WorkforceChains like In-N-Out, Starbucks and Chipotle are contributing millions to a drive that would put the Fast Act on the 2024 ballot.
In-N-Out, Starbucks, Chipotle and a host of other chain operations are pouring millions of dollars into California in hopes of thwarting the Fast Act, the controversial new law that gives fast-food employees and their union suitors a forceful role in setting wages.
But even if they fail to kill the law outright, the lobbying dollars could prove a wise investment.
The contributors ponied up nearly $13 million dollars soon after the bill passed to fund a ballot drive initiated by Save Local Restaurants, a coalition of the International Franchise Association, the National Restaurant Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Their objective is to collect the 650,000 or so signatures that are required to put a voter initiative to kill the Fast Act on the 2024 ballot. If the coalition succeeds in that preliminary step, enactment of the Fast Act would be suspended until voters decide in 2024 if they want to keep the law on the books.
Otherwise, the Fast Act creates a wage-setting commission that can hike California’s minimum wage for fast-food workers to $22 an hour as soon as the calendar page is turned to 2023. Full-service operators have voiced fears that their pay rates will also have to soar to compete with what quick-service employers would be required to offer.
That’s giving fast-food operators with a large California presence a...
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