California fast food workers could see another pay increase of up to 70 cents should a cost-of-living-adjustment motion move forward.
The current minimum wage for fast food workers is $20, so a 70-cent increase would bring pay up to $20.70 per hour.
The California Fast Food Council, comprised of fast-food workers, restaurant owners, and state officials, recently approved a motion to consider a cost-of-living adjustment at an upcoming meeting, as first reported by Reuters.
The approval means that the council will further discuss the motion at its next meeting, slated for either April or May, but a vote will not occur during the upcoming meeting.
Last August, in a memo sent to KTLA 5 News, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) asked that the minimum wage be increased to $20.70 per hour by Jan. 1, 2025, “to keep up with the rising cost of living.”
“As California’s fast-food industry grows, cooks and cashiers are doubling down on their fight across the state to win safe and healthy stores, stable hours, pay that keeps up with inflation, and training to understand their rights on the job,” the memo read.
California’s law empowers the council to regulate fast-food restaurants that are part of chains with more than 60 locations nationwide, including wage increases every year of either 3.5% or the increase in the consumer price index, whichever is smaller.
This would be the first wage increase wage for the council since the state created it last year, should it move forward.
Last April, the minimum wage for fast-food workers statewide increased from $16 per hour to $20.
