Half a million California fast food workers will now earn $20 per hour
CNN
As of Monday, about half a million fast food workers in California are making at least $20 per hour, $4 higher than the overall state minimum wage.
As of Monday, about half a million fast food workers in California are making at least $20 per hour, $4 higher than the overall state minimum wage. The new rate applies to restaurant chains with more than 60 nationwide locations and is a result of a years-long fight by workers to establish better wages and working conditions, specifically in California’s fast-food industry. The law also creates a fast-food council, a first of its kind in the US, with representatives from both the restaurant industry and workers, who can increase the wage annually for the rest of the decade, in pace with inflation or up to 3.5%, whichever is higher. This council can also recommend standards for fast-food worker safety and work with existing state agencies to investigate issues like wage theft. “I definitely think it’s a very big deal,” said Jaylene Loubet, who works as a McDonald’s cashier. “What we’re fighting for is not unreasonable. We’re just asking for what’s fair.” But owners of some fast food franchise locations say in anticipation of this extra cost, they have already increased menu prices in the past few months, cut worker hours - or both. And many affected owners own only one restaurant location. Michaela Mendelsohn, a franchisee who has been appointed to the new council, said, “There’s talk about showing both sides of this. I think it’s all one side. I think to be successful, we need to be successful, and our employees need to be successful together.”
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