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Fast-food chains operating in California are pressing Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto a bill that gives the state’s quick-service workers a significant role in setting their own wages and working conditions.
Without a veto of AB 257 by the governor, quick-service operators face the possibility of a near-term jump in the state’s minimum wage to $22 an hour, with the level raised by 3.5% or the cost of living every year thereafter, depending on which is lower.
Employers could also be required to make changes in their operations or the physical setup of their restaurants to address any safety concerns of employees and unions.
The International Franchise Association, one of the groups pressuring the governor, has warned that the pressure on margins will force limited-service restaurants to raise their menu prices by 20% and eliminate jobs.
“Gov. Newsom must veto this bill—it’s not the way to help workers, consumers or businesses thrive,” Alex Johnson, a franchisee of 11 fast-food restaurants, said in a statement issued by an opposition coalition called Stop AB 257.
Advocates contend that the measure is necessary to protect fast-food workers from possible injury and being denied or cheated out of a reasonable wage by unscrupulous employers
“We look forward to Gov. Newsom signing AB 257 into law and empowering us to create safe and healthy workplaces across the fast-food industry,” Anneisha Williams, an employee of a quick-service restaurant in Los Angeles,...
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