California Department of Industrial Relations
AB 1228 – Fast Food CouncilSUBJECT: California’s Local Restaurant Owners Can’t Survive an Additional Wage Increase
To:Chair Hardeman and Members of the Fast Food Council:
On behalf of the undersigned local restaurant owners, we are writing to express our strong opposition to any further wage increases by the Fast Food Council this year or in 2025. In short, an additional wage increase would once again unfairly single out our livelihoods and cripple thousands of small business owners like us who are already struggling to survive the $20/hour minimum wage, our customers, and our employees.
Local restaurant owners are still trying to cope with the state’s new $20/hour minimum wage – a whopping 25% increase – that just went into effect in April. This increase dealt a devasting blow to our local restaurants and local jobs, resulting in higher food prices for families already struggling with the high cost of living.
It is both unjustifiable and incredibly punitive to single out local restaurant owners – yet again – for higher wages that no other industry is forced to pay.
In a July 2024 survey of local restaurant owners impacted by the $20/hour minimum wage law:
- 98% reported raising food prices;
- 89% reported reducing employee hours;
- 74% reported an increased likelihood of shutting down their restaurants;
- 73% reported limiting employee shift pick-up or overtime opportunities; and
- 70% reported reducing staff or consolidating positions as a result of the $20/hour minimum wage law.
The impacts of the $20/hour minimum wage are well-chronicled – with thousands of fast food employee layoffs, hundreds of restaurants shut down, and food prices at local restaurants up by 10% overall.
The $20/hour minimum wage is projected to cost local restaurant owners as much as $250,000 per restaurant, per year. We simply cannot survive another wage increase.
The overwhelming majority of California’s local restaurants are owned by people of color and women. As local restaurant owners, we’re proud to be a part of the fabric of our communities. Not only do we provide a place for families and friends to gather and share a meal; we provide jobs and career training, pay taxes, support local charities, contribute to our economy, and invest in our neighborhoods. If we’re forced to cut back, or close, the entire community stands to lose.
We strongly urge the Council to reject any additional wage increases for fast food workers. It would undoubtedly force many more local restaurants out of business, cause more fast food workers to lose their jobs, and further increase food prices for families.