Commentary: TV Commercial Slams SEIU for $20 Minimum Wage Hike

By Charlyce Bozzello

Last week, the Center for Union Facts (CUF) released a new ad highlighting the devastating impacts of California’s new $20 minimum wage for fast food workers, which went into effect on Monday, April 1. It’s running as a television and digital ad buy in the Los Angeles and Sacramento markets.

The tongue-in-cheek video features fast food workers “thanking” the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for the damaging and inconsistent law, leading to higher prices, business closures and layoffs. In fact, California restaurants are already killing jobs and cutting hours ahead of the increase.

The SEIU was behind the bill that created the California Fast Food Council as well as the new $20 wage – a hike that continues to be championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom despite fierce opposition from impacted workers, employers and economists. 

The SEIU’s wage hike is a wrecking ball that will destroy California’s restaurant industry. Workers who find themselves with fewer shifts or out of a job entirely can thank the union for yet another harmful policy.

The SEIU’s fake fast food union, the California Fast Workers Union, is based in Washington, D.C., not California. It’s not a legal labor union and can’t bargain with employers, and it represents far less than 1% of the state’s fast food workforce.

A CUF survey of California restaurant workers released in March found that the workforce isn’t aligned with the SEIU’s agenda. We asked restaurant workers what they thought of the $20 wage hike and its potential consequences, and 60% said it would lead to higher prices, 51% expect fewer shifts or hours schedules, 40% anticipate staffing cuts and 39% predict fewer new hires.

The SEIU alleges that restaurant employees face an abusive environment, and do not feel they are heard at their place of work. The same survey asked these workers to share their experiences working in the restaurant industry; 95% said they feel safe at work, 92% enjoy working at a restaurant, 76% feel that their concerns are heard and 88% feel they have the tools they need to solve problems at work.

Charlyce Bozzello is communications director at the Center for Union Facts, a nonprofit organization that fights for transparency and accountability in America’s labor movement.