The Working Lunch

We do a deep dive on the changing dynamics around tipping not only from an operational and reputational perspective, but ultimately politically as well. We’ll discuss all of this with Peter Romeo and Joe Guszkowski, two of the major contributors to Restaurant Business magazine’s recent project entitled, “Tipping Point”

And in political news, we had some important elections this week in Chicago and Wisconsin and a major party flip in North Carolina. We’ll dig into the results and what it means for operators.

We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

We’re going to do a deep dive on Howard Shultz’s appearance before Bernie Sanders and the Senate HELP committee and assess his performance, whether or not it was a “win” for Bernie and what it means going forward for both the company and its powerful detractors. We'll be joined by Peter Romeo from Restaurant Business magazine who covered the hearing extensively and get his unique insight on the proceedings.

And Colin Larson from the Colorado Restaurant Association joins us to talk about how they were able to not only defeat restrictive scheduling legislation in their own state but almost as importantly, were able to effectively change the conversation around the issue to give a roadmap for victory to industry advocates in other states.

We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Starbucks Workers United union put their cards on the table this week and unveiled their demands before company managers. The menu includes a $20/hr minimum starting wage - even higher in some places - a 37 hour week, free healthcare and schedules a month in advance. Let the games begin!

And speaking of $20 minimum wages, has that become the new normal in the ongoing national debate. Has the Fight for 15 given become the Tussle for $20? We’ll take a look.

And the labor community has come out with a number of new economic studies to validate their positioning on the wage issue. Is the industry data, to the point it exists, robust enough to counter? We’ll dive into that.

We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The war between Main Street and Wall Street over credit card interchange fees has spilled over into the states and we take a look at how certain states are attempting to exclude state and local taxes from inclusion in those fees. We talk to our old friend and colleague Joe Rinzel, now a principal at MultiState Associates, to get us up to speed on what’s going on.

And the CEO of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association, Justin Winslow, stops by the pod to discuss the historic rollback of the right to work law in his state and big labor’s renewed strength in the Michigan statehouse.

We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The big announcement this week is that Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will voluntarily testify in front of Sen. Sander’s committee to answer some presumably tough questions about the unionization campaign at his company. We’ll discuss what that hearing may look like and how it may bleed into an overall assault on the restaurant industry.

And we visit with Chicago political veteran Ryan McLaughlin to discuss the mayor’s race in Chicago - most notably what happened to Lori Lightfoot but more importantly, what the two remaining candidates mean for restaurant owners.

And the industry found itself prominently in the national news cycle this week with numerous articles outlining the industry’s role in the economic recovery and the importance of women returning to the job market but conversely, the nagging problems of pay equity and pay transparency. We’ll unpack all of that.

We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

It was a big week in Starbucks Land with Bernie Sanders announcing that he was subpoenaing CEO Howard Schultz, a major loss in a court decision concerning the entire Buffalo market, and a revolt among home office employees. We’ll unpack all of that.

And to the surprise of none, the President nominated Julie Su to be the next Secretary of Labor. We’ll take a look at her record and discuss what her tenure at the helm of this important agency may look like.

And the month of March is upon us and we’ll take a look at the legislative calendar and discuss how the industry has been faring so far in 2023.

We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Wall Street Journal posted an excellent article this week on the tipping issue and the IRS’s new proposed voluntary tip reporting program. We discuss the merits of the issue and if the new proposal is merely a solution in search of a problem.

And Howard Schultz has put himself back in the spotlight by suggesting in recent interviews that his unionization issues have very little to do with his company and more to do with larger societal problems. We’ll discuss how that went over.

And while downtown restaurants and bars are still reeling from the pandemic, new data suggests that it's likely to get worse over the next decade. We’ll take a look at that as well.

We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Internal Revenue Service is proposing a revamp of their existing voluntary tip reporting program and rolling out the Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement or (SITCA). Is there a problem that they are trying to solve or are they merely joining in with their labor friends in the campaign against tipping? We’ll discuss.

And the industry flexed a little muscle this week gumming up the works on an onerous mandated scheduling bill in Colorado. We’ll take a look at that legislation and its ramifications nationally.

We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

We discuss the big week that the One Fair Wage campaign had with press conferences, Congressional pressure on the NRA, and a flurry of legislation at the state level. We’ll unpack all of that.

And just when you thought we had dispensed with the scheduling issue, it’s back with a vengeance. Post-covid, labor community activists see the issue as a rallying point for organizers and we discuss the implications - both operational and reputationally.

We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

As we predicted, states are channeling their inner California envy and rolling out legislation similar to the Fast Act. We’ll take a look at the overall battle being waged on multiple fronts with new bills, new lawsuits and new disclosures regarding the brands that are leading the opposition.

And speaking of California, there is new climate legislation forcing financial disclosures from companies regarding their environmental impacts. Sound a little similar to what's happening at the SEC? We’ll dig into why.

We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.