On Labor Day morning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 257, regulating fast food workers’ rights. The bill, otherwise known as the FAST Recovery Act, is the first of its kind in the country and will increase the minimum wage to $22 an hour for workers at major franchises while creating an oversight commission for workers in the industry, who company owners have long silenced. The commission, which will be called the Fast Food Council, will include workers’ delegates and employers’ representatives, along with two state officials, and will set minimum standards for wages, hours, and working conditions in California. For the half million fast food workers across the state, the FAST Recovery Act will create a seat at the table and the power to develop solutions to low pay, health, safety, training, and more.
For Maria Bernal, who worked at the fast food chain, Jack in the Box for 10 years and has been working at McDonald’s for three months, the bill will mean she finally has a sense of job security and the ability to support her family. While at Jack in the Box, Bernal suffered years of wage theft, labor harassment, and sexual harassment. She was not even aware that she was entitled to a 10 and 30-minute break until she met organizers with the Service Employees International Union, supporters of the bill. As a result of the continued abuse at Jack in the Box, Bernal, who is a single mother of three children working to pay for her oldest daughter’s college,...
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