COMP NEWS – California fast-food workers will start making $20 an hour this week, as a new state minimum wage edict officially goes into effect.
California fast-food workers cooking Big Macs or whipping Frappuccinos will start making a minimum wage of $20 an hour on Monday. For many, this means a 25% raise.
The new state minimum uniquely focuses on a particular segment, fast food, affecting some of the country’s biggest chains, including McDonald’s, Starbucks, Subway and Pizza Hut.
It’s a big win for cooks, cashiers and other fast-food workers – some of the lowest-paid jobs in the U.S. – whose wages have been growing at a faster clip since the pandemic, after decades of stagnation.
California is one of the country’s most expensive states; about half a million people are estimated to work in fast food here, mostly women, immigrants and people of color. Many live below the poverty line.
Sandra Jauregui from Sacramento is counting down the days to her first bigger paycheck in two weeks. After 18 years working at several Jack in the Box franchises, her pay will jump from $17.50 to $20. That means she could be bringing home another $120 each paycheck.
“It’s super great,” says Jauregui, 52, speaking in Spanish. “At the very least it’ll give me some breathing room … and make it easier to pay the rent and other bills.”
Although workers are happy about the wage increases, restaurant owners are worried about the costs.
Many restaurant owners expect workers to be working fewer hours. That was the main side-effect a decade ago, when Seattle hiked its minimum wage to $15, research suggests.
“I am used to being a champion of labor and I’m in this odd position,” says Michaela Mendelsohn, a longtime advocate for LGBT workers and also owner of six El Pollo Loco restaurants with about 170 employees.
Her restaurants lost shoppers after a pre-emptive price increase in February, she says. Now, the focus is on cutting costs by simplifying operations, changing how long it takes workers to make sauces, for example, or to close up for the night.
“We’re having to get more efficient,” Mendelsohn says. “So really what’s left is … to reduce labor hours. And I hate saying that.”
To read more about California’s new fast-food minimum wage, click here.
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