WRGB-TV is reporting essential restaurant workers rallied at the state capitol Mon., Dec. 14, demanding "One Fair Wage." The workers gathered, calling for a full minimum wage plus tips to continue working, and risking exposure to COVID-19, as infection rates spike across the state. Organizers said as restaurant dining is shifting to enclosed outdoor spaces, workers are being asked to enforce physical distancing and mask rules among the same people they must rely upon for sufficient tips to make up their minimum wage. And tips have already decreased 50-75 percent since the beginning of the pandemic. The rally was part of a statewide tour for essential workers, calling on state elected officials to pass wage legislation that would guarantee a living wage without the need for gratuities and help ensure restaurant workers can survive the pandemic. "A guaranteed full minimum wage from employers is the only wage that would make it worth[while] for essential workers to risk their lives in returning to work and having to enforce public health rules," explained Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage. "With millions of American service workers facing starvation and homelessness since the pandemic began, now is the time for city governments to step up and end the subhuman, sub-minimum wage for restaurant workers. This legislation, along with other measures to protect the restaurant industry, is the only way to save both the restaurant workforce and the restaurant industry itself." Read the full story at WRGB TV..