Fast food workers across California planning a statewide walk out on strike next week.
A strike is set to begin next week as part of a statewide protest on June 9 organized by the Service Employees International Union and its Fight for $15 and a Union campaign. SEIU organizers say the strikes are part of a rallying effort around Assembly Bill 257, a proposal which advocates say would create unprecedented layers of protection for the state’s roughly 550,000 fast-food workers. AB 257 would also make California the first state to establish a Fast Food Sector Council charged with setting wages, working hours, and other health and various safety standards for the entire industry, and the bill would also hold companies jointly liable for the labor law violations of their franchises.
“It’s a race to the bottom,” SEIU president David Huerta said. “By being able to raise the standards, not just the conditions but also economically, we really create better jobs. “These are billion dollar corporation that are making a significant amount of profit, and doing so by rigging these systems built on the backs of low-wage workers.”
The bill is set to be up for a vote in the state Senate this summer after passing in the Assembly in January. The Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee is also expected to review and vote on the bill June 8 before it appears on the Senate floor. The SEIU has organized a number of strikes advocating for better working conditions over the last year, spotlighting a slew of issues vulnerable workers face, including wage theft, violence from customers, COVID-19 risk and extreme heat.