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LABOR VS BUSINESS BATTLE PLAYS OUT IN COMMITTEE HEARING
It was an at-times emotional hearing of the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee on Monday, as fast food franchise employees and owners took turns testifying for, and against, AB 257, the “FAST Recovery Act.”
The bill, by Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, would establish a Fast Food Sector Council within the Department of Industrial Relations, chaired by the secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
This council, overseen by the Legislature, would set wage and workplace regulations for a subset of California’s food service industry.
The main recipient of these regulations would be the fast food sector. But Jesse Lara, an El Pollo Loco franchisee, testified against the bill saying that it would also impact “coffee shops, bakeries, yogurt and ice cream counters, juiceries, delis, pizzerias and tens of thousands of independently owned and operated restaurants throughout the state.”
Lara called it an “alarming proposal” that he said would cost thousands of jobs in the state.
Also testifying against the bill was Sanna Shere, a Burger King franchisee. She runs a chain of restaurants started by her father, an immigrant, who opened his first Burger King in 1991.
“It’s a true American dream story and a powerful reminder of the opportunity the franchise business model provides,” she said.
Testifying in favor were Joseph Bryant, president of SEIU Local 1021, and Maria Bernal, an employee of Jack in the Box and a Fight for 15 activist.
“There’s a reason union density is effectively zero for fast food workers. There is a reason 85% of fast food workers experience wage theft, according to a recent survey. And there’s a reason enforcement alone will not work,” Bryant said.
Bernal, who testified in Spanish, at times broke into tears as she discussed the conditions in which she has had to work in the fast food industry.
Some alwmakers on the committee acknowledged that while AB 257 came to the Senate as an imperfect bill, it has merit.
“You’ve got even membership (between fast food workers and franchisees), you’ve got a cabinet secretary that can in fact veto whatever comes so that there’s something in the line of authority and it will be done in public and it’s transparent,” said Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz.
Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, said that the franchisees testifying on Monday will be free to continue operating as they have been, provided they are following state labor regulations.
“For all those owners who testified that they do well by their employees, keep doing well by your employees. Keep doing all those good things. Nothing is going to stop you from paying those better wages. Nothing is going to stop you from having the kind of relationship you do now,” she said.
One Democrat however was skeptical of the bill, and ultimately voted against it.
Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, said that he doesn’t agree that fast food is intrinsically different from other parts of the food service industry, necessitating its own regulatory council. He added that the bill may be unconstitutional in the amount of legislative authority it delegates to another agency.
“I’m really not sure that this is the best prescription for this problem at the current time,” he said.
Despite Newman’s reservations, the bill appears set to pass out of the panel and on to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Just scrolled through several weeks of Newsom tweets. Most are partisan attacks on Republicans from other states. Not a word about gas prices.”
- Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, via Twitter.
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