China has seen living standards double and double and double again because they worked hard and invested in capital. India too. Africa following the same path. I keep an eye on per-capita energy stats which suggest the average person living in China is locking in to a better living standard than the average person living in the UK.
Seems likely that restaurant workers will be worse payed by the time I'm old.
I fully acknowledge that it is easier to get a doubling in living standards in China than the US. But the strategies they are using are wildly different and most of the things China they are doing to achieve amazing outcomes have been made illegal in the US. Indeed, one of the strategies a lot of countries have used to get ahead is ... allow people to hire workers at low wages and keep local costs low enough that their people can save money. This has moved a lot of wealth from the West to other places. Indeed, stories of big lifestyle improvements from a minimum wage are practically non-existent. Big wins come from owning capital, saving hard, education and upskilling where success stories are common.
The framing in this article isn't pushing people to think in those terms, it is pushing them to pick a fight with their employer. That is a strategy for people who are about to lose at economics. For example if restaurant workers want sustainable improvements they should be lobbying for mechanisms to get part-ownership of the business or educational bonuses - both of which are easier fights to win and would lead to better long term outcomes than raw wage increases.