As every union member knows, it can take a lot of effort to hold an employer accountable for the health and safety of its workers. That’s why, as part of the Fight for 15 and a Union coalition, SEIU 1021 members are pushing hard for lawmakers to pass AB 1228, a bill that would make large fast food corporations like McDonald’s liable for their California franchisees’ health and safety violations. The law would apply to fast food chains in California with at least a hundred locations across the United States.

The franchise model has helped the fast food industry avoid accountability by pushing responsibility for health and safety onto independent owners. AB 1228 seeks to remedy this and “end corporations’ ability to exploit the franchise system.”

Maria Hernandez, who works at a Sacramento Jack in the Box restaurant, said, “Just like fast food corporations set menu prices and the design of a restaurant, it’s time they ensure we have living wages and safe work environments.”

SEIU President Mary Kay Henry said, “From coast to coast, workers are fighting back against the exploitative, race-to-the-bottom system that defines the fast-food industry and perpetuates cycles of poverty in Black and brown communities.”

The bill is expected to be opposed by the same deep-pocketed corporate interests who have prevented AB 257 from taking effect by bankrolling a $10-million referendum against it, in yet another example of the rich refusing to accept the results of free and fair elections. AB 257 would raise employee wages to as high as $22 per hour.