New California law raises minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour
New California law raises minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law raising the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour. The raise takes effect April 1.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law raising the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour. The raise takes effect April 1.
Genuine question… Why fast food? Why not all minimum wage workers?
30I'm guessing the nominal justification may be 'because fast food workers don't get tips', but the actual reason is in the article. In short, the fast food workers unions were getting somewhere:
Newsom’s signature reflects the power and influence of labor unions in the nation’s most populous state, which have worked to organize fast food workers in an attempt to improve their wages and working conditions.
It also settles — for now, at least — a fight between labor and business groups over how to regulate the industry. In exchange for higher pay, labor unions have dropped their attempt to make fast food corporations liable for the misdeeds of their independent franchise operators in California, an action that could have upended the business model on which the industry is based. The industry, meanwhile, has agreed to pull a referendum related to worker wages off the 2024 ballot.
[...]
Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union International, said the law capped 10 years of work — including 450 strikes across the state in the past two years.
14Service Employees International Union International
Why the double international?
3
I don’t understand why fast food needs its own minimum wage but I’m here for $20/hr in CA.
12Lets get all wages raised in general.
10Would have been better if it was just the minimum wage in general that was raised, of course, but pay rises in one industry will push up pay in others, and hopefully this union victory will help to motivate union efforts in other industries.
6I hope it does. I don't even care that they'll be right next to my pay and I have a degree. My boss wouldn't pay me more regardless. I worry its too little too late. And I worry that it might not, and other essential staff like janitorial will suffer.
3
It probably will result in it, a rising tide lifts all boats as they say
5
What counts as fast food? Only places with a drive thru? Does chipotle? Baja fresh? Farmer Boys? Local mom and pop joints? I wonder who makes that decision and how it's made.
6The new minimum wage for fast food workers will apply to restaurants with at least 60 locations nationwide, with an exception for restaurants that make and sell their own bread, like Panera Bread.
5
How much was it before?
3This guy is fucking ridiculous. He's overreaching his boundaries on every possible level. I own a small business, we're barely making ends meet as it is, and now it's going to be impossible for me to compete with fucking Jack in the box for employees.
-15If you can't afford to pay a liveable wage then you can't afford to stay in business.
21I find that people that say this are the kind of people who won't pay a liveable price for products either though
If a small business is offering a good meal for $30, and a big chain is offering a poor quality substitute for $20, the vast majority opt to line the pockets of billionaires while moaning about the prices of the small businesses
2
Are you a fastfood business with over 50 locations?
5They said it's going to be hard to compete with fast food restaurants for employees, not that they are going to be regulated by this directly.
They're right, when Jack in the Box and other businesses have to pay this, retail and other services industry jobs will be forced to raise their wages or watch their employees move to fast food.
That's why I like this law, because all workers (not just fast food) will benefit from higher wages.
3They said it's going to be hard to compete with fast food restaurants for employees, not that they are going to be regulated by this directly.
They're right, when Jack in the Box and other businesses have to pay this, retail and other services industry jobs will be forced to raise their wages to watch their employees move to fast food.
That's why I like this law, because all workers (not just fast food) will benefit from higher wages.
1