Workers linked to the Fast-food in the Golden State are set to receive a bigger paycheck beginning next year. Bill AB1228 signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom stipulates the hourly minimum wage at $20. But the law has some significant riders.
The new law goes into effect next year from April. However, it only applies to outlets that have a minimum of 60 locations across the US. But it does apply to those making and selling bread manufactured by them. The state minimum wage is now at $15.50, but it is still among the most generous in America. Gavin Newsom said that it was a big deal for workers. He was speaking at a Los Angeles event. It was here that he signed the minimum wage bill for fast-food industry workers into law.
Gavin Newsom Stressed That The Industry Was Not Just For Teenagers Entering The Workforce
AB 1228 was signed at SEIU 721, which comprises the backbone of public services for close to 11 million workers. Gavin Newsom also dismissed the notion that the fast food industry was a temporary employment opportunity and only teenagers were part of it. Gavin Newsom said that such a notion was a glamorized version of a non-existent world. He said that this law would pave the way towards rewarding the contribution of the food industry workers, stabilize the industry, and reward the sacrifice of such workers.
The labor unions have also compromised on an issue in lieu of the rise in minimum wages. They have withdrawn attempts to make food corporations accountable for the lapses of independent franchisees in California. Such an action would have overturned the model on which the fast-food industry rests. The industry has also withdrawn a referendum linked to wages from the ballot in 2024. The law signed by Gavin Newsom comes after a decade of tough fight by the Service Employees International Union. there were 450 strikes in California in the last 2 years alone.
