By Taryn LunaStaff Writer
Sept. 11, 2023 10:41 AM PT
Fast-food companies agreed over the weekend to pull a referendum off next year’s ballot that sought to reverse a landmark worker-protections law, forgoing a costly political fight with labor unions over employee pay.
The deal will result in an increase in the minimum wage for fast-food workers of $20 per hour in April and form a new council of representatives for workers and companies to consider pay bumps in the future, according to sources involved in the negotiations.
Negotiated with the help of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top advisors, the agreement represents a rare compromise that allows business groups and labor to avoid a ballot fight over repealing a law boosting fast-food wages that could have topped $100 million in campaign spending.
“It is a powerful, amazing day,” said Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California. “The new bill really clears a path for workers to have their victory back.”
The saga over Assembly Bill 257, also known as the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, started last year when the Service Employees International Union muscled the proposal through the state Legislature with the help of its Democratic allies. Restaurant owners opposed the legislation, arguing they couldn’t bear the increased costs without raising prices for their customers.
Newsom’s signature on the bill opened a political chess match in Sacramento that has quietly played out all year, involving maneuvers in the...
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s years-long campaign to undermine faith in U.S. elections has gained broad traction with the American public, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows, p...