Groundbreaking California fast food law heads to statewide referendum and big political fight

In a giant victory for the fast-food trade, California’s secretary of state on Tuesday stated that sufficient signatures have been collected to set off a statewide referendum on the landmark Quick Meals Accountability and Requirements Restoration Act.

Why it issues: The regulation, AB 257, was hailed as groundbreaking by labor advocates as a means to enhance working circumstances within the fast-food trade when it was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September.

• It might set up a council to set industrywide well being and security requirements, and doubtlessly set a fast-food minimal wage as excessive as $22 an hour.
• The referendum, at a minimal, delays the regulation’s implementation by greater than a yr. The vote will not be held till November 2024.
• Opponents spent almost $14 million on the poll measure to problem the regulation, per California state information.

What they’re saying: The fast-food trade, which has argued the regulation would put eating places out of enterprise, and set off extra inflation, celebrated the referendum in a raft of statements.

• “We’re happy that Californians will get the possibility to train their constitutional proper to vote on this regulation and can proceed to assist the operators, small enterprise homeowners, and employees that make the restaurant trade so vital to our clients’ lives,” Sean Kennedy, the Nationwide Restaurant Affiliation’s government vp for public affairs, stated in a press release.
• Advocates stated they’re going to preserve preventing for its passage: “Regardless of fast-food companies’ efforts to distort the referendum course of, we all know California voters see by their tips,” Mary Kay Henry, president, Service Workers Worldwide Union, stated in a press release.

Our thought bubble, through Axios Latino editor Astrid Galván: This can be a large blow to Latino fast-food employees, who make up 60% of the workforce, and who helped move the regulation. It might additionally stymie plans for related legal guidelines that advocates deliberate to introduce in different states.