California lawmakers pass bill to raise fast-food worker wages |
California state lawmakers have passed a bill mandating a $20 minimum hourly wage for all fast-food workers at chains with more than 60 locations nationwide. The legislation, which awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature, will also establish a council charged with setting pay and workplace standards for the entire industry. It will consist of two representatives of the fast-food industry, two franchisees or restaurant owners, two employees, two advocates for employees and one neutral member of the public, who will serve as chair. “The $20/hr wage and council workers are about to win has the power to lift up more than half a million cooks and cashiers in the state, the majority of whom are women of color,” said Joseph Bryant, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union. “California fast-food workers are inspiring workers everywhere by challenging corporate power and rewriting the rules of systems designed to work against them.” The National Owners Association, an independent advocacy group of more than 1,000 McDonald’s owners, has pushed back against the bill, claiming that the costs “simply cannot be absorbed by the business model.”