Silicon Valley Fast-food Owners Could Pay For Workers' Rights Training

It’s been a bully week for fast-food workers successful Silicon Valley.

Employees astatine section McDonald’s, Taco Bell and different fast-food franchises roared pinch applause Tuesday erstwhile nan Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved creating a training programme for fast-food workers connected their state-mandated labour rights. While workers support nan move, shop owners opportunity it’s unnecessary arsenic they already supply training.

Supervisors will reappraisal options successful August for a full-day training people connected topics specified arsenic costs theft and benefits; sick parental and family leave; workplace safety; pregnant worker protections; and whistleblower rights, among others. A last determination would beryllium made sometime after. Supervisor Susan Ellenberg requested a nationalist proceeding nary later than July 30 for some workers and section fast-food franchise owners to springiness input.

Supervisor Betty Duong, who was an employment rule lawyer from 2014 done 2016 and represented activity cases earlier authorities labour commissioners, projected nan training idea.

“I would opportunity half of nan cases that I worked connected were mini business owners who did not person entree to HR companies aliases attorneys aliases accidental noncompliance pinch nan changing scenery of labour law,” Duong said earlier nan vote.

Her connection proved divisive successful a vale balancing its position arsenic an entrepreneurial haven pinch deepening wealthiness disparities — an situation economists recently warned is fertile for “instability and revolt.”

While scores of Spanish-speaking fast-food workers and labour advocates said successful support of nan idea, section franchisees showed up to lambast nan thought of paying to amended their workers.

County officials, who must equilibrium a monolithic structural fund spread and are staring down a imaginable fiscal calamity, propose having employers salary a interest for workers who enroll successful nan training to retrieve nan county’s costs for processing nan program. Supervisors are mulling complete incentives for employers to bargain into nan training, specified arsenic an charismatic seal of recognition.

“We person galore labor that person worked for america complete 20 years and we walk extended clip pinch them,” Stephen Peat, who owns 3 McDonald’s franchises successful Gilroy, said astatine nan meeting. “We person a wide unfastened doorway policy. We make judge our labor cognize who we are and we cognize who they are and return bully attraction of them pinch tons of training. This training is unnecessary, it’s duplicative.”

Others based on nan training is basal and that workers aren’t ever informed of their rights.

Sela Steiger, a unit lawyer astatine Legal Aid astatine Work, who co-authored a caller study connected fast-food workers’ pregnancy and parenting struggles, shared her findings astatine nan meeting. The study of 405 workers revealed predominant parental authorities violations, specified arsenic restrictions connected parental time off aliases breastfeeding astatine work. About 95% of workers surveyed said they didn’t cognize astir miscarriage leave, and 85% said they didn’t cognize astir paid bonding leave.

“Nearly 9 successful 10 (surveyed) worried astir retaliation for taking clip disconnected including request for prenatal attraction and urgent aesculapian care,” Steiger said successful nationalist comments.

Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga said she utilized to beryllium a mini business proprietor and understands wherever franchisees are coming from. She questioned whether nan region had a scheme to measurement nan occurrence of nan training program.

“To beryllium honest, astatine this clip erstwhile resources are tight, we’re going to beryllium asked by nan nationalist for measurable outcomes,” she said, adding  the region should connection different incentives for business owners, specified arsenic awards of free equipment.

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo connected X.