One Fair Wage (OFW) is a left-of-center organization that advocates for a full minimum wage for workers receiving tips as a major portion of their income, such as restaurant service workers, ride-share drivers, and food delivery drivers. ¹ It is a fiscally funded project of Alliance for a Just Society and is also closely associated with Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC). ^{2 3} Some of its donors include the Walter and Elise Haas Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. ^{4 5}

It is also partnered with its 501(c)(4) lobbying arm, One Fair Wage Action. ⁶

Background

OFW is an advocacy organization that opposes the federal minimum wage for tipped workers which as of 2020 sits at $2.13 per hour, subject to a requirement that workers’ total compensation does not fall below the applicable minimum wage. ⁷ The organization also advocates for general gender-based issues, claiming that women are affected by a lower minimum wage at a higher rate than their male counterparts. ¹

One Fair Wage is a fiscally funded project of Alliance for a Just Society, a left-of-center policy advocacy organization. ² It is also closely associated with Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a left-of-center workers center that works primarily in the restaurant industry. ³

It is also partnered with its 501(c)(4) lobbying arm, One Fair Wage Action. ⁶

In October 2024, One Fair Wage was accused of altering its 2022 990 Tax Forms schedule C by lower its total lobbying expenditures to comply with requirements for maintaining a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, amending its tax liability amount from $10,000 down to $1,000. The group was also accused of reclassifying its grassroots lobbying into direct lobbying while raising total expenditures, according to The National Review. ⁶

On October 1, 2024, the National Review was forwarded a fundraising email from One Fair Wage supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign and calling for higher wages. It claimed, “we have an opportunity to reach 14 million restaurant workers showing that [Kamala] Harris supports One Fair Wage, which is what workers really need and want: a raise…One Fair Wage Action is leading voter engagement with service workers in AZ, MI and PA, sharing the differences in the candidates’ stances on their wages – their highest priority issue.” ⁶ The email also links to the organization’s donation page. ⁶

‘Raise the Wage Act’

One Fair Wage was involved with other left-of-center organizations in pushing the ‘Raise the Wage Act,’ a proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and eliminate a lower minimum wage for tipped workers. The organization worked with Jobs With Justice and other organizations within the SEIU-orchestrated Fight for $15 movement to introduce a bill in Congress. In 2017, the legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA); and in the U.S. House by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and then-Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). ⁸

State-Level Petitions

The One Fair Wage promotes petitions calling for state-level minimum wage increases for tipped workers. ⁹

The petitions advertise support from left-leaning organizations. The New York petition lists as supporters labor unions and aligned organizations (such as the SEIU and National Domestic Workers Alliance), several abortion-access advocacy organizations (such as Planned Parenthood, the National Institute for Reproductive Health, and the New York Abortion Access Fund) and broadly left-of-center grantmaking organizations (such as the Ford Foundation, Groundswell Fund, and Forward Together). Actress and longtime left-wing political activist Jane Fonda is also listed as a supporter on the New York petition. ¹⁰

Leadership

Saru Jayaraman is the president of One Fair Wage. She is a co-founder and president of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Jayaraman has written books covering issues such as expansionist immigration policy, worker organizing, and left-progressive identity politics. ¹¹

Jayaraman and ROC were sued in 2007 by a group of restaurant workers who worked with her in a restaurant project in New York City. The dispute ensued because the restaurant workers alleged Jayaraman required their attendance at labor protests, that they pay dues to ROC, and reneged on initial promise ownership in the restaurant for the workers. The disgruntled workers alleged the ownership clause was altered to become only a 20 percent ownership share to be split among the all of the employees, with the rest owned by investors and ROC. ¹²

Alicia Renee Farris is the OFW board chair. She also works as the state director for Restaurant Opportunities Center of Michigan, and as a board member for the Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan, a network of organizations that pushes a left-of-center economic agenda. ¹³

Fekkak Mamdouh is a senior director for OFW. He also works as a director for ROC, which he co-founded in 2002. Prior to his involvement with ROC, Mamdouh worked as a steward for the H.E.R.E. labor union, which later merged with another union to become Unite Here. He also advocates for expansionist immigration policy and has published books on the matter. ¹⁴

Finances

Being a fiscally funded project of Alliance for a Just Society, One Fair Wage does not independently or separately report its individual financial records, grants, or other forms of income. Some donors have publicly claimed their support for the OFW project: the Walter and Elise Haas Fund reported a $25,000 donation in 2019,⁴ and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reported giving an undisclosed amount to OFW in 2020 as part of a $50 million grant  shared by nearly two dozen organizations. ⁵

1. “About OFW.” One Fair Wage. Accessed September 8, 2020. https://onefairwage.com/about/.
2. “One Fair Wage campaign launches emergency fund to support tipped service workers.” Detroit Metro Times. Accessed September 8, 2020. metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2020/03/17/one-fair-wage-campaign-launches-emergency-fund-to-support-tipped-service-workers
3. “the ROC United Model.” ROC United. Accessed September 8, 2020. https://chapters.rocunited.org/our-work/#:~:text=Through%20the%20ONE%20FAIR%20WAGE,experience%20the%20financial%20insecurity%2C%20discrimination%2C
4. “Grants Database.” Walter and Elise Haas Fund. Accessed April 24, 2020. https://haassr.org/grant/one-fair-wage/.
5. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grants made. Accessed April 24, 2020. https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2020/04/rwjf-provides-50-million-in-relief-for-people-facing-the-greatest-strain-under-the-covid-19-pandemic.html
6. Lynch, James. “Left-Wing Nonprofit Skirted IRS Rules on Lobbying, Pro-Harris Advocacy.” National Review, October 21, 2024. https://www.nationalreview.com/news/left-wing-nonprofit-skirted-irs-rules-on-lobbying-pro-harris-advocacy/
   
7. Employment Policies Institute. “Home.” Tipped Wage, 2020. https://tippedwage.com/.
8. “’Raise the Wage’ act aims to give people a fair return for their work.” Jobs With Justice. Accessed April 24, 2020. https://www.jwj.org/new-15-raise-the-wage-act-aims-to-give-people-a-fair-return-on-their-work.
9. “One Fair Wage: State Campaigns.” One Fair Wage. Accessed September 14, 2020. https://onefairwage.com/statecampaigns/
10. “Organizations in support of eliminating the tipped minimum wage in New York City.” One Fair Wage. Accessed April 24, 2020. https://onefairwage.com/new-york/ny-supporters/.
11. “ Saru Jayaraman.” UC Berkeley. Accessed April 24, 2020.  https://gspp.berkeley.edu/directories/faculty/saru-jayaraman
12. “‘Social Justice’ Hypocrites.” NY Post. Accessed April 24, 2020. https://nypost.com/2007/03/22/social-justice-hypocrites/.
13. Alicia Renee Farris. Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan. Accessed April 24, 2020. https://mieconomicjustice.org/board-and-staff/
14. “Fekkak Mamdouh.” One Fair Wage. Accessed April 24, 2020. https://onefairwage.com/fekkak-mamdouh/.