A sign is posted in front of a McDonald’s restaurant on April 28, 2022 in San Leandro, California.
Justin Sullivan | beautiful pictures
The head of McDonald’s On Wednesday, the United States publicly criticized a landmark California bill that would give the state more control over the pay of fast food workers, saying it unfairly targets restaurants. big chain.
The remarks by Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s US, come after the California State Senate earlier this week passed a bill that would give a 10-person panel the authority to raise the industry’s minimum wage to $22 a year. hours for chains with more than 100 locations nationwide. The current California wage is $15.50 an hour. The board will also have the authority to establish safety conditions.
Supporters of the bill say it will empower fast food workers and help address industry issues such as unsafe working conditions and wage theft, which can include non-payment of wages. for employees to work overtime. But the FAST Act has been met with strong opposition from the restaurant industry, which is concerned about affecting restaurants in California and setting an example for other states.
“It imposes higher costs on one type of restaurant, while saving another. That’s true even if the two restaurants have the same revenue and the same number of employees,” Erlinger wrote in one. Letters posted to the company’s website on Wednesday.
For example, Erlinger said a McDonald’s franchise with two locations would be subject to the bill, as it is part of a large national chain. But he said owners of 20 non-chain restaurants would be exempt.
“Strong pay increases aren’t a bad thing… But if it’s essential to raise wages for restaurant workers and protect their welfare – and that – not all restaurant workers will benefit. star?” Erlinger wrote.
It’s rare for McDonald’s to speak out publicly against the state’s laws, though the chain is said to have pushed its franchisees to lobby against the California bill. According to Citi Research, nearly 10% of McDonald’s restaurants in the US are located in California.
McDonald’s operates only about 5% of its more than 13,000 locations in the US. Its franchisees run the rest, but the chain often lobbies on their behalf. IIn 2019, McDonald’s told the National Restaurant Association it will no longer oppose federal, state or local minimum wage increases.
Other restaurant companies are also fighting the bill. State records show that Chipotle Mexican BarbecueChick-fil-A, Brand Yum and International restaurant brand is one of a chain that has spent money lobbying California lawmakers to oppose the legislation.
The National Restaurant Association, an industry group, also spent at least $140,000 fighting the bill, according to California records. The organization’s president Michelle Korsmo said in a statement that 45% of restaurant operators in California report that business conditions are worse today than they were three months ago.
“The FAST Act will not achieve its goal of providing a better environment for the workforce, it will produce results that our community does not want to see,” she said.
A stricter version of the FAST Act that would make franchisors like McDonald’s liable for labor violations by franchisees has passed the California State Congress. But the number of changes made to the Senate version means the bill will either be re-voted on the panel or adjusted before it can make it to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk.
Newsom did not say whether he would sign or veto the bill, although his Treasury Department opposed the first version of the bill.
