California Fast Food Bill Inches US Toward Bargaining by Sector

California is poised to enact a new method of boosting pay and improving job conditions for fast-food workers, and in the meantime has the potential to nudge European-style sectoral bargaining—or something like it—closer to playing a meaningful role in the US labor market.

A bill (AB 257) pending in the state legislature would create a council that sets workplace standards covering the state’s fast-food industry, including wages, working hours, health and safety, training, and other workplace conditions. The measure is awaiting a Senate floor vote after winning Assembly approval in January and passing through Senate committees. The 13-member ...