CHICAGO — Restaurant workers and union activists are advocating for a raise in minimum wage for tipped workers in Chicago and across the country.

One Fair Wage is calling to raise the minimum wage to $15 for tipped employees. While the city of Chicago states it has a minimum wage of $15, it does not apply to tipped workers.

In Illinois, tipped workers have a minimum wage of $7.80 an hour, and nationally, a wage of $2.13 an hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

“That has been a big problem for a population that is overwhelming women, disproportionately women of color and we have the highest rate of single moms of any occupation in the United States, in Illinois and in Chicago,” Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage said.

Restaurant employees are required to pay for a mandatory food safety certification program every few years, activists said.