Supporters of a citizen’s initiative to raise pay rates for tipped workers in Portland took their message to the streets today, with a short parade and musical accompaniment. 

Local members of One Fair Wage, a national organization focused on eliminating sub-minimum wages nationwide, organized the movement Tuesday morning, which started on Commercial Street and wove through downtown and Old Port streets.

Listed on the ballot this fall as Question D, the initiative calls for the elimination of sub-minimum wages and the raising of the minimum wage. Sub-minimum wages are often paid to tipped workers such as restaurant waitstaff.

Tuesday’s march consisted of a pickup truck with two people in the back talking through a loudspeaker, while a band followed behind on foot playing Dixieland music and three people scurried about handing out flyers. The procession stopped on occasion, including one stop in front of Portland City Hall, to chant slogans such as “Vote ‘yes’ on D! That’s the way we wanna be!” and, “What do we want? Better wages! When do we want ‘em? Now!”

The procession ended in front of the Exchange Street offices of the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce. Among the speakers in front of the chamber offices was Rep. Mike Sylvester (D-Portland), who said he is on the board of the Maine chapter of One Fair Wage. He said sub-minimum wages are making it impossible for restaurant workers to make a living. 

“People who work in this city should be able to live in this city, and that’s what Question D is all about,” he said. 

Sylvester noted that voters tried to eliminate the sub-minimum wage in 2016 when they passed a referendum on the minimum wage, but legislators ultimately amended the measure to keep sub-minimum wages on the books.

“This is one that got away from us,” he said. “People voted for it in 2016, (and) my colleagues took it away from us.”

Buddy Moore, who works at the Flatbread Co. on Commercial Street, said he started out as a tipped worker, and knows plenty of workers now who are struggling.

“So many people are being priced out of their homes and displaced because they can’t afford to pay rent,” he said. “They can’t afford to pay for utilities, and I think the only way to do that is to raise the minimum wage and end the suffering.”

Inside the chamber’s offices, inquiries were referred to President and CEO Quincy Hentzel. In a statement, Hentzel said the chamber supports “a majority of tipped workers and independent contractors, such as ride share and delivery service providers, who do not support the changes being brought forward in Question D.”

Hentzel also noted the size of Tuesday’s protest emphasized the lack of support for the measure.

“The press conference today by the proponents as well as one held a few weeks ago were noticeably short on actual workers who could be implicated by these proposed changes,” Hentzel said, referring to a similar press conference on Oct. 12 outside the Black Cow restaurant on Exchange Street.