Food system workers are at the forefront of this year’s midterm elections, notably in our nation’s capital where voters will decide June 19 whether to support Initiative 77, which would eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped employees. If it passes, the current $3.33 an hour tipped minimum wage would rise by 2026 to $15. For context, the median household income in DC was $72,935 in 2016, almost 25% higher than the national average of $59,039. Forked: A New Standard for American Dining, by Saru Jayaraman of Berkeley’s Food Labor Research Center, delves deeply into the history and impacts of multiple minimum wages in the United States.