru Jayaraman We’re all feeling it. And for working people, it never stopped being a hair on fire crisis since the pandemic, just the cost of living and the minimum wage have just just become astronomically separated. And we need it to catch up. 

Aimee Allison You’re organizing tip workers to go get people registered and out to vote? 

Saru Jayaraman Yes, we are in key states like Arizona, Michigan, Ohio. We are talking to thousands of workers and telling them about the difference between the candidates, telling them who has tried to reduce their wages and take their tips away and who’s raised their wages and mobilizing. You know, a lot of the people we’re hiring to do the mobilizing are restaurant workers themselves. So it’s very much a peer to peer model of working workers talking to each other because we find in our industry at least, workers are so much more open to hearing from a fellow worker than they are from any candidate or canvasser or party or organization. And so the peer to peer model really, really works. 

Aimee Allison It sounds like we’ve been we’re closer than we have ever been. 

Saru Jayaraman Oh! So much closer! And we brought 50 tipped workers to D.C. yesterday for the bill introduction with Congressmember Horsford. And they were just over the moon. They were so moved to be talked about, to be uplifted, for their needs to be centered in a way that just hasn’t happened before. You know, for the chair of the Black Caucus and the co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign to be introducing a bill called Tips for Tipped Workers, that is big news for workers who, like you said, have been invisible for over a century. 

Aimee Allison And you’ve been in this work, I can attest, every day, all day. How do you get out of bed? What gets you out of bed? To continue this fight. Because it hasn’t been all good news. I know it’s been a lot of ups and a lot of down. 

Saru Jayaraman Even today in that Republican hearing, I was very much attacked, you know, very much personally attacked. But their attack on us, Aimee, is flatttering. It’s flattering to me, the fact that we’ve grown so much that we are now a threat to not just the Restaurant Association, but the Republicans. The fact that they have realized through our work, I think, how important this population is. We are winning. We are winning. The hearing wouldn’t have happened today, led by Republicans, if we weren’t winning. We’re winning. And so that gets me out of bed. But more importantly, why have I gotten out of bed for 20 years on this is because it’s just so deeply unjust. And when you meet the workers and understand, you know, these are single moms with kids trying to make ends meet on tips, there’s no way not to keep fighting. There’s no way to give up. You can’t give up in the face of a $2 wage that so many single mothers are having to live on to feed their kids. 

Aimee Allison Well, we talk about joy around here, and actually, it’s pretty nice to have as opposed to talking about what, you know, kind of us versus them type of politics to talking about joy is bringing us together. I got to ask you, as we wrap up our conversation, what’s bringing you joy? 

Saru Jayaraman My friends, bring me joy. You bring me joy, Aimee. It’s such a blessing to have friends at this age. Women friends, in particular. My kids bring me joy. You know, it’s it’s wonderful to see young women grow up, and even with their struggles, I just feel like young women are especially young, my young girls of color are so much farther along than I was at their age in terms of their self-confidence and their understanding of the world and who they are. So I do I do have a lot of optimism. I do. And that gives me joy. The future gives me joy. 

Aimee Allison That’s wonderful. Wonderful. Saru, thank you so much for everything that you do. We appreciate you and thanks for joining us here on She the People. 

Saru Jayaraman Thank you so much. 

Aimee Allison For this week’s Joyful Noise. We’re going local in New York, that is Design Observer’s very own Managing Editor Sheena Medina is supporting the reelection of New York City’s first Muslim councilperson, Shahana Hanif. Shahana is one of the countless women of color in this country whose name might not be very familiar to you, but who represents the kind of bold leadership that you should know about. She was elected in 2021 to represent Brooklyn’s 39th District, home to almost 800,000 Muslims. Sheena attended Shahana’s official reelection launch event last week alongside advocates and community organizers, high school students and the Brooklyn Borough president. Luckily, Sheena recorded some very Joyful Noise for us. Here’s an excerpt from Shahana’s remarks. Enjoy. 

Shahana Hanif And so I am just so grateful that I have the honor and privilege of representing District 39 of the City Council and that you all have shown up for our city. Thank you all so much. 

Crowd chanting Shahana. Shahana. Shahana. 

Aimee Allison And before you go, let me share the results of a poll that She the People in partnership with the 2040 Strategy Group just released. It’s pretty groundbreaking. One thing that you got to understand in the path to building power and influence in politics for women of color is we as women of color are some of the least polled group. And yet this is the only poll, this cycle that focuses exclusively on women of color. Why? Because Black, Latina and AAPI women are the margin of victory voters who delivered the White House for Democrats in 2020 and can, with maximum turnout, do the same for Kamala Harris this year. However, just like every other group, Kamala Harris has got to earn their vote. Here’s what the poll found. First, it measured whether people are supporting Kamala Harris or not and discovered that 11% of Latinas and 23% of Asian-American and Pacific Islanders are undecided. And so the poll goes into some depth about what kinds of things would help move them from the undecided column into supporting Kamala Harris for president. Here’s the first thing. It measures something that pollsters call “linked fate”. It says, do you believe that your fate as a woman is connected to all other women? Women of color, significantly more than white women, agree with that statement. And that’s the foundation of a multiracial, feminist, solidarity based, woman of color politics. These women have linked fate. That’s first. The second is, if Kamala Harris talked about particular types of issues, how would that impact how they feel about supporting Kamala Harris? If messages campaign messages simply reminded these undecided voters that she’s a Black and Indian woman who could be the first woman president, increases their support 10.5%. Talking about abortion and her advocacy for reproductive rights increases their support 20%. And finally, they move into supporting Kamala Harris when, when and if she talks much more to this group about protecting education by fighting book bans. There’s truly an opportunity here not only to understand women of color as voters as an electorate in aggregate and in our the subgroups and the diversity across race and nationality. But there’s an opportunity for Kamala Harris’s campaign, too. Kamala Harris must lean into who she is. And this is the kind of information that I think could be a big game changer. Big ups to the 2040 strategy group who worked with She the People on this one. 

Aimee Allison Thanks for joining us today. Remember your vision, your spirit, your work matters not just to you and your family, but to the whole nation. Keep going. We need you. And we need each other. 

Aimee Allison She the People with Aimee Allison is produced in collaboration with Design Observer. For more information about us, plus our guests and a full transcript of the episode, check out our website at Design Observer Dot com slash She the People.  And spread the joy. Make sure you’re subscribed to She the People with Aimee Allison on the podcatcher of your choice, and share this episode with your friends. Don’t forget to tag Design Observer and underscore She the People on whatever social media platform you’re on. She the people’s a registered trademark of Amy Alison. Our thanks to Ruthann Harnish, Susan McPherson, Susan Sawyers and Jonathan Speed for providing critical funding and other resources for guidance and essential insights. We’re deeply grateful to David Kyuman Kim, Alvin B. Tillery Junior, Bernestine McLeod, Kevin Bethune and the entire Design Observer and She the People community. Aviva Jaye wrote the theme music for the show. Justin D Wright of Seaplane Armada mixed the show she The People with Aimee Allison is produced by Alexis Haut and Adina Karp.