California Governor Gavin Newsom has approved a law that will increase the minimum wage for workers in the fast food industry. The new regulations will force the more than 60 fast food companies in the state to pay $20 per hour to their employees who, until now, received between $16 and $18 per hour:
LIVE NOW: Governor @GavinNewsom signs legislation boosting wages & supporting workers. https://t.co/hb88N6oBKj
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) September 28, 2023
The law, which will go into effect on April 1, 2024, ensures that fast food workers in California will have one of the highest minimum wages in the country, according to a report prepared by the University of California, Berkeley, Center for Labor Research and Education. The minimum wage received by all other state employees ($15.50 an hour) is already among the highest in the United States, the AP reported.
A 3.5% annual raise for fast food workers
Newsom assures that the new law solves "a big problem." It demonstrates the power that the unions are gaining, as it has was fast food union that managed to spur this significant wage improvement in California.
However, they have also had to abandon certain demands. To achieve the wage increase, the fast food union had to scrap its initiative to "hold fast food corporations accountable for the misdeeds of their independent franchise operators in California."
Meanwhile, the industry agreed to raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour. This could be just the beginning, since the regulations approve the creation of a fast food council that could increase that salary annually until 2029 "3.5% or the change in the averages of the US Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and administrative workers, whichever is less."
