Minimum wage set to increase

New In-N-Out chain on County Center Dr in Santa Rosa. (Photo: Maxine Salvador, The Puma Prensa)

By Maxine Salvador, A&E editor

Did somebody say minimum wage increase? On April 1, 2024, fast food workers in California began receiving a minimum wage increase to 20 dollars per hour. 

Popular fast food chains, such as McDonald’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell, are commonly restaurants where high schoolers have their first jobs to learn everyday work skills in lively and bustling environments. However, many Americans outside of high school work at these restaurants to pay for bills, rent, or even family vacations. With inflation constantly increasing, having a 16-dollar-per-hour minimum wage doesn’t seem to cut it.

Senior Carolina Espinoza discussed her experience working at In-N-Out, a widely popular California fast-food chain: “I’ve been working at In-N-Out since late July of last year,” said Espinoza. “I went for that job because the new restaurant was opening near my house, and they pay pretty good, too.” Espinoza points out her luck with finding a job that pays well, in addition to the convenience of its location near her house.

In-N-Out is already known for paying its employees higher wages than other fast food chains, so many people find working at this restaurant to be more desirable despite the hard labor. “I have some co-workers who work there because the pay is good, and the company itself is known for treating its employees really well,” said Espinoza. 

One of the many struggles fast food workers go through is customer interaction. It is not uncommon to see customers arguing or causing a scene at fast food restaurants, which Espinoza emphasizes to be the main reason why fast food workers deserve higher pay. “I think the minimum wage increase is good because I feel like fast food workers deal with a lot of stuff, like angry customers and complaints every day, so I think they deserve the increase,” explains Espinoza.

Senior Mackenzie Larson used to work at Dunkin’ Donuts, a popular American fast-food chain for donuts and breakfast foods. “I originally quit working at Dunkin’ Donuts because the work the management gave us didn’t seem fair for what me and one other employee were doing when we were both 15 years old,” said Larson. She continues to explain how working that kind of job, especially as a high schooler, was not ideal for how much she was getting paid. “I had gotten a raise because I asked for it, but it wasn’t like we were getting anything we really wanted there and it wasn’t beneficial.” Larson then decided to quit that job and no longer work at fast food restaurants.

After her experiences working at fast food, Larson now works at higher-end restaurants, where she emphasizes customer tips to carry a lot of the weight on her earnings. Fast food workers do not receive this luxury, so Larson supports the minimum wage increase.

“I think the minimum wage increase makes sense because fast food employees do a lot of work even if it doesn’t seem like it, since they have to deal with some pretty interesting people,” said Larson. Larson and Espinoza share similar reasoning for the soon-to-be minimum wage increase.

As of April 1, fast food chains in California set wages for employees to start at a minimum of 20 dollars per hour. In the future, Larson hopes that other types of work aside from fast food will provide higher pay for their employees. “I also think there should be a higher minimum wage increase for everyone in general so it’s more inclusive with other businesses as well and it’s not just fast food that’s receiving it.”