Two decades into her work as a unionized bartender in Reno, Nevada, Kristie Strejc has the comfort of job stability, her pick of the best shifts, and, unlike many in the hospitality industry, enough income that she'd actually benefit from plans floated by both U.S. presidential candidates to exempt tips from federal income tax.
But that isn't influencing a vote she said is solidly for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate who has the endorsement of Nevada's powerful Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and in recent polls is leading former President Donald Trump, the Republican challenger, in this battleground state.
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Ted Pappageorge, the secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union, said there was little credence given to Trump's proposal on an issue the union official regards as more complicated than a no-tax-on-tips approach alone can reflect. He sees it tied into broader national issues like the below-minimum wages tipped workers are paid in many states, and how best to help lower-income families that may pay no taxes but need help meeting basic expenses.
"We've been fighting about fair taxation on tips for 30 years," Pappageorge said in an interview last month, noting tips are not the same as a promised wage for an hour of work, but a gift at a customer's discretion that can cause hourly earnings to vary widely.
While Nevada is one of seven states that don't allow employers to pay less than the minimum wage to tipped workers, he said the union still regards the issue as part of a larger set of questions that figured into its endorsement of Harris.
"It's a working-class voter issue," Pappageorge said. "You could see a package that raised the minimum wage and perhaps didn't eliminate tax on tips but reduced it or something."