Cooks, cashiers rally in Oakland following first meeting of state's new Fast Food Council
Following heart-wrenching testimony by several employees of McDonalds, Wendy's and other chain restaurants at the first-ever meeting of California's newly formed Fast Food Council, workers rallied outside the Elihu M. Harris State Building in Oakland on Friday.
Formed by Assembly Bill 1228, and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2023, the new council will establish statewide procedures for adopting and reviewing fast food restaurant health, safety and employment standards. It will operate through Jan. 1, 2029 and will have limited rule-making powers.
The council will govern restaurants that belong to chains with 60 or more locations nationally. It is part of the Department of Industrial Relations, a state labor agency, and will include two fast food workers, two franchise owners, two fast food corporate representatives and a neutral member of the public.
The hope is to establish a vertical path of communication about worker conditions, in an industry where corporate heads can be distant from conditions within independently owned franchises.
The law included a wage hike. As of April, fast food workers will see a minimum wage hike to $20 per hour. That's above the new state level of $16 per hour, which started Jan. 1. According to the California Fast Food Workers Union, there are about a half a million such workers in the California food industry.
Although new, the law prohibits a fast food restaurant owner from retaliating against employees for participating in the council, many of the workers who testified in Friday's meeting, described retaliation from employers by having their hours cut ahead of the hike. Their testimony also described employee abuse and emotional suffering.
"I've been working for McDonald's 18 years," said an older woman through a Spanish translator. "I have been humiliated for having breast cancer. All through the chemotherapy, I didn't stop working. I didn't lose a day of work."
She describes being sent outside in the cold to mop because she had no hair, despite asking to be indoors where it was warmer.
"I saw the paperwork and saw that they had been taking hours off my salary," she said through tears. "They gave me three or four hours work, and they also took my half hour break. My manager said 'I cannot give you the hours because you cannot cook the potatoes. I'm not going to give you the hours because the only thing that you're good for is to make the burritos and the cheese. That's all you are good for.'"
After public comment, some of the new councilmembers replied to the speakers, including Richard Reinis, a corporate litigator representing various franchises, including Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
"I want you to know that we're here to learn," said Reinis. "We aren't people who know everything by any means, and we're listening. That's the point of my efforts here today, to hear what you have to say, to listen to it, interpret it, and hopefully, recommend to the Legislature and to the Department of Labor changes that will improve your lives. But we can only do it hearing your voices."
