Gov. Gavin Newsom signs landmark bill giving more than a 500,000 restaurant workers more power and protections.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a nation-leading measure giving more than a half-million fast food workers more power and protections, despite the objections of restaurant owners who warned it would drive up consumers' costs.
The landmark law creates a 10-member Fast Food Council with equal numbers of workers' delegates and employers' representatives, along with two state officials, empowered to set minimum standards for wages, hours and working conditions in California."California is committed to ensuring that the men and women who have helped build our world-class economy are able to share in the state's prosperity," he said in a statement.
The law caps minimum wage increases for fast-food workers at chains with more than 100 restaurants at $22 an hour next year, compared to the statewide minimum of $15.50 an hour, with cost of living increases thereafter. The state legislature approved the measure on Aug. 29. Debate split along party lines, with Republicans opposed. Sen. Brian Dahle, the Republican nominee for governor in November, had called it"a steppingstone to unionize all these workers."Restaurant owners and franchisers cited an analysis they commissioned by the UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecast and Development saying that the legislation would increase consumer costs.
But supporters of the legislation hailed it as a big win for workers, with Assemblywoman Luz Rivas calling it a"watershed moment" for labor.
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