Locals in Chico react to historic fast food bill
CHICO, CALIF. — A bright neon reads “Open 24 hours” as the chatter of traffic makes its way downtown. Most fast food places are open all day and all night and bring in a revenue of about $330 billion to the United States.
California lawmakers passed a historic fast food legislative bill called the Fast Food Recovery Act (AB-257).
The bill will create a 10-member fast food council to set a standard of wages, hours and working conditions.
“...everything seems to be going up continually. It makes it a struggle that its happening so fast, but I do believe that people need to earn more. [It’s] just the pricing of slices. It’s impossible to keep a slice under $5, and it is what it is,” Said the Owner of Chico Celestino’s, Enzo Perri.
A recent study from UCLA Labor Center reveals that about 66% of fast food workers have faced health and safety hazards on the job, amounting to about 40% of injuries in the workplace.
"So you might as well also include the people that are in fast food doing literary god’s work, because they are out there until 12 a.m.; stuff like that. Fast food is open way later than anything else. So, yeah. They deserve it,” shared Haven Wilke, a Chico local.
According to recent data from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 300,000 people in California work in either fast food or as a counter worker.
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