Simone Barron is a 35-year veteran of the Full-Service restaurant industry and has advocated for the industry and its workers since 2015. She is a co-founder of the Full Service Workers Alliance in Seattle, which represents restaurant workers in protecting their freedoms and flexibilities through legislative advocacy. Her efforts against Secure Scheduling , saved small businesses millions of dollars and preserved scheduling flexibility for workers. She is also a co-founder and original Restaurant Workers of America board member, a non-profit promoting the tipping compensation model, tip credits, and higher back-of-house wages.

Simone has testified before the House of Representatives Committee on Education & Labor during the 2018 Raise The Wage Act hearings concerning the impacts of raising the federal minimum wage on the restaurant industry and given legislative testimonies at various state and local levels.

Simone is a Fox Business News contributor and has been printed in multiple publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Crain’s Detroit, Washington Examiner, and Everett Herald. Her educational video for Prager University, produced in 2020 on the impacts of minimum wage mandates on the restaurant industry, has garnered over 3 million views. Simone is also a former Fellow of the Independent Women’s Forum, where she has published several articles about labor and tech. Click on publications to read:

Simone is pursuing a Master of Jurisprudence at the University of Washington School of Law.