Mill Valley, CA: Workers at In-N-Out location behind counter take orders. (Photo: David Tran Photo, Shutterstock)
More Fast Food Workers Transition Out Of Industry As AB 1228 Start Date Grows Closer
‘The $20 law was a big mistake, and it will be a slow burn’
By Evan Symon, January 13, 2024 2:30 am
With the AB 1228 fast food minimum wage bill now only a month-and-a-half away from being enacted and moving up pay to $20 an hour for employees in the industry, many are now preemptively looking at other lines of similar work due to signs that a big firing period could happen in the next few months.
While some stores have invested in more automated technology, raised prices, or outright just closed stores in preparation for the wage change, many have resorted to firing employees preemptively to stay afloat. Already, over 1,200 Pizza Hut drivers have had announced lay-offs, with drivers to be replaced by services such as DoorDash and Uber Eats in the coming months. Recently, the Globe talked to fast food employees who are worried about what the new wage will bring for them later this year. But others, rather than wait, decided to either begin looking elsewhere for work or already quit, knowing that they would likely be fired soon.
“I moved from delivering for my place to DoorDash,” explained Armando, a Los Angeles driver who until last week worked for a pizza restaurant. “We were getting heavy hints that we would be dropped. Also, despite having drivers, like half the delivery orders came from Door Dash or Uber Eats or other places. So this was what you would call a lateral move.
“I’m paying for college by doing this, and you know, $20 an hour would be nice, but if I’m let go because they can’t afford to stay in business otherwise, that $20 doesn’t mean anything. That’s why I went to Door Dash. It doesn’t pay as well, but hey, I get my own hours now. And in LA, there are always people ordering.
“I think saying I’m mad at the bill for being passed is wrong. Everyone always needs a higher paycheck. But I’m mad at the way they did it, just have it go up all the sudden like that. If it was a little at a time, maybe everyone could have kept their jobs. But no, it was all at once, and now look. They’re either firing or talking about firing people.”
Others are looking at better options.
“I know I won’t be here in six months,” added Shannon, a fast food cashier in Orange. “We ordered one of those big touch screens so people can order through that and we’re removing two registers for more counter space for deliveries. Writing is on the wall for a lot of us.
“I’ll have my degree in May, so hopefully things will line up so I can transition out right into a better paying job. But I’m kind of in a panic about it. Money is tight, and I need this job to be there as long as possible, and it looks like there will be cuts in March or April. I had planned for this job or an internship to carry me through, but then this new law happened.
“And you know what really sucks? A lot of cashiers are elderly, working a job because they need to and this bill is not going to help them.”
The future of fast food in California
Amanda Hernandez, a fast food consultant, told the Globe, “For years, fast food jobs were for teenagers needing a job, people in between jobs needing some money coming in, people above 60 needing a job later in life. That sort of crowd. But, for the last few decades, this has been a career for people more and more.”
“This California $20 an hour law, it looks good on paper, catering towards the career workers, but it just won’t do that. Employers will be less likely to hire the usual part-timers in the industry in favor of people seeing this as a career or long-term work. On top of that, those same career workers are now being scrutinized more for the higher costs they bring through higher wages, being worked just enough for the company to not having to pay insurance.”
“This is why these firing are happening in California, and why less and less people will be employed by them. I know people at some fast food companies who legitimately asked me if there are minimum employee laws in the works in California. What does that tell you? It’s not surprising that people now are looking into other areas of work before the law comes into effect. It hasn’t gotten a lot of focus, but some are even helping them transition out to other careers.”
“The $20 law was a big mistake, and it will be a slow burn. A bunch of firings won’t happen all at once most likely, but instead be tapered out afterwards. Don’t look just for those big firings like with Pizza Hut. Look at the state employment records in total employees in the industry throughout the year. It is going to be a noticeable decline.”
As for the employees facing an uncertain future, 2024 is going to be a trying year.
“Uncertain is the right word,” continued Armando. “I just wanted a job to help me through college in something I liked doing. It shouldn’t be too hard to ask for.”
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Democrat Assemblyman Chris Holden authored AB 1228, it was passed by the Democrat controlled legislature and Democrat Gov. Newsom signed into law. Democrats doing what Democrats always do and that is to destroy the state and the state’s economy with every bill they pass into law.
Yeah, it had to be a Democrat to author that disgusting bill. It just had.
Last line, 7th para: “…but then this new law happened.”
NO! The law didn’t just happen, Skippy…it was DEMOCRATS DEMOCRATS DEMOCRATS killing business, which is part of who they are and what they do. It wasn’t just magic or a fireball from outer space or “just happened,” it was LIBERALS destroying business. Get smart about what’s happening around and to you!!!
OTOH, it might not be so bad from a customer standpoint: Choosing between a half-conscious, slovenly, pierced and tattooed, blue-green-pink-purple-haired, dirty fingered Gen Z and a shiney, new kiosk that doesn’t hate me because I’m a senior and White…well, give me a nanosecond…OK, I’ll go with the tech waiter. No tip, either…win-win.
The CA legislature, waking up to disaster, COULD conceivably reverse this nightmare of a law (as if!) but didn’t the fast food restaurants make a deal with the SEIU last September? So in other words, sounds like they caved, and the $20 minimum wage and AB 1228 will remain, as I understand it.
https://californiaglobe.com/fl/california-unions-and-fast-food-companies-compromise-on-20-minimum-wage/
Another disastrous fast food piece of legislation, however, AB 257, will be on the November ballot. This will install more unelected totalitarians, uh I mean, bureaucrats —- a so-called “Fast Food Council” — that will have the power to mandate EVERYTHING in fast-food shops (and next EVERY business, presumably) from hours and conditions, and wages, etc., even though we already have substantial and sufficient employee protection law on the books; in fact more than sufficient, nowadays. So at least that is being contested. Thus if we have a clean-enough election voters may be able to knock it down this coming Nov. 2024
I should have been clearer: AB 257 was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor but is being challenged by the restaurant industry to get rid of the law. They managed to get enough signatures for it to appear on the November 2024 ballot. AB 257 is the “Fast Food Council” tyrannical overseer law.
Another casualty of AB 1228? Maybe:
https://www.foxla.com/news/pea-soup-andersens-closed
This is SO SAD to so many of us who grew up in California.
Its not only $20 an hour minimum – CA wants to CONTROL how fast food runs their business and have set up their own board to oversee private business on how they pay.
This is nothing but private take over, where the result is customers will pay more and be having “service fees” to accommodate the rise in wages forced upon these businesses.
Who does it hurt most? the POOR/Middle class — Democrats do NOT care for middle class its BS line they give.
$20 motivates business to replace workers with robotic automation – this will hurt many with job losses.
A-lot of people don’t know the minimum wage was a concept created by the Eugenics movement in the 1920’s. If you go to old eugenics journals, they talk about this openly. The idea is to make lower-skilled and entry-level “imbeciles” unemployable by making it impossible for them to sell their labor at its value. Because they are unemployable, they can be shifted out of society and rendered incapable of supporting children.
Interesting.
The irony of it all.
I think the imbeciles that pass these bills are unemployable outside of the political realm and are incapable of meaningful work including raising children! Power and control is all they have to hang on to.
They are not altruistic public servants and they have destroyed the fabric of this country.
This bill is meant to hurt small business owners and the employees that they claim to help. More will end up on the government dole as they will be forced out of work. Fast food work was never meant to be a livelihood.