It’s not a secret that the majority of our politicians are in the pockets of various insiders and lobbyists.
But that doesn’t mean that these nefarious activities aren’t something Americans should be angry about.
And an insider deal with Governor Gavin Newsom and a fast-food restaurant owner will make your blood boil.
Major Newsom donor geared up to reap serious benefits
Greg Flynn is a longtime donor to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s campaigns.
Flynn was also previously involved in an assortment of business dealings with Newsom.
Now a new report reveals that Flynn is likely to reap some major benefits thanks to an obscure exemption to the state’s new $20 minimum wage law, which Newsom fought to pass.
The benefit to the exemption will allow some of Flynn’s restaurants to continue paying lower wages, which will likely save him hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
Flynn owns two dozen Panera Bread franchise locations across the state of California, according to a Bloomberg report.
Newsom’s exemption allows restaurants that bake and sell bread as a standalone item to continue paying the lower $16 hourly wage to their employees.
According to sources, opposition to the law which originally included the new regulations called the FAST Act, led Flynn to lobby Newsom’s office to try and exclude categorizing Panera Bread as a “fast food chain.”
But discussions between union labor groups and the fast-food industry led to a repeal of the initial terms of the law last year, which was slated to set the minimum wage even higher than $20 per hour.
Flynn is the largest franchisee in the US and owns thousands of locations of popular restaurants including Taco Bell, Applebee’s, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, and Panera Bread.
He has also been a strong donor to several of Newsom’s campaigns, and state records show he gave Newsom $8,400 during his 2018 candidacy and later helped him during his 2021 recall by partnering with several other big-time contributors.
Flynn donated $100,000 to the Stop the Republican Recall of Governor Newsom committee in June 2021, which placed him among the committee’s biggest individual backers.
Other donors included billionaires like Netflix executive chairman Reed Hastings and left-wing financier George Soros.
The donations kept coming
Flynn also provided a $64,800 campaign contribution for Newsom in 2022.
He donated thousands more to other powerful Democrats in the state including Attorney General Rob Bonta and Treasurer Fiona Ma.
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom for comment and a spokesperson said, “This legislation was the result of countless hours of negotiations with dozens of stakeholders over two years. The Governor’s office met with labor unions, business leaders and dozens of franchise owners through the course of negotiations. No one person or company held sway over the final outcome.”
Fox News Digital also reached out to Flynn’s holding company and Panera Bread for comment but has not received a response.
However, Flynn did tell Bloomberg that he played absolutely no role in Newsom’s decision to create the special exemption.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
