A California bill that would create a council regulating everything from wages to working conditions at fast food chains isn’t slated to go to state voters for a final decision until November 2024. But copycat legislation is already cropping up elsewhere, setting up a fight over how far unions and politicians should go to protect workers’ rights and whether workers are even the center of this battle.
AB 257, or the FAST Act, also known as Fast Food Recovery Act, would give an appointed 10-member “Fast Food Council,” wide-ranging authority over large national fast food and fast casual restaurants in California. Its powers would include the authority to force restaurants to increase the minimum wage to $22 an hour and give annual raises of up to 3.5% after that. It could also set minimum standards for working conditions, maximum hours worked, security, and more.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill last September to go into effect Jan. 1, 2023, but restaurant group Save Local Restaurants collected a million signatures to put the bill to a vote next year.
Even if a bill has been signed into law in California, opponents can collect the requisite number of signatures to put the measure on the ballot and allow voters to decide the final outcome. California tried to push ahead with the law anyway, saying it had the authority to continue since all the signatures weren't yet validated.
Save Local Restaurants immediately filed a lawsuit, arguing that never before has a law...
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