OK, so a number of restaurant chain managers have been making noise about cutting employee's hours or adding a surcharge to pay for the 'massive' costs when the ACA is implemented fully next year, even though they don't know what those costs will be. If we boycott the chains, it will hurt the workers more than the owners. So what do we do? Here's an idea.
The problem with boycotts is that the servers really do rely on tips to make a living wage. If we don't go to restaurants that are stiffing the employees or adding a surcharge we are hurting the staff way before the owners feel the pinch.
So, here's a possible strategy. This will only work in a sit-down restaurant, like Applebee's. You get a group of friends together and go to the restaurant. Your party gets seated and given menus. When your server arrives and asks "Hi, can I get you something to drink?" or something similar, you say "No, we aren't going to give your boss one cent, but we do support you." Then everyone puts a $5 tip on the table, gets up, and leaves. The server gets tipped, the owner gets nothing.