A restaurant industry-backed coalition collected enough signatures to force a binding referendum on a new California law that would empower a state council to set wages and working conditions for 550,000 fast-food workers.

The FAST Act law had been scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2023, but the Save Local Restaurants group, which has raised millions of dollars for its fight, obtained a court order to block it and collected enough signatures to give voters the final say in November 2024.

The council, which would be the first of its kind in the nation, would regulate chain restaurants with at least 100 locations nationwide. It would also set standards for working conditions, maximum hours, security and more. Had it taken effect on schedule, the council could have set a $22 minimum hourly wage for fast-food workers this year and increased it up to 3.5% annually.

Fast-food workers said they would continue fighting for better treatment. “No corporation is more powerful than half a million workers joining together to demand a seat at the table,” said Mary Kay Henry, the Service Employees International Union president.

Sacramento Bee, Jan. 25

USA Today, Dec. 30, 2022