Labor
We need workers to stay home when they’re ill. It’s going to take universal sick leave
San Francisco Chronicle 8/30
Nearly six months later, we’ve internalized the span of 20 seconds at the sink, and face masks now muffle most people’s coughs and sneezes. But staying at home when we feel ill? For essential workers on the front lines today — and office denizens who may return to in-person work in the coming months — that’s a more complicated ask.
The summer when restaurant workers rose up
Los Angeles Times 8/29
Restaurants are changing, and the way journalists write about them may change too. This summer we saw restaurant workers speak out across the country, organizing for higher wages and better work conditions, some people broadcasting painful private grievances about sexism, racism and abuse in the workplace onto a growing network of anonymous “86’d List” Instagram accounts.
Food Industry Policy
Recycling bills would help stem the flow of plastic into the ocean
CalMatters 8/29
AB 1080 and SB 54 present bold and ambitious solutions that would address plastic pollution.
California Charts New and Slower Course on Reopening
NBC 4, 8/28
With the hope of preventing another virus surge, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new process Friday for reopening businesses that’s more gradual than the first attempt that eventually led him to close many businesses soon after they reopened.
Napa County to partially reopen indoor businesses Monday, SF won’t
San Francisco Chronicle 8/28
California gave two Bay Area counties the green light to partially reopen some indoor businesses starting Monday, but only one is moving forward.
California starts reopening restaurant dining rooms
Restaurant Business 8/28
California has adopted a new business reopening plan that allows restaurants in 18 counties to resume limited dining-room service as of Monday.
Big cities move to extend delivery fee caps behind strong support from restaurants
Restaurant Business 8/28
Officials in two of the country’s largest restaurant markets this week voted to extend caps on the fees that third-party delivery providers charge to restaurants.
On the Side
As workers at big businesses stay home, downtown SF’s small businesses suffer
San Francisco Chronicle 8/30
For Ladle & Leaf and other small businesses in San Francisco’s nearly empty downtown, prospects of staying alive just keep getting dimmer and dimmer.
Fast-food giants race to perfect the drive-through experience
Fox Business 8/29
As restaurants across the country have closed their doors — many permanently — fast-food and fast-casual chains have taken the opportunity to claim the market and plan to utilize drive-throughs to help expand their reach.
Controversy Continues Over SF Restaurant Serving $200 Meals in Private Domes
Vice 8/28
Tension is flaring over the optics of serving an opulent meal to diners in plastic bubbles mere feet away from encampments for homeless people.
