CA is going to mandate a minimum wage for food workers of $20/hr. One of the ironies here is that there are probably many Liberal Arts majors who make about that in their first job out of college. The difference is that they had to spend four more years sitting in classrooms and spend about $100,000 or more!
AB 1228 applies to fast-food chains with at least 60 locations nationwide — except for those that make and sell their own bread. The bill’s landmark change is a minimum wage hike to $20 per hour, almost $5 higher than the Golden State’s minimum wage of $15.50.
It would also see the establishment of a Fast Food Council to set wages and make recommendations for working conditions. The council has the power to increase the new minimum wage each year through 2029 up to 3.5% or the average change in the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners, whichever is lower.
To stay in business they will have to automate as much as possible or make burgers with little slivers of beef. A couple of weeks ago I got a Big Mac from this one location and the two beef patties were virtually non-existent. I was like eating a bread and lettuce sandwich.
Lets see, 7 hourly employees on duty x $15.50 = $108.50 an hour of labor. 3 Hourly employees on duty x $20 = $60 an hour of labor. 3 employees Plus a manager on duty with automated drink dispensing, automated fries prep, automated protein prep, order by kiosk/mobile app only and payment card/cash app only. And no dining in, public restrooms. What could possibly go wrong.
I guess at some point the hourly wage will have an effect on the pricing, but at what point? And when do we know?
If I had employees making 1 dollar an hour, I’m still pricing my items to sell. You’re not getting a discount. I’m charging what I believe people will pay. At what point does the hourly wage force me to raise prices? A more likely scenario is cutting back on employees and automation.
I’m not sure a McDonald’s can absorb anymore than 3 employees making 20 dollars an hour and still make a profit. Not unless it’s a super busy McDonald’s.
Doesn’t change the fact that mathematically raising wages speeds the process.
There only two main variables. The cost of automation vs the cost of labor. If automation becomes cheaper, there’s more pressure to automate. If labor becomes more expensive there’s more pressure to automate.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing…… but raising minimum wage is just going to pay fewer workers more money.