Shocker! California’s Minimum Wage Hike Leads To Job Cuts

Fast-food chains in California, in an effort to adapt to the new regulations, started reducing their workforce last year.

California’s Disastrous Minimum Wage Hike Offers A Cautionary Tale To Congress

Higher prices and layoffs will accompany the new statewide restaurant mandate, just as they would if Congress accedes to a national minimum wage hike.

The harsh realities of California's new minimum wage law set in — leaving Pizza Hut delivery drivers, customers on the hook



More than 1,200 Pizza Hunt delivery drivers in California will be laid off next year, and they have state lawmakers to thank.

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed into law a bill forcing national fast-food chains that operate in California to pay their employees a minimum of $20 per hour, effective April 1, 2024. That's a significant increase from the state-mandated minimum wage of $16 per hour, which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

Labor groups and Democrats praised the law and claimed it will protect fast-food workers. But the negative consequences of the law are already being felt.

Two major Pizza Hut operators — PacPizza, LLC, and Southern California Pizza Co., along with their affiliates — have filed documents informing the government of their plans to lay off their delivery drivers as part of a broader plan to eliminate their in-house delivery services, Business Insider reported. The franchisees operate stores across California.

Ultimately, more than 1,200 delivery drivers will lose their jobs.

Now, customers who want delivery from the impacted restaurants will be forced to use third party apps — like DoorDash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats — to order their Pizza Hut delivery.

This means that costumers will pay more overall for their pizza because of the fees associated with the apps.

The unfortunate news demonstrates one of the key problems with government-mandated minimum wage increases: business-owners do not absorb the increased cost of labor.

In the case of these Pizza Hut operators, they are decreasing the size of their workforce to pay for the forced-increase of labor. The second option is to pass the increased cost of labor to consumers. That is exactly what McDonald's and Chipotle are doing. After the bill became law, both fast-food chains said they will increase menu prices to offset the forced increase in employee wages.

Pizza Hut to lay off thousands of California workers www.youtube.com

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Florida Pizza Hut manager accused of raping teen girl working at restaurant: 'You want to know who this guy is'



A Florida man is accused of raping a fellow employee at a Pizza Hut in Osceola County. Police say the Pizza Hut manager cornered the teen girl after ordering her to clean the female bathroom at the restaurant and sexually assaulted the high school junior.

Deputies with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office responded to a "rape in progress" report at a Pizza Hut on the west side of Osceola County on Aug. 26, according to WOFL. Police meet with the alleged victim – a teen girl who recently started working at the pizza restaurant.

The victim – a 16-year-old high school student – alleged that her manager ordered her to clean the female bathroom of the restaurant. The Pizza Hut manager – identified by police as 32-year-old Calvin Cooke – purportedly followed the teen girl into the bathroom. The Florida man is accused of shutting the door and committing sex acts on the teen girl – who had only started working at Pizza Hut "just a few weeks" earlier.

Another employee allegedly saw that the underage employee was being raped and notified the girl's parents, who then contacted police.

"They called 911. When detectives spoke to the victim, she said she was worried about making him upset and was concerned about her job," said Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez. "In this case, she was concerned about her job, losing it. Her first job that she could buy things for herself and so she's going to subject herself to this, some guy trying to influence her, being persistent through social media and at work."

The victim said her supervisor quickly began flirting with her after she started the job. He allegedly messaged her on Snapchat, gifted her an electronic cigarette, and sent her nude photos of himself.

Police arrested Cooke. He was charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor, transmitting information that's harmful to a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Cooke was taken to the Osceola County Jail, where he was being held on a $33,000 bond.

Cooke has reportedly been fired from Pizza Hut.

A Pizza Hut spokesperson issued a statement regarding the sexual assault allegations: "Pizza Hut takes these allegations very seriously and has been in contact with the franchisee who owns and operates the restaurant at issue. The franchisee has made the decision to terminate the manager while they continue to cooperate with the local authorities in their investigation."

"When deputies contacted Calvin, he admitted he knew she was a juvenile, and he admitted he performed sex acts on her," Lopez stated.

Lopez said, "The actions of this individual are not only disgusting and disturbing beyond words can describe, but they are the betrayal and disruption of trust we put into adults."

Lopez believes that the girl will likely be "scarred for life."

"The reason we put him on blast and put his picture out there is because imagine this is your friend and your daughters or this is your neighbor," Lopez said at a press conference. "You want to know who this guy is. These are the type of people we want to keep off the streets to make sure we keep the kids safe."

Sheriff Lopez warned that predators like Cooke "exist" and advised parents to "monitor what your children are doing," especially on social media.

The sheriff is concerned that there could be additional victims and said: "We want to make sure he's held accountable and responsible if he has committed these acts on anybody else."

Anyone with information on the case or any previous victims are urged to contact the Osceola County Sheriff's Department at 800-423-TIPS (8477).

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Pizza Hut's book club promotes drag queen books to pre-K children



Pizza Hut's book club for young students promotes books to pre-kindergarten children about little kids dressing up as drag queens.

The Pizza Hut Book It program started in 1984. The Camp Book It program provides children with a free pizza if they complete a monthly reading goal.

The Libs of TikTok Twitter account revealed that the Pizza Hut book club recommends that young children read books about drag queens.

\u201c.@pizzahut sponsors a program which incentivizes kids in PreK-6th grade to read books. This week, one of their suggested books is \u201cBig Wig.\u201d A book about a child who becomes a drag performer.\u201d
— Libs of TikTok (@Libs of TikTok) 1654215312

The Book It website states, "This June we are celebrating Pride Month and the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. These three books explore the uniqueness of every person, celebrate our individuality and encourage kids to see that what makes us different, makes us special."

The Pizza Hut book club proposes that pre-K through third grade children read the "Big Wig" book.

Publisher Simon & Schuster describes "Big Wig" as an "irrepressible" picture book that "celebrates drag kids, individuality, and self-confidence from the perspective of a fabulous wig!"

"When a child dresses in drag to compete in a neighborhood costume competition, he becomes B. B. Bedazzle! A key part of B.B. Bedazzle’s ensemble is a wig called Wig," the description reads. "Together they are an unstoppable drag queen team! But Wig feels inadequate compared to the other, bigger wigs. When Wig flies off B. B.’s head, she goes from kid to kid instilling confidence and inspiring dreams in those who wear her."

For children pre-K through first grade, the Book It program advocates the "Be Amazing: A History of Pride" book. The book is written by Desmond Is Amazing – a boy who started attending drag shows at 5 years old and performed a drag show in front of adults at a gay bar at age 11.

The book description reads, "In 'Be Amazing,' drag kid Desmond is Amazing walks you through the history of the LGBTQ community, all while encouraging you to embrace your own uniqueness and ignore the haters."

The book club suggests children in kindergarten through third grade read "Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag." The description says the book "will help young readers understand pride and diversity as they learn about Harvey Milk and his fight for equality."

For the same age bracket of children, Book It recommends "Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution."

"This is a picture book about the Stonewall uprising and the beginnings of the battle for LGBTQ+ rights," the description reads. "Told from the point of view of the Stonewall Inn, a place where 'being different was accepted.' This book provides an important example of standing up for all people and their rights."

Last year for Pride month, the Book It program promoted LGBTQ-themed books such as "My Princess Boy," about a young boy who wears dresses and tiaras.

Pizza Hut's book club also advocates for young children to read "Old Enough to Save the Planet," to "inspire students to look at their own communities and make a difference. Learn about 12 student activists who are working on climate change in their communities."

Another climate change activism book is "Kids Who Are Changing the World," a book that highlights "stories of individuals who have fought climate change and pollution."

For pre-K through third grade children, Pizza Hut's book club recommends a book that offers kids "more than 40 different activities that are all about activism, politics and the governmental process."

The children's book club endorses "She Persisted," which was "inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller 'She Persisted' by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger comes a chapter book series about women who stood up, spoke up and rose up against the odds."

Pizza Hut's book club plugged "Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice."

Pizza Hut is owned by Yum! Brands – a Louisville-based restaurant conglomerate that operates more than 54,000 restaurants in over 155 countries and territories. Yum! Brands also owns KFC and Taco Bell.

Taco Bell is hosting multiple "Drag Brunch" events at restaurants around the U.S. this summer.

In 2021, Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs told the Wall Street Journal, "We're excited about working with the Biden administration and share their goal to build back better particularly as it comes to the economy and fighting inequality."