The minimum wage in the United States continues to be one of the hottest topics of the American summer. California has in fact passed the “Fast Recovery Act”, a law signed by the Democratic governor Gavin Newson on Labor Day to “pay tribute to the workers who keep our state running as we build a stronger and more inclusive economy for all Californians.”
While the catering giant McDonald’s leads the protest of the companies in the sector, on the other the law marks an important crossroads for the minimum wage of fast food employees, increasing it to $ 22 per hour from the current $ 15 approved in the Golden Been last April of 2016.
The measure will apply to all industry chains that have over 26 employees with at least 100 locations nationwide, and will be accompanied by the establishment of the nation’s first ad-hoc state council to determine new pay standards, schedules and the working conditions of the catering sector.
Already in 2019 the president Biden had signed a new decree to launch an economic aid package against Covid, but this time this action, as he commented Newsom, more specifically gives fast food workers “a stronger voice”. That is, it creates “a seat at the table to establish fair wages and critical health and safety standards,” reiterated the California governor dem.
Biden raises the minimum wage: $ 15 an hour against Covid
by our correspondent Federico Rampini
The companies in the sector immediately mobilized against the approval of the law. The accusation? A “hypocritical and ill-conceived” measure, according to the president of McDonald’s USA, Joe Erlinger. The risk, according to a study cited by the CEO of the International Franchise Association Matthew Haller, in fact, is that the measure could lead to an increase in prices in fast food restaurants, a + 20% in menu prices.
A ‘problem’ that would have as a counter-solution the replacement of cashiers with automatic stations for orders and payments. If “you can’t charge enough for food to make up for what happens from a business standpoint,” as noted Greg Flynn, president of Flynn Restaurant Grou which operates franchise brands in 44 states and owns 105 restaurants in the Golden State, then everything it will be “more difficult and less attractive”.