California's $20 minimum wage hike will 'hurt the most vulnerable' says Ted ... trends now
Republicans are claiming that California's new $20 fast food minimum wage will prompt restaurants to simply replace workers with self-checkouts and 'robot cooks.'
Starting Monday a new law kicked in in the Golden State requiring at least $20 an hour wages for workers at fast food chains, pay that could amount to a 25 percent raise for many.
The statewide minimum wage is currently $16 hour, though many of the state's larger cities have a minimum that goes beyond that.
Democrats in the state legislature passed the law last year in part as an acknowledgement that many of the more than 500,000 people who work in fast food restaurants are not teenagers earning some spending money, but adults working to support their families.
But Republicans insist consumers will pay.
Republicans are claiming that California 's new $20 fast food minimum wage will prompt restaurants to simply replace workers with self-checkouts and 'robot cooks'
'As if prices in California aren't high enough. Fast food prices are already rising, and employees are being replaced by self-checkout kiosks and soon robot cooks,' Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., told DailyMail.com.
'Nearly everyone will be worse off: higher prices, fewer jobs, fewer eating options as places close, and fewer small businesses. Ultimately this new $20 minimum wage will affect nearly every job, with similar results.'
The new law will impact national chains like McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway, Del Taco, In-n-Out, and Starbucks who have at least 60 stores nationwide and offer limited to no table service.
The median fast-food worker in the U.S. earned $13.43 an hour in 2022, while those in California made an average of $16.60 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The new minimum equates to an annual salary of $41,600.
Starting Monday a new law kicked in in the Golden State requiring at least $20 an hour wages for workers at fast food chains, pay that could amount to a 25 percent raise for many
Sen. Ted Cruz insisted people aren't trying to feed a family of four while 'flipping burgers'
'As if prices in California aren't high enough. Fast food prices are already rising, and employees are being replaced by self-checkout kiosks and soon robot cooks,' Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., told DailyMail.com
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, insisted
