California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Labor Day signed new legislation fiercely opposed by large restaurant chains that establishes a council to help improve working conditions for roughly half a million workers in the fast-food industry, a move that could potentially raise industry minimum wages from $15 to up to $22 an hour, the highest in the nation.
Newsom signed the “Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act,” (known as the Fast Act) which will create the state’s first “Fast Food Council” made up of 10 people, including workers, management and two state officials, to set policies such as worker safety and health conditions.
The law will help give “hardworking fast-food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table to set fair wages and critical health and safety standards across the industry,” Newsom said, adding he signed the legislation on Labor Day to “pay tribute to the workers who keep our state running.”
The signing comes a week after California’s State Senate narrowly passed the bill, which applies to restaurant chains with at least 100 locations around the country, including big corporations like Starbucks and McDonald’s, and gives the council the power to set a new minimum wage of as much as $22 an hour next year.
The bill received substantial pushback from the fast food industry, including McDonald’s, which has spoken out repeatedly against the legislation, arguing it unfairly burdens larger chains by imposing “higher costs on one type of...
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