Operations

Restaurant chains raise over $12M for minimum wage battle

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October 3, 2022

Big food chains, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Starbucks and McDonald's, have raised over $12 million dollars in efforts to reverse a California law that could put the minimum wage in the fast food industry at $22 an hour. The state's current minimum wage is $15 an hour.

The fast food and fast casual brands have formed the "Save Local Restaurants" group to battle the FAST Recovery Act and have raised $12.7 million, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The legislation would go into effect as of January 1, 2023. The group wants the law to go through the state referendum process which would give voters the power to enact the law. The group is collecting signatures for the referendum. It needs over 623,000 by early December to stay the law and enact the referendum process.

The National Restaurant Association believes the legislation will hurt small businesses, employees and customers.

"For restaurant operators, the FAST Act threatens businesses already contending with a 16% increase in wholesale food prices and ongoing supply chain challenges. In fact, 45% of California's restaurant operators report that their business conditions are worse today than they were three months ago," Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO, National Restaurant Association, wrote in a statement.

The FAST legislation applies to fast food chains with more than 100 locations nationwide.

"Californians are going to bear the cost of this new law, so it is only right that they have a say in whether it should stand," Matthew Haller, the International Franchise Association's president, told the Journal.