Starting April 1, the minimum wage for most fast-food workers in California will jump to $20 an hour — the highest in the U.S.

Starting Monday, most California fast-food workers will earn at least $20 an hour — the highest minimum wage across the U.S. restaurant industry. Yet the pay hike is sparking furious debate, with some restaurant owners warning of job losses and higher prices for customers, while labor advocates tout the benefits of higher wages.

The new law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last fall, takes effect on April 1, requiring that fast-food chains with at least 60 locations nationwide pay workers at least $20 an hour. The means the state’s 553,000 fast-food workers will earn more than the state’s $16 minimum wage for all other industries.

The new baseline wage comes as the fast-food industry is seeing booming earnings, with big chains like McDonald’s enjoying strong revenue growth and wider profit margins in recent years. That’s partly due to menu prices that have far outpaced inflation, with fast-food costs surging 47% over the past decade, compared with an average of 29% for all other prices, according to a new analysis from the Roosevelt Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

  • maynarkh
    431·
    7 months ago

    From Snopes, just thought it is relevant.

    McDonald’s workers in Denmark truly make more than $20 an hour. It’s worth repeating, however, that these wages were not determined by the country’s minimum wage. In fact, Denmark does not have a nationwide minimum wage. Rather, the country has a robust union presence and issues such as wages and vacation time are often decided via collective bargaining.

    Another point that is often raised when comparing McDonald’s wages in Denmark vs. the United States is how much these wages impact menu prices. While we can’t provide any exact figures here, we can say that the change in price isn’t extreme. A review by The New York Times, for instance, found that Big Macs cost “about 27 cents more on average in Denmark than in the United States.” But according to the “Big Mac Index” from the Economist, a Big Mac costs 76 cents less in “Denmark (US $4.90) than in the United States (US$5.66) at market exchange rates.”

    • sin_free_for_00_days
      240·
      7 months ago

      I remember reading an article about strawberry pickers out here in California about 25 years ago. The math in the article said they could triple the pay of the pickers, and it would add a similar amount (around $0.20) per carton at retail. But we can’t do that for some fucking reason.

      • Flying Squid
        130·
        7 months ago

        Just think… if all the produce we bought was 20 cents more at retail, we’d have to spend… well I don’t know exactly, but at least an additional $3. Can anyone afford that?!

      • gedaliyahM
        50·
        7 months ago

        That math is just a little lie that makes up a part of the Big Lie. The truth is that increasing workers’ wages does not tend to lead to price inflation in most markets. It simply reduces profits and C-level bonuses.

        Funny how nobody ever talks about the labor cost of CEO pay driving up prices 🤔

      • PatFusty
        62·
        7 months ago

        Imagine not having to use illegal immigrants as an option yet you guys would rather pay $.20 less.

        • nomous
          131·
          7 months ago7 months ago

          By “you guys” you mean the executives at Dole and Delmonte that would rather pocket the $0.20 per pint themselves than pay a fair wage, right?

      • CosmicTurtleEnglish
        31·
        7 months ago

        My assumption is that it’s only $0.20 because the assumption is that the C-suite of whoever is selling the strawberries is expected to lower their profit margins.

        And we know that’s never going to happen.

    • Flying Squid
      100·
      7 months ago

      27 cents more for a Big Mac? That’s outrageous! I won’t pay it! Bring those guys back down to $7.25 an hour so I can save a quarter and two pennies when I buy fat and salt!

    • madcaesar
      51·
      7 months ago

      These numbers are meaningless without average household income figures.

      • maynarkh
        50·
        7 months ago

        As per the CEIC, Denmark has significantly higher incomes on average than the US at large, but still around half of Californian incomes.

        (US/DK)