Standing Up to Industry Spin: How CCG Protected Tipped Workers’ Wages

While the restaurant industry has poured massive resources into national and state campaigns that pretend to help workers but really cut pay, New Yorker named Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) as a key group that successfully protected tipped workers despite these deceptive practices.

Working hand in hand with workers, unions, and local businesses, CCG stopped every version of a dangerous bill that would have forced cities to slash wages for tipped workers or stripped towns of the right to set fair, local minimum wages. Introduced in March 2025, this bill targeted wage gains in Denver, Boulder, and Edgewater. CCG organized a press conference and gave legislative testimony with Towards Justice, CWA 7777 and the Colorado AFL‑CIO, making it clear: tipped workers deserve fair wages on top of their tips—not shrinking paychecks. As a result, lawmakers backed down and removed the worst parts, preserving both workers’ pay and local control.

Yet the fight isn’t over. The current law still locks in a lower tipped wage unless cities act to change it. CCG and its allies remain united in demanding fair pay for tipped workers across Colorado. They’re fighting to make sure lobbyists can’t quietly sneak in wage cuts. When everyday people come together and refuse to be bullied, they can stop backroom deals—and win real change.

[Illustration Credit: Till Lauer, New Yorker]

"No Tax on Tips" Is an Industry Plant, New Yorker [pdf]

House Finance Passes HB-1208 With Amendments, Press Statement by CCG and Allies

Colorado's Tipped Wages Bill Passes Finance Committee - With an Amendment, Westword [pdf]

Tipped Workers Bill: Denver7 Speaks with Restaurant Owner, Manager on Opposite Sides of House Bill 25-1208, Denver7 ABC [pdf]

Thousands of Teachers Show Strength in Numbers at Colorado State Capitol in Fight for Funding, Denver7 ABC [pdf]