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Decades-Old San Francisco McDonald’s Has To Shut Down After New Minimum Wage Law Goes Into Effect

In yet another example of business-ignorant government officials destroying the economies over which they have an obscene amount of power by pursuing obviously horrible policies based on their ignorant expectations of business rather than the reality of running a successful business, a McDonald’s location that was open for decades in San Francisco had to shut down because of the state’s new minimum wage law.

In a letter posted at the entrance to the closed store, the owner wrote, “It has been a pleasure for my entire team and I to serve the 19th Avenue and Ingleside neighborhoods for more than 30 years.” He continued, “We are thankful to have been a part of your daily meal routine, either for an Egg McMuffin in the morning or a Happy Meal with the kids after an afternoon of shopping at Stonestown.”

At the time the disastrously bad bill was signed, California Assemblymember Holden said, “Today, we witnessed the signing of one of the most impactful fast food wage laws that this country has ever seen. We did not just raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour for fast food workers. We helped a father or mother feed their children, we helped a student put gas in their car, and helped a grandparent get their grandchild a birthday gift.”

Assemblymember Holden added, “Last month, when we were knee deep in negotiations, hundreds of workers slept in their cars and missed pay days to come give their testimony in committee and defend their livelihood. Sacrifice, dedication, and the power of a government who serves its people is what got us to this moment. My goal for AB 1228 was to bring relief and solutions where they were needed and together with my colleagues and Governor Newsom, that is what we have done. Thank you to the SEIU and all who supported this important effort. We, as a state, should be proud.”

Similarly, David Huerta, President of SEIU California and SEIU USWW, said, “After ten years of vibrant and courageous activism, which included raising the minimum wage for all workers in the state and bringing billions of dollars into working families’ pockets, fast food workers have now achieved something historic. We extend our deepest gratitude to the Governor for his leadership in fighting poverty, empowering workers, and moving us toward a more just and equitable society.”
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SatanBurger · 36-40, F
That's not the whole story, the landlord refused to negotiate a long-term and "sensible" rent agreement for the location.

Here's a nice comment from a redditor about franchise businesses who expanded despite minimum wage raises.

https://www.reddit.com/r/California/comments/1dg0n8b/mcdonalds_is_considering_leaving_california_due/

Right wing doom and gloomers have been claiming a loss of 10,000 jobs since the minimum wage increase kicked in. Just the opposite happened, jobs have been increasing.

Places like In-n-Out were already. paying $23-25/hr to start as a cashier.

Right-wingers also like to mention places are closing their dining rooms and going for drive-thru only. This is true, but not because of a minimum wage increase. Fast food locations can't attract enough people to staff dining rooms. Or there were problems with disorderly patrons and they closed to eliminate the hassle.

In fact, several chains are expanding their presence in California. Bojangles is opening 30 new restaurants starting in LA County. They were previously East Coast and South, but opening in California. Jack-in-the-Box is adding 123 new locations nationwide. Jollibee plans on opening 500 restaurants across North America, including California. Raising Cane's is continuing to expand in California. There's even more locations opening for Shake Shack.

It's not all perfect in the fast food world in California, but the minimum wage increase has been completely overblown.
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@SatanBurger Good for you for doing a factcheck!
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
@BritishFailedAesthetic Yeah, 30,000 folks losing jobs is just a statistic, who cares, right?
@sunsporter1649 This article was already fact checked above.
@SatanBurger [media=https://youtu.be/66RD2Lfxr3o]
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@sunsporter1649 You know I posted a comment from a redditor who talked about several food chains actually growing so I kind of fail to see how businesses can grow but we are out of jobs.
This message was deleted by its author.
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@sunsporter1649 I looked it up more and the unemployment rate is still being affected by pandemic induced economic crises, I don't think raising minimum wage is the sole reason. The article below also states that people are making higher wages elsewhere so a lot of it is that people are quitting and some are losing their jobs.

https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-where-most-people-are-losing-their-jobs-1882445

But companies have continued to hire, with millions of job openings available for Americans looking for work in February. Last month also saw employers hire 275,000 people, even as the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9 percent.

The labor market, however, operates differently among the states. California reported its unemployment rate to be at 5.3 percent in February, significantly higher than the national rate. Washington, D.C., reported the jobless rate above 5 percent, as did Nevada.

California is still grappling with the effects of the pandemic-induced economic crisis, which may explain its high unemployment rate, according to experts. Nevada, whose economy is heavily reliant on tourism, was one of the hardest hit by the COVID-induced slowdown. In April 2020, the jobless rate in the state soared to 34 percent, and while the current rate is elevated, it illustrates the recovery the region has managed.

When it comes to which parts of the country saw the highest job gains in real terms, Texas added more than 290,000 jobs, followed by Florida at 226,000 and California, which added nearly 180,000, a positive signal despite its elevated unemployment rate.

On the positive front, North Dakota at 2 percent had the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, followed by neighboring South Dakota, which had a 2.1 percent jobless rate in February, both substantially lower than the national rate.

"In total, 22 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.9 percent, 6 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 22 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation," the Bureau of Labor Statistics pointed out.
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@sunsporter1649 Several states have seen economic growth and several franchises are growing, more jobs are being added. I'm not arguing that there is a higher unemployment, what I argue is if it's "solely due to raising minimum wage."

As far as McDonald's is concerned, I'm sure that franchise owner could have still been there had the landlord negotiated fairer rent.
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SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@NativePortlander1970 Newsweek article I posted above detailed numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that gave a well rounded view as to why there's job losses and job gains. The point is, it's not specifically because of the minimum wage.
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
@SatanBurger Yup, folks had jobs before the law went into effect, don't have jobs after the law went into effect. Just a coincidence, right?
This message was deleted by the author of the main post.
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@sunsporter1649 Why would the landlord be mentioned then
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
@SatanBurger Let me guess, fixed costs went up 25% overnight, reducing a different fixed cost to a manageable level is smart, eh?
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@sunsporter1649 Yeah I mean the franchise owner talking about the landlord just wasn't relevant I suppose. And they could have been struggling for some time and not just overnight, but you're reading the news like it just happened overnight. I don't really think it's the case
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
@SatanBurger Yup, folks had jobs before the law went into effect, don't have jobs after the law went into effect. Just a coincidence, right?
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@sunsporter1649 Okay well tell the franchise owner that when he was talking about the landlord not budging on rent.
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@sunsporter1649 Also there's a bunch of places who expanded after the minimum wage hike and all of them are doing good. One franchise owner not being able to pay rent doesn't mean anything
@SatanBurger Want to know who the McDonald's landlord is? McDonald's corporate themselves.
In other words, IF the franchisees wish to keep their locations, they MUST pay corporate's rents.
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@NativePortlander1970 It's just what the franchise owner says, not me.
@SatanBurger They know what they got into when they signed their contracts.
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@NativePortlander1970 Okay well tell that to the original author of the post, your comment is more relevant for them than it is for me.