Last Updated on February 12, 2024 by BVN
Phyllis Kimber Wilcox
In April, the minimum wage for fast food workers, whose employers have sixty or more outlets in the state, will be raised to $20 per hour. Legislation authorizing the increase was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom last year.
“California is home to more than 500,000 fast-food workers who – for decades – have been fighting for higher wages and better working conditions,” Newsom declared when signing AB1228. The legislation takes California one step closer to fairer wages, safer and healthier working conditions, and better training, “by giving hard working fast-food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table.”
Many of those fast food workers are women and people who support families with their wages. As the legislation was announced, one such woman, Anneisha Williams stood by the Governor’s side. A mother of six children and a fast food worker, she took to the podium and spoke. “This is for my ancestors. This is for all the farm workers, all the cotton pickers, this is for them. We ride on their shoulders because they fought some rocky roads as well. This is our blood, this is our sweat and this is our tears,” she proclaimed regarding their work in the industry.
Studies Show Different Findings
The arguments over the effects of raising the minimum wage at the state as well as the federal levels have gone on for a long time and arguments both for and against its overall impact on the economy have also been debated. Depending on who you talk to or what study you review, increasing the minimum wage will mean fewer jobs, while in other studies any overall impact resulting from a wage increase for fast food workers is offset by the need for fewer social services and/or may not result in a loss of jobs.
Fast Food Council
The new legislation also establishes a Fast Food Council through the California Department of Industrial Relations. The council will consist of both business and labor leaders as well as a chairperson appointed by the Governor. The council is intended to be neutral and will make recommendations to various governmental agencies regarding policy, working conditions and industry standards. Although California has had other, similar advisory councils, this is the first to be dedicated to a single industry.
Williams, an employee of Jack in the Box, who stood beside the governor and inspired others with her speech the day he signed AB 1228 into law, recently spoke with Black Voice News about the new legislation and what it will mean to the people, like her, who are frontline workers and the industry in general.
BVN:
I saw your speech and I was so moved by it. And not just me, I sensed from the reaction of those in attendance that everyone present that day was moved by it. I don’t know what you call that? The power of yes? By the end, everybody was chanting, ‘Yes!’. I thought it was an inspiring speech. (Follow this link to view Williams’ speech in its entirety.)
AW:
Thank you.
BVN:
I know I’m calling it a speech, but you were talking about your struggles and your fight. So I think a lot of people don’t know what that is. Can you give us a bit about what the Fight for $15 has been about and how you got involved? But first, tell us a little bit about who you are.
AW:
My name is Anniesha Williams, I work at Jack in the Box, I am a shift leader at Jack.
BVN:
Can you tell us what that is?
AW:
A shift leader is basically someone in-charge under the management. You’re helping give people breaks, you’re in charge of the store if the manager is not there. You move like the manager but you’re under them. You don’t have higher power like that, you have some power though. I worked my way up [to that position] through blood, sweat and tears.
BVN:
Tell us about that. You started on the line?
AW:
I started out just as a regular crew member like everyone else. I still work the drive thru [window] but I move around in the store. It has its joys, but then you have jealousy with [co]workers and I’m battling that, [but the position] has its perks. According to Williams, some employees feel she thinks she is better than them because she is a shift leader.
It kind of bothers [me], but it took a lot to get where we’re at right now, not just for me but all fast food workers. [There were] a lot of closed doors and a lot of, ‘Yes, we’re with you.’ And [also] a lot of, ‘No, we don’t care what you guys have to say. You guys don’t deserve what you are getting.’ We’ve been through a lot of that. I’m doing this [Fight for $15] not just for me and my kids, but for all fast food workers who are afraid and when I say afraid, I mean afraid to speak up, afraid to just be them[selves].
The Fight for $15″ movement had its beginnings in 2012 in response to low wage workers’ inability to cover their costs of living while earning such a low salary. It was also triggered in part, due to the stressful working conditions that reportedly exist in many service industry jobs that pay minimum wage. The minimum wage in California in 2012, was $8 per hour.
BVN:
What do you think drives that fear?? Is it fear of losing your job or standing out?
AW:
Yes. Yes.
BVN:
How did you overcome that? You had to step out and say we deserve to be paid more. How did you make the decision to do that?
AW:
Because I have six kids!That’s one of the things. I had to think, ‘These short hours, these reduced] hours. Something has got to get done.’ If I don’t open my mouth— like they say, ‘Closed mouths don’t get fed.’—I’m not going to be able to feed my kids. So I had to [speak up].
BVN:
When you talk about short hours and cut hours do you think that’s industry wide? You don’t know when you’re going to be working or that your shift may change?
AW:
Correct. Sometimes, you don’t know until the end of the week on a Sunday. Or, sometimes they don’t post it on a Sunday, you don’t get it until a Monday and they expect you to know your schedule. That’s not right. You have a system that’s set up where you are supposed to be able to check your scheduling but sometimes that doesn’t work [or the schedule is] not even accurate and you’re [considered] at fault for that. There’s a lot of things that need to be changed and need to be heard. It’s time for workers to overcome that fear and start opening their mouths. I’m not saying you have to run and complain about everything, but open your mouths about justice. . . the right things. . . [about] the way it should be done. We all have mouths to feed.
Williams went on to acknowledge that life is not perfect or fair. But added, “It’s time to stop struggling in a multi billion dollar business that can afford to help and ‘a lot of these workers are crying for help.” According to Williams, many fast food workers are sleeping in their cars.
BVN:
Tell me about that? Are you saying there are employees in this industry who are homeless?’
AW:
Yes, There are some workers who are homeless. You might not even know they’re homeless. They don’t talk about it. They don’t look like it because they try to do the best they can to prepare [for work] and that is a struggle. Not being able to pay your rent is a struggle. This $20 [an hour] is going to change a lot of lives.
BVN:
I know you’re saying that $20 an hour is going to change a lot of people’s lives, but in many places in the state, like the LA area for example, prices and rent are expensive.
AW:
And rent just went up. It’s a start, it’s a big start for us and we got here and we’re going to aim to get higher. This is not our final stop. We want more and we deserve more and like Ciara (the singer) says, ‘There are levels to this.’ We’ve [seen] senators and mayors and we never thought we’d get there. I never thought we’d get there, talking to [officials].
BVN:
Were they listening ? Did you find they would hear you out whether or not you thought they were going to do anything?
AW:
Oh, yes, because guess what? Some of the people[we talked to] have been fast food workers so they know the struggles. Some of their parents [were]fast food workers.’
BVN:
Even though officials you talk to may have been fast food workers or whose parents were fast food workers, they hear arguments that fast food workers are kids, they don’t have responsibilities and they don’t need the money. Can you talk to us about that?
AW:
I’m so sick of hearing that. You know why? [Because of] some of the things we’ve had to take on the job. There have been [workers] who’ve lost their lives on the job, [were] spit on the job, had food thrown at them.
BVN:
Is there something particular about the circumstances fast food workers work under?
AW:
It has somewhat to do with the public, it can be a joy or it can be kind of cruel, not just with the public but with the industry. Some of it has to do with managers who have their favorites. They give them hours and take away your hours. I’ve had to deal with that. We’re trying to change that. We’re trying to come up with some type of fair scheduling.
BVN:
Is that part of what the fast food council will do? What some people may not be aware of is not only are you getting a salary increase but a fast food council is also being put in place to address some of the other issues in the industry. Let’s talk a bit about the new council’s role.
AW:
It’s important because we finally have a seat at the table. That’s what we have been asking for. Let’s see if we can negotiate. Let’s see if we can come up with something that works, not only for you, but for us. Let’s become one brain. Let’s stop fighting and bickering and pointing the finger.
BVN:
Although it’s new and the first in the nation for fast food workers, in California there’s been similar things, including a council where labor and business set standards, but unlike the others, this is for a single industry. It’s going to be split between business and labor and there’s going to be a chairperson appointed by the governor. What do you think about that?
AW:
I believe it’s going to be absolutely wonderful. I want it to feel like a family on the committee. I want there to be nuggets of understanding. This industry is not perfect, but we can make it what it should be. We just want to be heard. Everyone wants to be heard, to have that voice we’ve all been waiting for.
Williams went on to explain how her grandmother used to work in the fields, how she had picked cotton.
To let her [my grandmother] know that I’m out here fighting feels good because she wasn’t able to fight in times like that. The farm workers have just become a part of a union. History is being made, Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez paved the way for us.
BVN:
Those were some of the ancestors you were talking about in your speech.
AW:
Yes. I kept saying we’re going to do this, and God said ‘Let me show you.’
Follow this link to learn more about AB 1228.