Hundreds of minimum-wage restaurant and bar workers from across the state of Michigan gathered at the State Capitol, protesting a Supreme Court decision that will raise the minimum wage.

Workers fear the decision will eliminate the tip credit, which many say is a major source of their income.

“The tip credit system enables many of us to earn a wage that reflects our hard work and dedication to our career choice,” Star Bankston, a longtime service industry worker, said.

The former ballot initiative that was adopted and amended by the previous legislature will now go into effect as law in February.

Once signed into law, Michigan’s minimum wage is expected to increase to $12 per hour initially, eventually increasing to over $15 per hour by 2029.

However, workers fear customers will stop tipping if the minimum wage is raised.

Andrew Jager, a server at the Bridge Street Tap Room in Charlevoix, Michigan, made the three-hour drive down to the Capitol to attend the rally and depends on tips as part of his livelihood.

“We rely on those tips heavily during the summer because there’s not that much business in the winter,” Jager told News Channel 3. “So, this would absolutely destroy all of those restaurants in a small tourist town.”

Jager is proud of the hundreds of workers who came out to protest.

“If you have 10 people show up, they’re not going to pay attention to you,” Jager said. “But, when you have this many people, all in orange, on the steps of the Capitol, yelling ‘Save our tips,’ you can’t really ignore it.”

Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, the organization whose ballot measure was passed as law, said the restaurant industry is lying to its workers.

According to Jayaraman, seven other states — Alaska, Minnesota, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Montana — have not seen a decrease in tipping as a result of a minimum wage increase.

“It’s just the restaurant association spreading the lie that somehow if you get a minimum wage, your tips are going to go away, or that this law is about a minimum wage instead of tips, which it’s not,” Jayaraman said. “It’s about a full minimum wage with tips on top, which is why workers are so thrilled.”

Workers, alongside ally lawmakers, sat on the steps of the Capitol Building, hoping their voices were heard.

“The system is not broken,” Lu Hayoz, owner of the Peppermill Cafe in Standale, Michigan, said. “Please do not try to fix it. We didn’t want this, we didn’t ask for this, and we are not out picketing for a higher wage.”

Workers plan to continue fighting and maintain dialogue with lawmakers ahead of the law going into effect in February.