ELLENVILLE – Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling visited the Miss Monticello Diner on Tuesday, where owner George Nikolados greeted him and gave him a tour. While he was there, Sonderling delivered breakfast to a customer at the counter. Later on, he visited the Borscht Belt Museum in Ellenville, where he spoke to board members about the exhibit.
As a Jewish man, he said that for him, visiting the museum was personal.
“My grandparents had a bungalow in this area. Both my mom and dad, who were born and raised in the Bronx, you know, came out here in the summer,” he said. “So walking through this history was also walking through some of my family history.”
The diner was an opportunity for him to talk to working people about not paying some income taxes on tips, which was part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” but when asked about raising the federal minimum wage, which stands at $7.25, to a living wage, he threaded the needle on the answer.
“So that is up to Congress. The Department of Labor does not control the minimum wage. I’ll support whatever they do,” Sonderling said.
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