The state whose recently enacted AB-5 law has in significant part triggered the nationwide supply chain breakdown is now threatening to turn franchising into a socialist endeavor. (AB-5 stands for "Assembly Bill 5," which was enacted a few years ago in California and all but eliminates the notion of an "independent contractor" in that state, meaning that shipping companies can no longer engage independent truck drivers to haul their goods—previously the norm—without being deemed their employers with all of the many costs, taxes and liabilities associated with that status.)

Organized and throttled by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) thousands of fast food workers across California hit the streets on Nov. 9, 2021 calling for enactment of the "Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act" (Assembly Bill 257, shorthanded as the "FAST Act" or "AB-257"). Sponsored and strongly pushed by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (one of the progenitors and strong supporter of AB-5), AB-257 would, if enacted, according to the California Assembly's Legislative Counsel's Digest: "… [E]stablish the Fast Food Sector Council … to be composed of 11 members to be appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Rules Committee … The purpose of the council would be to establish industry-wide minimum standards on wages, working hours, and other working conditions related to the health, safety, and welfare of, and supplying the necessary cost of proper living to, fast food restaurant workers … The bill would define the characteristics of a fast food restaurant, including that the establishment be part of a set of fast food restaurants consisting of 30 or more establishments nationally that share a common brand … ."