With California’s new $ 20-an-hour minimum wage for fast food workers taking effect in April, many employers are already feeling the pinch and making changes. As first reported by ABC affiliate KFSN, companies like Foster’s Freeze in Lemoore, CA, are shuttering without notice to employees or their communities. With assistant GM Monica Navarro filling in the gaps, this closure took them by surprise.
“The owner had actually talked to us like he was preparing to pay us $20 an hour. Like it wasn’t a possibility of us closing. He said, ‘Alright, on the schedules, we’re going to run smaller crews. We’re going to do smaller shifts, but we’ll be able to make it work. We’re going to raise some prices but we’re good.”
Come April 1st, though, that had all changed.
As the owner ducks phone calls about the closure, this could also be a sign of the times changing in a big way. With a $ 20-an-hour minimum wage making many business models nearly obsolete, it quickly becomes evident that wages have become more like a shell game than ever before. As the liberals continue to push the idea that wages are too low, owners of companies like Foster’s Freeze are forced to raise wages to keep employees.
That money needs to come from somewhere and suffice it to say that place is often in the form of increasing the cost of goods/services being provided or by firing people. Some companies that specialize in niche items like frozen treats are choosing to pivot.
CVT Soft Serve in LA, who gained notoriety pre-COVID for their “Influencers pay double” response to social media influencers asking for free products to create content, pivoted. Becoming the first company to offer soft-serve ice cream in a disposable pouch, they made one of the sweetest and messiest parts of summer better. They made it portable and less messy. It also allows them to save money by opting to keep their workforce small but increasing their availability and going nationwide.
Maybe that’s the key to surviving Bidenflation; innovation without giving a damn about the optics.
