Should Foster City Fast-Food Workers Make $15 An Hour?

By City News Service:

Fast-food and other low-wage workers will be joined by union activists Tuesday for a series of protests in the Bay Area and across the country as part of a continuing campaign for a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

The local protests, organized by the Service Employees International Union, will include fast-food, home-care and child-care workers, along with other “underpaid” employees, according to organizers.

In San Francisco, a rally was held at City Hill from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

According to organizers, similar rallies will be held across California and in other states, including Ohio, Florida and Virginia as part of a nationwide call for $15-an-hour wages and union rights. Union officials say more than 60 million Americans, including 3.2 million Californians, are paid less than $15 an hour.

The statewide minimum wage is $9 an hour but is set to increase to $10 an hour in January.

Organizers behind Tuesday’s rallies are backing a proposed statewide initiative they hope to get on the November 2016 ballot that would raise the California minimum wage to $15 by 2020 and guarantee full-time workers receive at least six paid sick days per year. A separate proposed statewide initiative would raise the wage to $15 an hour by 2021.

Opponents of the wage increases, including many business groups, have argued that the raises will force companies to lay off workers or boost the prices of goods and services to meet the increased costs.

In July, McDonald’s implemented a salary policy guaranteeing that workers at company-owned restaurants are paid $1 an hour more than the prevailing minimum wage in the communities where the eateries are located. The policy also enables workers to accrue paid time off after one year of service.

Some union officials were critical of the policy, noting that it does not apply to franchise restaurants, where owners can set their own salaries. Only about 10 percent of McDonald’s restaurants are company-owned.