Fast Food Prices Rise in California After Statewide Minimum Wage Increase
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Chain restaurants in California are raising prices and turning to automation to help offset the impact of the recently enacted $20 minimum wage law for fast-food workers.
The Details: Since September, when California initially moved to require the wage adjustment, prices at fast food restaurants have risen by 10% overall, outpacing jumps in every other state. Mexican food chain Chipotle reported prices rising around 7% during the first week of April compared with last year.
For Context: The law bumped wages from $16 and applies to restaurants with more than 60 national locations.
How The Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum interviewed restaurant owners and consumers alike. The Wall Street Journal (Center bias) reported speaking to a few consumers who said they turn to mom-and-pop restaurants more often now. The Washington Times (Lean Right bias) spoke to a man who owns 140 Burger Kings and is accelerating his switch from human employees to digital kiosks to cut back on expenses. Business Insider (Lean Left bias) spoke to Chipotle CEO Jack Hartung who said it’s still too early to tell how consumer behaviors will change.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Chipotle says California's minimum wage pushed menu prices up nearly 7%
California's $20 wage for fast food workers is just a few weeks old, and the effects on workers and customers are beginning to emerge.
At Chipotle, the law drove a 20% increase in wages for its restaurant staff in the Golden State, the company said during its earnings call on Wednesday.
To offset that cost, menu prices notched up about 6% to 7% for customers in California, CEO Brian Niccol said.
From the Center
California Fast-Food Chains Are Now Serving Sticker Shock
Restaurants for months have said menu prices in California would rise as the state raised the minimum wage for fast-food workers. Now they are following through.
Consumers picking up burgers, burritos and chicken sandwiches at chains in the Golden State are grappling with prices that for months have been rising at a faster clip than in other states, according to market-research firm Datassential.
Since September, when California moved to require large fast-food chains to bump up their minimum hourly pay to $20 in April, fast-food and fast-casual restaurants in California have increased...
From the Right
Fast food chains find a way around $20 minimum wage: Get rid of the workers
In response to recent minimum wage increases in California, fast food restaurants across the state are shifting to automation to get rid of wage-earning humans.
The move to making customers place orders at digital kiosks alleviates what owners say is the financial strain of rising labor costs after the minimum wage for the state’s fast food workers increased on April 1 from $16 to $20 per hour.
Harsh Ghai, a Burger King franchise owner who manages 140 outlets along the West Coast, is leading the transition to automation. He plans to introduce...
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