California officials are at it again, planning to push for yet another hike to the state’s already controversial $20 minimum wage for fast food workers. Despite the recent law being blamed for higher menu prices and restaurant closures since its April implementation, the California Food Council is seeking an additional 3.5% raise when they meet at the end of the month, according to Restaurant Business.
The California Food Council, a creation of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, is the driving force behind this proposal. Newsom, whose name is often floated as a potential replacement for President Joe Biden should he decide not to run for re-election, seems more focused on his political aspirations than the economic realities facing his state.
The current minimum wage law mandates that any quick-service restaurant with at least 60 branches nationwide must pay its employees $20 per hour, up from $16 previously. This mandate has already wreaked havoc on the fast food industry, leading to increased menu prices and the closure of numerous restaurants. Yet, the Food Council, undeterred by these consequences, is pushing for more.
Tom Manzo, president of the California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA), didn’t mince words when he spoke to The Post. “The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing repeatedly and hoping for a different result,” Manzo said. “California has already killed thousands of fast food jobs with its misguided wage mandates, and this new union proposal will only do more damage.” Manzo added, “If Gavin Newsom isn’t too busy measuring the drapes at the White House, he should tell his fast food board to trash this latest idea.”
A report by Kalinowski Equity Research found that fast food giants like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Chipotle, Starbucks, and Taco Bell had raised their menu prices by as much as 8% even before the new minimum wage law kicked in on April 1. Since then, franchise chains such as Rubio’s Coastal Grill and Fosters Freeze have shut down locations, citing the rising cost of doing business as the primary reason.
The California Fast Food Workers Union, affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), holds four of the nine seats on the Fast Food Council. The remaining seats are held by franchise owners or their legal representatives from popular chains like El Pollo Loco, Taco Bell, Arby’s, Wendy’s, and Krispy Kreme. The swing vote on this contentious issue belongs to council chair Nicholas Hardeman, chief of staff for California Senate President pro Tempore Emeritus Toni G. Atkins. Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego, is running for governor in 2026 to replace the term-limited Newsom.
In March, the union declared its intention to seek an additional 3.5% wage hike, which would bump minimum pay to $20.70 an hour, effective January 1 if adopted. They also plan to push for changes such as limits on when fast food workers can be fired and a minimum number of hours employers must provide.
If the council approves the wage hike, it could expand the number of managerial employees eligible for time-and-a-half overtime pay. By law, salaried employees in California are entitled to overtime if their compensation is less than double the hourly minimum wage in their field. Thus, a salaried worker at a fast food restaurant earning less than $87,000 annually would be entitled to overtime if another wage hike is enacted.
As California continues to push these progressive wage policies, it remains to be seen how the fast food industry and its workers will weather the storm. For now, it seems the Golden State’s pursuit of higher wages might just be serving up a recipe for economic disaster.
