PH Coffee is a beloved neighborhood coffee shop with quality house-made goods and dedicated, kindhearted staff. 

Baristas deserve a living wage. PH Coffee made an Instagram post claiming to share this same value, and described their pay structure. They used phrasing that sounds nice— they’re paying “$18/hr,” base pay+tips, and if tips do not reach an hourly rate of $18, they so generously make up the difference (◔_◔)

What PH Coffee neglects to mention is that they CUT base pay to BELOW state minimum wage—to $10/hr—in order to implement this system. Baristas previously made above state Missouri minimum wage ($12.50/hr) plus tips. So as tipped workers, this is unfortunately legal. But does that make it a living wage? No.

Cutting base pay is harmful to workers. PH claimed they are following the example of another local coffee shop, Oddly Correct. However, Oddly has much more business being established in KC over a decade. What works for one shop may not work for another, as Michael Schroeder of Oddly management told PH Coffee. So with tips, Oddly baristas make on average $19/20 per hour, and I got confirmation from Schroeder that they have never cut wages.

PH is misleading their customers, and exploiting their workers by not paying a living wage—a tipped minimum is not a living wage, and to pass it off as such is misleading  

Demand a living base wage for our baristas. 
Sure, the structure PH is attempting is legal under Missouri law. But we should expect more from the small businesses we support. PH Coffee would be nothing without their customers, and would certainly not exist without their baristas. They deserve more! It’s more expensive to live now than ever. Cutting base pay is harmful. And PH Coffee has not acknowledged this harm. 

Please sign this petition to demand the owners return to previous wages. Put the livelihood of your staff above profits, or get behind the bar yourself. 

Workers and customers keep small businesses afloat. Let’s not settle for greedy ownership and make sure that any profit accumulated gets distributed fairly.

 If PH hasn’t made a profit due to hardships in being a business owner, then cutting wages should not be the solution. 

Thank you <3

PS don’t give change.org your money, please share with a friend or few instead!