Fast-food workers in Los Angeles and Orange counties will join others Tuesday, Nov. 15 in a statewide protest aimed at keeping McDonald’s, Starbucks and other restaurant chains from trying to block a new law that will boost wages and give workers a stronger voice on the job.

Assembly Bill 257, also known as the FAST Recovery Act, is set to take effect Jan. 1 2023. It will create a 10-person, state-run council to negotiate wages, hours and working conditions for the more than half a million fast-food workers in California.

The measure was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 5. But Stop AB 257, a coalition of franchisees and franchisors who oppose the measure, was quick to attack the legislation.

They say it would fuel higher consumer prices, and the group noted that California already has some of the strongest worker protection laws in the nation.

Opponents of the bill — operating as Save Local Restaurants — are working to get a referendum on the November 2024 ballot that would repeal the legislation. If they gather the 623,000 voter signatures needed by Dec. 4, the law would be put on hold until the 2024 ballot and possibly struck down.

The coalition’s effort is co-chaired jointly by the National Restaurant Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the International Franchise Association.

Fast-food workers plan to rally Tuesday outside a Starbucks in Los Angeles, while others will gather at Chipotle’s headquarters in Newport Beach before caravaning between...

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