SACRAMENTO -- Most fast food workers in California would get a $20 minimum wage next year — a nearly $5 per hour raise — under a deal announced Monday between labor unions and the industry that will avoid a costly referendum on the November 2024 ballot.
"A lot of us have to have two jobs to make ends meet, this will give us some breathing space," said Vilorio, who also works as a nanny. Furious, labor unions sponsored legislation this year that would have made fast food companies like McDonald's liable for any misdeeds of their mostly independent franchise operators in the state. Democratic lawmakers also restored funding to the Industrial Welfare Commission, a long-dormant state agency that has the power to set wage and workplace standards for multiple industries.
The bill must still be approved by the Democratic-controlled state Legislature and signed into law by Newsom. If passed and signed, the bill can only take effect if the restaurant groups pull their referendum from the ballot, which spokesperson Kathy Fairbanks said they planned to do. In the past, a referendum couldn't be removed from the ballot, but Newsom signed a law last week allowing it.