Waffle House servers are getting a raise — to $3 an hour

Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers III says the restaurant chain is making its "single largest additional investment in our workforce" in its 68-year history by hiking base pay for servers to three bucks an hour. 

The raises take effect this month and follow a more than year-long campaign led by a union that represents service workers in the South. The effort involved strikes and petitions calling for higher pay, safer working conditions and an end to mandatory paycheck deductions for meals.  

Waffle House's base pay — excluding tips — will increase to at least $5.25 an hour for all of the company's 2,000 locations by June 2026, with additional increases based on seniority and shift Rogers said in a video to employees.