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California fast food workers stunned as restaurant closes without warning over $20 minimum wage: ‘Only the beginning’
New York Post ^ | April 4, 2024 | Kristen Altus

Posted on 04/05/2024 5:19:47 AM PDT by george76

Another California small business and its workers have seemingly suffered at the hands of the state’s newly enacted $20 minimum wage.

...

When making their way to work Monday morning, Navarro and her team learned upon arrival that the restaurant owner had made the decision to close its doors for good.

The owner, Loren Wright, told local Fox affiliate KMPH that this was the “last thing” they wanted to do, but knew by Friday night the business likely wouldn’t be able to absorb the wage hike and didn’t “want to ruin their Easter Sunday.”

The new California statewide legislation went into effect Monday and enforces a $20 minimum wage for restaurants that have at least 60 locations nationwide, except those that make and sell their own bread.

...

“I can see their intentions with increasing the minimum wage, thinking that it will attract more people,” the ex-manager added, “but I honestly don’t think it will work. This is not the first business that’s closing. There’s already a few local businesses for me that are closing, so I feel like this is just only the beginning.”

Speaking on behalf of the now unemployed Fosters Freeze team, Navarro claimed they would have preferred working at a lower hourly rate than being laid off.

“From the people that I spoke to, my employees, we would have rather stayed at the wage that we did have before, just because now we don’t have a job,” Navarro said. “And those who are still working in the areas around us that went up to $20 an hour, they got their hours severely cut. And it’s a lot less people working on shifts. So their jobs got a lot more difficult.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: business; california; lemoore; minimumwage; smallbusiness
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To: jeffc

It could be that it applies to operations that are franchised, too. Those are the small owners connected to the law’s impacted number of 60?


61 posted on 04/05/2024 6:11:11 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: JayGalt

There are some freepers who do not understand basic economics or what goes into running a business. It used to be that fast food employed mostly teens/young adults and was a stepping stone to their careers. It’s also the reason why the food could be cheaper.

Business owners can only absorb so much before they have to cut hours and/or raise prices. Many have already had to raise prices due to bidenomics and are losing sales as a result.

Not to mention, when you raise minimum wage for the lowest paid workers, it really becomes a wage hike across the board. Those employees making $20 now will have to make more as well.


62 posted on 04/05/2024 6:12:06 AM PDT by LilFarmer
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To: george76

they will just have to learn to code


63 posted on 04/05/2024 6:13:17 AM PDT by mjp (pro-freedom & pro-wealth $)
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To: central_va
So the owner must have enough $$$$ to retire. Must be nice.

Maybe. And maybe they don't have nearly enough $$$$ to operate at a loss.

I think the real tragedy here is all of the laws that prevented you from doing the same thing they did. /sarc. Well ... either that or warped assumptions. But one of those two is a tragedy for sure.

64 posted on 04/05/2024 6:13:23 AM PDT by 70times7 (Serving Free Republic's warped and obscure humor needs since 1999)
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To: george76

Your government at work taking away your work


65 posted on 04/05/2024 6:13:35 AM PDT by butlerweave
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To: gundog

“Democrats are your friends. They’ll fight for a higher minimum wage while you’re employed, and higher food stamp benefits when you lose your job.”

Sadly, that works for a lot of Americans.


66 posted on 04/05/2024 6:14:33 AM PDT by brownsfan (It's going to take real, serious, hard times to wake the American public.)
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To: Gaffer
Yeah, looks like Foster's Freeze is a franchise. So this owner is shutting/selling(?) his franchise.

Staring to make sense now. Still wonder about the bread thing, though...

67 posted on 04/05/2024 6:20:04 AM PDT by jeffc (Resident of the free State of Florida)
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To: 4Runner

“Stupid employees.”

It was the politicians who passed the law.


68 posted on 04/05/2024 6:21:19 AM PDT by odawg
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To: vespa300

If the workers see that another business is offering $4/hour more pay for the same duties, they will be discontented and less happy with their situation.


69 posted on 04/05/2024 6:23:57 AM PDT by HIDEK6 (God bless Donald Trump. A)
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To: george76

Asst. Mgr. believed Foster Freeze was below 60 location threshold and could avoid the $20 minimum, but employees would soon be asking for it because “everyone else is getting $20”. They’ll quit and go for the higher wage....

....for a while


70 posted on 04/05/2024 6:27:15 AM PDT by chiller (Davey Crockett said: "Be sure you're right. Then go ahead'. I'll go ahead.)
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To: DoodleBob

And..... the real doodlebob has regained control of his thumbs, at least.


71 posted on 04/05/2024 6:32:29 AM PDT by Ikeon (I get up nice every morning and then, I run into stupid persons one after another until I give up. )
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To: mware

The bread has to weigh at least half a pound — that’s a giant biscuit!


72 posted on 04/05/2024 6:35:48 AM PDT by FoxInSocks ("Hope is not a course of action." — M. O'Neal, USMC)
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To: central_va
central_va: "So the owner must have enough $$$$ to retire. Must be nice."

Where was that claim in the article?

73 posted on 04/05/2024 6:36:29 AM PDT by Carl Vehse
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To: george76

Liberal ‘good intentions’ are the stones that pave the way to Hell.


74 posted on 04/05/2024 6:38:34 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: ComputerGuy

“Learn to make bread.”. Right you are, no finer example of the two tiered society and justice system! So hard to understand why we threw out the constitution for this.


75 posted on 04/05/2024 6:43:22 AM PDT by 2001convSVT (Asking questions is your right.)
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To: 4Runner

“What’d they think was going to happen?”

EXACTLY what they had intended. They’ve been complaining about fast food (they call it junk food, as if the food in table service restaurants is actually healthy) since I was a kid (meaning long ago). They FINALLY found a way to shut it down, at least in California.


76 posted on 04/05/2024 6:43:48 AM PDT by BobL (A society built on MERIT cannot survive on DEI (ref. South Africa, and now USA))
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To: george76

Unexpected


77 posted on 04/05/2024 6:44:29 AM PDT by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
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To: PTBAA

“A lot of people are going to find out that the real minimum wage is $0”

Actually, that’s their “maximum wage”.


78 posted on 04/05/2024 6:44:35 AM PDT by BobL (A society built on MERIT cannot survive on DEI (ref. South Africa, and now USA))
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To: central_va

“So the owner must have enough $$$$ to retire. Must be nice.”

Could be, or he’s SMART ENOUGH to get out before he goes broke trying to comply.


79 posted on 04/05/2024 6:45:20 AM PDT by BobL (A society built on MERIT cannot survive on DEI (ref. South Africa, and now USA))
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To: HIDEK6

>>>If the workers see that another business is offering $4/hour more pay for the same duties, they will be discontented and less happy with their situation.>>>

This would assume a couple of things. That the establishments paying the higher rate have unlimited capacity to hire the discontented workers, which is unlikely because the very viablity of their continuing to operate will be strained. We are already seeing layoffs and closing.

The reality is, especially in this sector, there are people willing to work for less, and do, often “cash under the table” because while they may be contented.....they are also hungry. Nothing like hunger as a motivator to work. Even Paul in the New Testament says.....you don’t work, you don’t eat.


80 posted on 04/05/2024 6:45:20 AM PDT by vespa300
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