Voters Support Fast Food Workers’ Power to Set Standards in Their Industry
By Anika Dandekar
From December 1 to 6, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,185 likely national voters to test attitudes towards fast food workers’ rights as well as the Fast Food Accountability and Standards (FAST) Recovery Act being considered in California’s legislature. We find that a majority of voters are concerned about fast food corporations not being held accountable for violations of their workers’ rights and believe workers should have a seat at the table to bargain with their employer about their work conditions. We then find that nearly three-quarters of likely voters support the FAST Recovery Act; notably, majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans support the legislation.
Voters Think Fast Food Workers Deserve a Real Seat at the Table to Have a Say in Their Working Conditions
When voters were asked if fast food workers should have more or less power to negotiate with their employers, 57 percent of all likely voters said fast food workers should have more power to determine their working conditions and wages. When this is broken down by partisanship, we find that 77 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of Independents, and 35 percent of Republicans believe that workers should have more power to have a say in their employment terms.
A Majority of Voters Are Concerned That Fast Food Corporations Are Not Held Accountable for Violations of Their Workers’ Rights.
We then tested voters’ concerns on issues of corporate accountability for labor violations in the fast food sector. We find that 58 percent of all likely voters say they are ”very” or “somewhat” concerned about fast food corporations like McDonald’s being held accountable when they violate their workers’ rights or safety regulations. Seventy-four percent of Democrats, 55 percent of Independents, and 42 percent of Republicans share this concern.
Majorities of Voters Across Party Lines Support the FAST Recovery Act
Finally, we asked voters if they would support a council of fast food workers, local franchise managers, corporate representatives, and public health and safety officials — as outlined by the FAST Recovery Act — setting standards on working conditions and wages for the fast food sector and having corporations and local franchise managers share accountability for any violations of these standards. We find overwhelming support for the FAST Recovery Act from voters of all partisan identities. The FAST Recovery Act is supported by 74 percent of all likely voters, by a margin of +56 points. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans support the legislation with respective margins of +86, +52, and +25 points.
Anika Dandekar is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.