Waging Change weaves together two female-driven movements that
reveal an American workers’ struggle hidden in plain sight-- the
effort to end the federal tipped minimum wage of $2.13 for restaurant
servers and bartenders and the #MeToo movement's efforts to end
sexual harassment. The film shines a spotlight on the challenges
faced by restaurant workers, 70% of whom are women, trying to feed
themselves and their families on tips and the growing movement to end
the tipped minimum wage, spearheaded by Restaurant Opportunities
Centers (ROC-United). That the federal tipped minimum wage has
remained at $2.13 an hour since 1991 is due to the power and
influence of a trade lobby, the National Restaurant Association,
known as the "other NRA". Through the personal stories of
workers such as Nataki Rhodes of Chicago, Wardell Harvery of New
Orleans and Andrea Velasquez of Detroit, we come to see and
experience the everyday challenges these workers face in trying to
make ends meet, clarifying the need for One Fair Wage in the 43
states that do not require restaurants to pay their workers minimum
wage.
Biography:
Abby Ginzberg, a Peabody award-winning director, has been
producing compelling documentaries about race and social justice for
over 30 years. Her film, And Then They Came for Us (2017),
about the connection between the incarceration of Japanese Americans
during WW II and the current Muslim travel ban won a Silver Gavel
Award and has played in major cities across the country. It was
broadcast on public television in May 2019. She co-produced and
co-directed Agents of Change (2016; with Frank Dawson), which
premiered at the Pan African Film Festival where it won the Jury and
the Audience Awards for Best Feature Documentary. It was broadcast on
America Reframed in February 2018 and 2019. Soft Vengeance: Albie
Sachs and the New South Africa won a 2015 Peabody award and has
screened at film festivals around the world, winning four audience
awards. It was broadcast on public television in July 2016. She was
the Consulting Producer on The Barber of Birmingham, which
premiered at Sundance in 2011 and was nominated for an Oscar® in the
Short Doc category, and was directed by Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin.
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