I work for a hotel and on New Years Eve 2005 we were promised a tip of $214. Upon receiving my pay check they decided they would take away $30 from each one of us who worked that evening and give it to the two buffet runners. The two buffet runners are actually the set up crew and received $9.00 hr. We received $5.00. In the end when you average it out we didnt even make our 17%. The two buffet runners ended up making more than us.
Is this legal to change our tip after the fact? We were promised $214 and only received $184.

I'm assuming this was not received directly from the customers, but instead, a service charge added to the bill by the restaurant. There actually is a law in MA about the allocation of service charges. That is not true in almost any other state.
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/149-152a.htm

yes we get 17% tip off the party because it is banquet, and that is split between the banquet staff. Normally we get paid $2.63 hr. but because it was a holiday they gave us $5. The set up crew was pulled in just to help for a little bit, then let go, they did not help us, it was just to run food on the buffet line. We do not get cashed tipped. I didnt think that they could change it on us like that and give it to someone else who is not in our dept.?

The law is actually quite new (effective Sept. 2004). But it is pretty clear on certain points. "Wait staff employees" include not only waiters but also bus persons and counter staff who work in a banquet facility. A valid tip pool may be administered by the facility and tips may be allocated among the wait staff employees.