On September 14, the Senate approved AB 1228, which will now go to California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign into effect. This bill was introduced by Assembly Member Chris Holden and would raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour for around 50,000 fast-food employees across California. This bill is a battle between the labor unions and the individual fast-food franchises because they will be financially affected as compensation.
Here are AB 1228’s Key Features:
I wanted to see how this bill passing impacts individual employees in the OC area. With high inflation and an almost 4% unemployment rate according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, local fast-food workers are financially struggling and want this bill to be signed.
I spoke with Stacy, who works at the Chick-fil-A on S Main Street in Orange. She is a current freshman at Chapman University who is studying business with an emphasis in real estate. Stacy is working in order to help support her studies and hopes AB 1228 passes. She said she “would be able to work less and focus more on school.” Her Chick-fil-A location has not mentioned the wage increase at all as of a week ago.
Critics of the AB 1228 passing see this change as a financial devastation for individual McDonald's franchises. Specifically, The National Owners Association, an advocacy group of over 1000 McDonald’s owners, explain that this wage increase will cost their own restaurant $250,000 annually. They are worried that bills like AB 1228 will begin to pass in other states as well. The National Owners Association says that these restaurant owners want to be able to have autonomy over business decisions for individual McDonalds’ and their employees.
I spoke with Ryan, a current McDonalds employee on Katella Ave, about how this bill is not only a win for his coworkers at his level, but also his managers. According to Ryan, his managers are making around $19 an hour, so their wage would get increased significantly as well. Ryan said that he and his coworkers stand with AB 1228 passing, but did not mention how the owner felt about the issue.
AB 1228 is similar to AB 257, which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom a year ago. This is known as the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (“FAST Recovery Act”). FAST created the 10 member council that can dictate minimum wage, wage hours, and other working conditions. The difference between AB 257 and AB 1228 is that on AB 257, the council could increase the minimum wage up to $22 an hour and 3.5% annually.
I spoke with Logan, a UCI student who works at one of the busiest Starbucks in Southern California, located in Irvine. Logan wants the increase in minimum wage but believes it’s “not enough, but this is what happens when the government is involved.”
Many employees and labor unions see the minimum wage increase as a step in the right direction, but this is just the beginning. In fact, according to CNBC, “more than 320,000 workers have participated in at least 230 strikes this year.”
Starbucks still offers a tipping option, which people might think affects an employee's wage. However, I asked Logan about his experience with tipping.
“I don’t think it makes up as significant of a portion as people think at least here, which is kind of surprising considering this is one of the busiest Starbucks in Socal. I always grew up where you tip, if it’s $2 for a coffee or 20%. I mean, it was a weird thing to realize that people don’t. At least half the people that come through just don’t tip at all. Then the rest are like oh here’s the 25 cents in change we have”
I spoke with Logan on his last day of work, right before he quit. The wage, commute, and hours were not worth it for him to continue working at Starbucks.
With an upcoming election, we will have to see how AB 1228 will go into effect in restaurants like Chick-fil-A, McDonalds, and Starbucks all around the state.
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