Modesto BJ’s workers move to form first union over controversial tip-sharing policy
Workers at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in Modesto are attempting to unionize, making it the first location in the company to do so.
A key issue is the restaurant’s tip-sharing policy: Servers and bartenders must pay about 4% of their total sales to dining room and kitchen team members, including line cooks and bussers.
In some restaurants, it is common for servers to share a percentage of their tips among other employees including the cooks and bussers. However, at BJ’s, that percentage is coming out of the total sales, meaning if a customer doesn’t leave a tip, the server may end up in the negative. For example, a server who sells $100 in food and drinks but receives no tip would still owe roughly $4 out of pocket.
“Even if we didn’t make any tips, we still have money taken out of our pocket,” said Sean Bateman, a server of 10 years at BJ’s.
Servers say the policy has cut their paychecks by around 20%. It is currently implemented only at the company’s California locations.
In August, employees filed a union election petition with the National Labor Relations Board. The Modesto restaurant employs about 152 workers, and the average pay for servers at BJ’s, including tips, is $32 per hour, according to workers there.
In a statement to The Bee, BJ’s Restaurants Modesto wrote, “At BJ’s, we put our team members at the center of everything we do and believe their voices are critical to creating a positive work experience. We are proud of the open-door culture we have built and the innovative ideas and helpful feedback our team members have brought to the table over the years. We are confident that when our team members have all of the information, they will agree we can achieve more, as a company and individually, by working together as a team. We remain committed to listening to and addressing our team members’ concerns and delivering the great experience our team and guests expect from us.”
What is the tipping policy?
Erica Foss, another server, said that they’re often pushed to sell appetizers and drinks to their customers, which can lead to a lower tip when a customer sees the high bill.
“Because we’re having money taken away from us, it is encouraging us to actively perform worse in our position,” said Bateman.
Foss said many of the cooks were unaware of the tipping policy. She added that she was initially told by management that the policy was intended as an incentive to encourage them to show up, as several cooks had been calling off on weekends.
“That’s not our job to make them come to work. That’s the company’s job to make them feel appreciated to want to come to work for them,” Foss said.
Michael Williams, a server leading the unionization efforts, said he believes the tip-out policy was introduced to make wages for back-of-house staff more competitive after California in April 2024 raised the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour. According to BJ’s website, the pay range for most roles at the Modesto restaurant is $16.50 to $22 an hour.
“But I think rather than go ahead and give those guys those raises, to go ahead and make that job attractive, they decided, let’s not pass it to the customer. Let’s not eat it at corporate. Let’s pass it to the servers and the bartenders,” Williams said.
At one point, servers could ask a manager to manually adjust their tip-out amounts to avoid money loss, but that was quickly shut down.
In 2024, a petition was created by employees shortly after the mandatory tip-pooling practice began, garnering over 1,200 employee signatures. Workers from BJ’s restaurant locations across the state have commented, sharing their discontent with the policy.
Forming the union
Williams said the union effort began organically, without attorneys, as workers started talking among themselves, doing research, collecting registration cards and contacting the NLRB to learn the process.
With no prior union experience, Williams initially focused on organizing servers and bartenders, assuming unions were job-specific. But during a hearing, he said the company attempted to undermine the effort by including back-of-house staff in the vote — a move he viewed as a tactic to divide workers and sabotage the union effort.
That led Williams to conclude the union should represent all restaurant employees in solidarity, with goals of securing pay raises for back-of-house staff and ending the losses servers and bartenders face under the tip-sharing policy.
“We are not going to take a deal for servers under any circumstances that does not include back of the house being taken care of as well. If they’re not going to do that, we reject it all, and we’ll just keep fighting until we get what the heck we want,” Williams said.
Will Kelly, executive director of the North Valley Labor Federation, which has been supporting the BJ’s workers, said the company appears to be trying to pit employees against one another. “I think everyone agrees that the people who work hard in the back should get paid a fair wage, a competitive wage, but when the company is taking money out of one worker’s pocket and putting it into another, it’s not right. It’s not fair,” said Kelly.
With a union, workers would be able to address broader workplace issues that affect all staff, not just servers. These include irregular schedules, last-minute call-ins and delayed breaks. This would allow employees to negotiate directly with management and work together to find solutions to these problems.
During the process, workers have said management has used intimidation and spread misinformation to discourage union support. Bateman said posters he put up in the break room about a union meeting were torn down.
According to Williams, managers have pulled employees aside and falsely claimed that he would personally collect money, that union dues would be excessively high, or that he would control scheduling if the union were approved.
“All kinds of misinformation,” said BJ’s server Jacob Gullatt. Just because other unions may be doing such things... doesn’t mean we have to.”
Williams stressed that his role, as union president, carries no more power than any other worker and that his vote would be equal to theirs.
Working at a restaurant
Bateman said that growing up poor, he never had the opportunity to go to college. Originally, he wanted to become a chef, but drifted away from the culinary industry and had kids. He eventually returned as a server and rediscovered his passion for the work.
For the longest time, serving allowed him to make enough money to support his family. But now, with the new tipping policy, the foundation that once made him feel financially stable has become shaky.
“When you take away the financial stability, it’s like, why am I dealing with this stress now?” he said.
Kelly noted that restaurant employees often are perceived as students or part-time workers, but for many, the job is their primary source of income to support their families.
“It’s not just a transitory thing for a lot of workers,” Kelly said.
Williams launched an Instagram account for the BJ’s Workers Union to share updates on the campaign and said they eventually plan to reach out to employees at other restaurant locations. He credited the NVLF with supporting their efforts.
“They went ahead and turned us into a struggle that we can actually win,” Williams said.
Kelly said it has been encouraging to see the NLRB uphold workers’ rights to unionize at a time when large corporations and the administration are challenging the agency.
A union election at the BJ’s restaurant is scheduled for Sept. 26 from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., with a break at 3. BJ’s corporate office and the union agreed for the election to include all employees — both front and back of the house staff. The public is encouraged to attend in support. The union will be certified if a simple majority of employees vote in favor.
This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
