Fast-food workers plan to caravan across Orange County on Wednesday, July 27, demanding passage of a bill aimed at protecting them from sexual harassment, wage theft, safety violations and violence in the workplace.
Assembly Bill 257, also known as the “FAST Food Recovery Act,” would create a state-run council to negotiate wages, hours and working conditions for the more than 700,000 fast-food employees in California.
The measure was passed in the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee last month and is set to be heard Aug. 11 in the Senate Appropriations Committee before heading to a full Senate vote later that month.
Laura Pozos, who works at a McDonald’s in Los Angeles, said the $16 an hour she earns isn’t enough.
“They’ve cut our hours,” the 59-year-old East Los Angeles resident said recently. “I work 33 to 34 hours a week and it’s not enough to pay my bills. My light bill alone is $200 a month. These are miserable wages.”
The employees plan to take their demands directly to the district offices of Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, and Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, who have yet to take a position on the bill. They’re urging them to side with frontline workers, rather than cash-rich, fast food corporations.
They also plan to visit the corporate headquarters of Taco Bell, Chipotle and El Pollo Loco.
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