California’s fast food workers could get the power to collectively bargain under a bill moving through the state legislature, a measure that could drastically change the fast food and franchising industries.

AB257 would create a Fast Food Sector Council to set minimum workplace wages, hours and standards. The 11-member council would be made up of state, business and labor representatives and housed in the Department of Industrial Relations.

The bill is backed by labor groups and opposed by restaurant and business interests.

For the more than half-million fast food workers in California like Crystal Orozco, the bill would bring peace of mind that someone is fighting for their interests.

At her last job at a Jack in the Box in Folsom, Orozco said she was never afforded breaks during her graveyard shifts, since she was one of only two employees staffing the store overnight.

“Not once did I get a 30-minute or ten-minute break,” she said in an interview. “I’ve seen them straight up not pay people for hours they’d worked.”

The Carmichael resident led two strikes at the restaurant over its COVID-19 safety protocols and a broken air conditioner. She said managers threatened to call immigration authorities on a coworker who was also pushing for better working conditions.

“They want people to be blind to these laws just to make that quick buck,” Orozco said. “They can get their bonuses and we’re the ones breaking our backs for them.”

Most fast food restaurants are franchised,...

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