CALIFORNIA, USA — Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that increases the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 per hour. The wage increase will go into effect on April 1, 2024.
"The future happens here first, California," Newsom said at a bill signing ceremony in Los Angeles Thursday.
The new law applies to fast-food chains with more than 60 locations nationally.
"It applies to 557,000 fast food workers all across the state of California, 30,000 different locations," said Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union.
This comes after a year of rallies and strikes by workers calling for increased wages. Fast food workers made an average of $16.21 per hour in 2022, according to data from the Shift Project.
"We did this. My workers, we did this," said fast-food worker, Anneisha Williams, a mother of six children.
"Never thought that I can move mountains with the help and the support of so many people," she added.
Henry said the majority of the more than 550,000 fast-food workers are employed by big chains, such as McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King.
"This law will cover both franchisee stores and direct corporate-owned stores," Henry said.
But there are some exclusions: the legislation says fast food restaurants that operate bakeries where they make their own bread for sale don't apply, places like Panera Bread.
"We went back and forth, and it was part of the negotiation. It's the nature of negotiation," Newsom said.
Restaurants inside grocery stores are also excluded if the grocer employs the workers.
The law creates a council that will set standards on wages, workplace conditions and working hours. The council will establish minimum wages for fast food workers once a year until 2029. The raises are capped under the law. They could also vary by region if the council chooses not to make increases statewide in the future.
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