• From the Wall Street Journal:
"Fast-food workers in California are poised to get a $20 minimum wage next year under a deal announced Monday between labor unions and the restaurant industry, potentially killing a multimillion-dollar referendum that was slated to go on the state’s November 2024 ballot.
"Under the deal, state fast-food workers at chains with at least 60 national locations must be paid an hourly wage of $20 as of April 2024. California’s minimum wage is currently set at $15.50, and is poised to rise to $16 an hour in January.
"The deal, if approved by both houses of the state legislature by Thursday, would supplant a law passed last year that created a sharp fight between unions and the restaurant industry. That law would have established state-appointed fast-food advisory councils that could have raised sector pay to up to $22 an hour and would have had additional oversight over restaurants. Under the new deal, beginning in 2025, the councils can only set annual fast-food wages to increase by a maximum of 3.5%. That authority would end in 2029. The council can only make policy recommendations to the governing state agency for consideration."
