Union-backed AB 257 will drive fast-food franchises out of California.

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Dear John,


Californians are suffering the worst inflation in decades and businesses are leaving the state in something like a biblical exodus, so you might think state legislators would kill bills that will drive even more businesses from the state and raise food prices for working families.


But you’d be wrong. Consider AB 257. Then-Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez introduced the bill in January 2021; a year later she announced she was leaving to head the California Labor Federation.


The bill’s supporters — leaders of government and private-sector unions — say the bill would give workers in California’s fast-food industry the pay and benefits they deserve. The rest of us know it would increase touch-screen ordering in your favorite local restaurant and drive fast-food franchises out of California.


AB 257 ([link removed]) — the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, or “FAST Recovery Act” — is one of the worst ideas to come out of the legislature this session — and that’s saying something. Sponsored by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the bill would create a state-run council — the Fast Food Sector Council — to “negotiate” wages, hours and working conditions for fast-food workers in the Golden State.


The council would be made up of 13 unelected political appointees and be dominated by representatives from state government and restaurant employee “advocates” — aka: unions and their backers. The bill also authorizes cities with a population of more than 200,000 to establish their own food-sector council that could provide “recommendations” to the state council.


With about 34,700 food franchises owned by 14,422 franchisees in California, what could go wrong with putting them all under the thumb of a new state bureaucracy led by government functionaries and union stooges with no restaurant or business experience?


This council would govern fast-food restaurants whose brands have more than 30 locations nationwide, but the real goal behind the legislation is to strong-arm the remaining franchisors to unionize. Unions are salivating over the chance to add fast-food workers to their declining membership rolls and ingest potentially millions in new union dues.


Such a move will cause serious heartburn with franchise owners who are already burdened by small margins, higher food costs due to inflation and the impacts of the government’s pandemic lockdowns. This bill would be the death knell for many franchises, 26% of which are minority-owned. Contrary to the union slogans that the law would help workers, the mass exit of fast-food franchises from the state will devastate low-income communities that rely on fast-food restaurants for jobs and food.


A new report ([link removed]) estimates AB 257 could increase fast-food prices on consumers as much as 20%. If you’ve been through a fast-food drive-thru lately, you know prices are already higher because of inflation.


“If the FAST Act passes, we can expect a very sharp increase in food costs from the affected restaurants, and that could push…families to the breaking point, given the financial pressures working families already feel from rising rents, gas and other necessities, ”said Christopher Thornberg, PhD, Director of the UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecast and Development, which issued the report.


AB 257 will destroy the franchise model in California. Why?


As the Orange County Register explains ([link removed]) : “There is no realistic or practical need for this law. To be clear, this law is not about workers. It is not about bringing businesses up to compliance with California’s extensive labor laws. Businesses are already doing all of that. The only obvious purpose is to bolster the power and influence of the unions behind the bill. That’s it.”


AB 257 is such a disaster that even Gov. Gavin Newsom has remained mum on the bill. His Department of Finance opposes the legislation because it would create “ongoing costs” and “worsen delays in the state’s labor enforcement system.” No doubt Newsom would prefer not to have to defend such a radical state power grab on the national stage.


The unions are out in full force in support of AB 257, but franchise owners and the workers who understand the bill will destroy their jobs are pushing back. In the wake of the disastrous AB 5 that continues to wreak havoc on independent contractors in California, it’s hard to imagine the legislature would detonate another job-killing bill in the state.


But this is par for the course with a callous legislature. Both AB 5 and AB 257 are union-backed bills designed to kill small businesses, destroy entrepreneurship and force us all to be union members working for mega-corps.


AB 257, now being carried by Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), survived the Senate Appropriations Committee’s feared “suspense file” last week and now heads to a vote on the Senate floor. If it passes, it will go back to the Assembly for a concurrence vote before it goes to Gov. Newsom’s desk for his signature.


You can contact your state senator about AB 257 using CPC’s Take Action tool here. ([link removed])


SUPPORT CPC ([link removed])


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Virtual Event: They've Filed, Now What?
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The filing deadline to run for most campaigns has closed and many candidates are off to the races.


Join CPC next week for a virtual panel discussion, “They’ve Filed, Now What?”, on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 from 7:00-8:00pm to hear from Mari Barke, Director of CPC's CLEO (California Local Elected Officials) and Lance Christensen, CPC's Vice President of Education Policy and Government Affairs, along with education activists turned parent school board candidates from around the state who have participated in our CLEO Candidate Academy training seminars ([link removed]) or other educational forums over the last several months.

After hundreds of candidates have filed for school board races across the state, they are now moving their campaigns into full gear. Panelists will share their experiences thus far and talk about the challenges they anticipate in the coming months.

RSVP here ([link removed]) to receive the Zoom link and additional information before the event.


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Parent Training: How to file a Public Records Act request with your school district
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From teaching Critical Race Theory to extreme gender politics, California teachers’ unions are pushing an agenda to indoctrinate kids into “woke” politics in our public schools. But too often parents are kept in the dark about the curriculum that is being taught to their children and school activities that advance the unions' political agenda instead of education basics.
So how can you find out what your children are learning in school?

Join CPC on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 at 5:30pm in Orange, CA for an in-depth discussion with expert Christina Sandefur, Executive Vice President at the Goldwater Institute. Learn how to file a Public Records Act (PRA) request with your school district to access information about your school district — from classroom curriculum and teacher training materials to school budgets and teacher salaries.

RSVP for the event here ([link removed]) . Light dinner will be served.


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Virtual Event: The School Bond Scam - How to ensure ballot initiatives benefit our schools not special interests
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Every election, California’s teachers’ unions push school bond initiatives on local ballots, scaring voters that the school district desperately needs to borrow millions to fix dilapidated schools and keep kids safe. But too often these bond measures do little more than create slush funds for teachers unions, political consultants, Wall Street investors and others — while many promised school improvements are never made. Taxpayers (and their kids) are then stuck paying off those bonds through higher property and parcel taxes for decades.

How can voters and school board members ensure that proposed bond measures are used toward improving schools and helping students instead of lining the pockets of special interests?


Join CPC on Wednesday, August 24, 2022 from 6:00-7:00pm via Zoom for a discussion on the ABC’s of school bond measures featuring Susan Shelley, Vice President of Communications for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, and CPC's Lance Christensen.

Learn what protections should be included in school bond proposals to make sure the bonds will really help your local school and students, and what can be done to stop the unions' school bond scheme.


To RSVP, please contact Rebecca Holz, director of CPC’s Parent Union at [email protected]. (mailto:[email protected])


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The William F. Buckley Jr. Prize Dinner is coming to California
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The William F. Buckley Jr. Prize Dinner is an annual marquee event in the conservative movement. Created to honor the work of National Review founder Bill Buckley, this year the National Review Institute honors the work of economist Larry Kudlow and Young America's Foundation.

Conveniently, this year’s event will be held right here in California at The Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley on September 29, 2022.


We hope to see you at this celebration of the principles and people we admire. It's always a not-to-be-missed event! Learn more and RSVP here ([link removed]) .
SUPPORT CPC ([link removed])
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** Radio Free California #238: Now Materializing Physically on Command!
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On this week's podcast with CPC president Will Swaim and CPC board member David Bahnsen: Investment firm Andreessen Horowitz announces it’s moving from its Menlo Park HQ to live in the cloud, and California’s state lawmakers reach their annual ride-or-die moment in Sacramento. Listen now ([link removed]) .

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School reopening time is upon us, and large numbers of parents have opted out of government-run schools. Larry Sand, president of the California Teachers Empowerment Network, explains why the growing "restorative justice" movement is one of the reasons families are fleeing the system. Read the article. ([link removed])


** The Impact of Mask Mandates on California's Kids
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Fox News reports that the impact of California's strict COVID policies in K-12 schools is hitting students especially hard. CPC's Lance Christensen, featured in the article, "said the 'hopelessness and despair' set in when children realized what they were losing." Read the article. ([link removed])

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