Report: Seattle’s restaurant workers still await better wages and benefits

Leslie Holleran Jul 2, 2025

Jan 12, 2018

Republish Article

You can republish articles in print or online. Simply copy the HTML below, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline, and credit to Cascade PBS. Republishing of the photos or videos embedded in an article can occur only if the photo or video is a copyright of Cascade Public Media ("CPM") and not of a third party. Photos and videos that are a copyright of CPM are not required to appear in the republished article, but if they are used, they must be embedded where they appear in the original article and must include the attribution to the CPM photographer.

You may reprint in any medium
You may edit only for tense and timeliness
If republishing in print you can edit for length if you follow our print republishing guidelines.
You may write your own headline
Include a byline and shirttail with credit and link to Cascade PBS
Include our tracking pixel
Remove if we ask

          <article>
            <header>
              <hgroup>
                <h1>Report: Seattle’s restaurant workers still await better wages and benefits</h1>
                <h2><p>Seattle’s Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) has completed and released a comprehensive report of the city’s restaurant economy. The analysis, in which over 500 workers were surveyed, concludes that restaurant workers are still impacted by low wages and paltry benefits, in spite of the new minimum wage and a</p></h2>
              </hgroup>
               <p>By <a href="/author/leslie-holleran-crosscut-com/">Leslie Holleran</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
            </header>
            <p>Seattle’s Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) has completed and released a comprehensive report of the city’s restaurant economy. The analysis, in which over 500 workers were surveyed, concludes that restaurant workers are still impacted by low wages and paltry benefits, in spite of the new minimum wage and a law mandating paid sick-leave.  According to the report – titled <a href="http://rocunited.org/bkd-report_seattle/?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">“Behind the Kitchen Door: the Highs and Lows of Seattle’s Booming Restaurant Economy"</a> – 42.7% of restaurant employees reported receiving poverty wages and 73.5% report that they are not given paid sick-leave.</p><p>ROC calls upon policymakers to strengthen and enforce employments laws in the restaurant industry, and restaurant owners and employers to implement fairer workplace practices, such as increasing wages and communicating to workers about their benefits.</p>
          </article>

Seattle’s Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) has completed and released a comprehensive report of the city’s restaurant economy. The analysis, in which over 500 workers were surveyed, concludes that restaurant workers are still impacted by low wages and paltry benefits, in spite of the new minimum wage and a law mandating paid sick-leave. According to the report – titled “Behind the Kitchen Door: the Highs and Lows of Seattle’s Booming Restaurant Economy" – 42.7% of restaurant employees reported receiving poverty wages and 73.5% report that they are not given paid sick-leave.

ROC calls upon policymakers to strengthen and enforce employments laws in the restaurant industry, and restaurant owners and employers to implement fairer workplace practices, such as increasing wages and communicating to workers about their benefits.

Our members' donations make local journalism happen.

Support once for $1

Support monthly for $7

Cascade PBS Passport
Mossback members-only newsletter
Monthly Viewer Guide

Support monthly for $25

Invitation to quarterly news and original programming video conference
Annual in-person meet-up with news & programming teams
Special event perks (reduced price or free tickets, cocktails, etc.)

Continue

By Leslie Holleran

Leslie Holleran regularly writes about arts and culture for print and online publications. Her work has appeared in national dance publications and in Seattle newspapers and magazines.