What will California’s FAST Recovery Act do for Fast Food Workers?

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 15 September 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed California’s FAST Recovery Act on Labor Day, authorizing the creation of a council aimed to set minimum labor standards in fast food franchises. The council, composed of workers, franchise owners, corporate representatives and state officials, would also have the power to raise the minimum wage for fast food employees to $22. Of the 550,000 fast food workers in the state, most earn near minimum wage: $15 statewide for businesses with 26 or more employees, and higher in certain cities like San Francisco, where it’s $16.32. Advocates of the legislation say it would also create better redress for wage theft and health and safety hazards. Critics have filed a referendum to block the law and turn it into a ballot measure. We’ll talk about how the FAST Recovery Act could affect California’s economy and its fast food workers. Guests: Ken Jacobs, chair, Center for Labor Research and Education at UC Berkeley. Farida Jhabvala Romero, labor correspondent, KQED. Christopher Thornberg, director, Center for Economic Forecasting and Development, UC Riverside School of Business; founding partner, Beacon Economics. Crystal Orozco, worker, McDonald’s in Sacramento. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for Kikiweedy Podcasts comes from Rancho LaPuerta, a wellness resort on 4,000 acres located 45 minutes from downtown San Diego.
0:08.7	Established in 1940, Rancho LaPuerta offers adult summer camp-like vacations for individuals and groups.
0:15.0	Rancho LePuerta.com.
0:16.9	Switch to Comcast Business mobile and save hundreds a year in your wireless bill.
0:21.0	Comcast Business, powering possibilities.
0:23.5	Restrictions apply.
0:24.2	Comcast Business Internet required.
0:25.6	Comparates two unlimited intro lines and lowest price 5D plans of top three carriers.
0:28.5	Tax on fees extra, reduce speeds after 30 gigabytes of usage.
0:30.9	Data thresholds may vary.
0:33.2	From KQED.
0:53.3	The From KQED. From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Nina Kim. Coming up on forum, we take a deep dive into a new state law, California's Fast Recovery Act,
0:59.0	which supporters have called transformative for fast food workers.
1:02.0	The law creates a council to set labor standards and could raise wages up to $22 an hour.
1:08.0	Critics have already filed a referendum to try to put the law on hold and before the voters.
1:13.7	We'll talk about the new laws' effects on California's fast food workers and business owners.
1:18.5	Join us. I'm Nina Kim. Welcome to Forum. There are more than half a million fast food workers in California who'd be affected by a new state
1:44.7	law, AB257, known as the Fast Recovery Act. It sets up a council to decide minimum standards
1:51.9	for working conditions and wages. Supporters say fast food workers often face wage theft,
1:58.0	health risks, and unruly customers. Here's Governor Newsom signing AB257 on Labor Day.
2:04.2	We recognize our sectors of our economy, where we're falling a bit short. And one of those areas is fast food workers.
2:09.9	And I want to thank Assembly Member Holden in particular for AB257 and all of his hard work, a bill that empowers our workers, particularly in that
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.