Michael Hiltzik: The fast-food industry gears up to kill another pro-worker state law
Political PR and advertising firms in California are going to owe Gov. Gavin Newsom a huge favor. That's because by signing the so-called Fast Recovery Act on Sept. 5, he opened the door to what could be hundreds of millions of dollars in spending by fast-food companies to kill it.
The act — formally the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, or AB 257 — creates an appointed council that could set wage and other workplace conditions for fast-food workers.
The council would be empowered to set a minimum wage as high as $22 an hour in 2023, though there is reason to doubt that wages would hit that ceiling.
(The state minimum wage, currently $15 an hour for employers of 26 workers or more, and $14 for smaller businesses, will rise to $15.50 for all on Jan. 1.)
The restaurant industry has already taken steps to place the law before voters through a ballot measure.
If the industry can collect about 623,000 valid voter signatures by the first week of December, the referendum would go on
