Raise the minimum wage for waitresses in MA!!!

In this economy, I don't think it's fair for the Massachusetts minimum wage for tipped employees to be set at $2.63 per hour.  Working as a server for the past 12 years there has not been an increase in our rate of pay, although regular state minimum wage pay has increased almost a dollar a year for some time, and our wages from tips have decreased substantially.

Most people are with holding from tipping their servers and bartenders because of the tight economy. It doesn't help that people like Oprah have "experts" on their shows advising people to only partially tip their servers as a personal precaution to save money themselves. Massachusetts has one of the lowest rates for tipped employees!!

Please read this article, it sums up my point exactly:
http://www.irle.berkeley.edu/cwed/wp/waiting_for_change.pdf

Here are your rights as a tipped employee:
http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/tipped-employees.html

Here is a list of wages by state:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm

Thank you for your time!!  :o)