The Working Lunch

The Securities & Exchange Commission has proposed a rule mandating, among other things, that publicly-traded companies will for the first time be required to report their greenhouse-gas emissions including, in certain cases, those from their suppliers and customers. We’ll talk to the National Restaurant Association’s Vice President of Public Policy, Aaron Frazier, who is the industry’s point person in this conversation and try to understand what impact these regulations will have for the industry and what lays ahead in this issue space.

And we’ll take a look at a new reputation survey looking at prominent friendly brands that are having their reputations tarnished by partisan politics and discuss the potential impacts, if any.

And of course, the latest and greatest on Starbucks, which now has over 100 units that have voted for unionization and continues to see their struggle with the NLRB consistently escalating.

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

Coming up on the podcast:

* The primary elections continue forward with some interesting results for the restaurant industry including a McDonald’s franchisee that is very likely on his way to Congress. We discuss those results.

* And Starbucks along with Jeff Bezos of Amazon took on the White House last week in an escalating war of words. Is that smart politics for corporate players? We’ll take a look.

* And of course Starbucks Watch. We’ll discuss their new employee benefits of paying travel expenses for employees seeking abortion services as well as other gender- affirming procedures. Did the ongoing pressure of the unionization campaign affect that decision? We take a look.

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

Despite the inflationary pressures facing retailers and small business operators, the credit card companies have decided that now’s the time to increase their fees and take an even bigger chunk out of already tight margins. We are joined by Lyle Beckwith, the Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the National Association of Convenience Stores and also the leader of the Merchant Payment Coalition to help us understand what’s happening, why its happening, and more importantly, how operators can fight back.

And the midterm elections are just six months away and major political shifts are afoot not only at the federal level but in governor’s offices across the country. We’ll take a look at where things stand today and particular races that operators should pay close attention to.

And the comment period for the SEC’s proposed climate change rule is closing quickly. We’ll discuss the ramifications for the industry and how operators can protect their interests.

And of course, the latest and greatest on Starbucks, which now has over 60 units that have voted for unionization.

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

The industry took to Capitol Hill this week in force as restaurant operators from around the country came to Washington, DC to make their case for legislative and regulatory relief as they still navigate the aftermath of the pandemic. We’ll discuss the potential remedies Congress and the Administration can utilize to help the industry.

And one unforeseen ramification from the labor market upheaval is that more and more college-educated workers are finding their way into frontline jobs and bringing with them their ideologies regarding unionization. We’ll discuss that dynamic and its implications.

And we’ll update you on the situation at Starbucks and discuss how a new brand - Jack in the Box - is potentially being pulled into the fray.

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

The heat has been turned up on Disney and the state of Florida is attacking their tax status. Is this debacle emblematic of what awaits other corporate brands? Is this a good time for corporate leaders to re-examine their relationship to partisan politics? We’ll discuss.

And New York’s comptroller is once again leveraging the state pension fund to pressure corporate shareholders to back resolutions calling on the companies to adopt climate resolutions to meet net-zero goals by 2050. Is activism by CFO’s the wave of the future? We’ll take a look.

And of course, the latest and greatest on Starbucks which this week saw its 27th unit vote for unionization.

The general counsel of the NLRB, Jennifer Abruzzo, made some startling recommendations to the Board this week, one of which would essentially revitalize card check, long a top labor union priority. We’ll discuss what she is doing and the impacts it could have on restaurant operators.

And the SEC has turned down McDonald’s request to omit a shareholder resolution from its annual proxy calling for a civil rights audit of the company. We’ll discuss the dynamics behind the resolution as well as discuss the growing influence activist shareholders are having on corporate decision making.

And of course, the latest and greatest on Starbucks as they overwhelmingly lost another big pile of elections this week.

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

As of July 1, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will have a new Democratic majority with the appointment of a new commissioner. We discuss the new agenda laid out this week by the Chair of the commission and discuss what it means for employers.

And Massachusetts, a current hotbed of labor organizing, has an avowed restaurant industry antagonist running for Attorney General. We’ll take a look at her record, the strength of her candidacy, and how restaurant owners should prepare.

And Starbucks had a venti bad week with their union woes losing another round of organizing elections. With the dismissal of their CEO and this week their General Counsel, it looks like the company is poised to make a major pivot in strategy. We’ll take a look.

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

7-11 franchisees in Massachusetts have renewed hope in their ongoing litigation against the company contending that they are little more than glorified store managers and should be paid the minimum wage and receive other protections afforded to employees under Massachusetts law. We are joined by Jeff Hanscom, the International Franchise Association's Vice President of State & Local Government Relations to help us understand the state supreme court's ruling and what impact it may have on the franchise business model.

And the unions organizing Amazon and Starbucks had a big week with major high profile wins in New York, Arizona and Tennessee. We discuss the momentum in the labor community and what that means for employers.

And the Disney saga continues this week as the rancor between the company and the Florida governor continued to escalate. We discuss that as well.

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

Boston is turning into the new epicenter of Starbucks organizing as more than a dozen stores in the market are in play right now. We talk to reporter Tori Bedford from GBH Boston, the NPR affiliate, to get a sense of what's happening on the ground in the market and how important the next few weeks are for the company.

And Consumer Reports rocked the industry this week releasing a study documenting the extent of PFAS in industry packaging and grading 24 companies on the potential toxicity of their packaging. We’ll discuss what impact that will have on the packaging conversation.

And once again, tipping has been linked to racism - this time from the author of the 1619 Project at the New York Times. We’ll discuss the impact that this growing narrative could have on the industry business model.

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

Peter Romeo from Restaurant Business joins us this week to discuss a variety of topics including Kevin Johnson who is abruptly out as CEO of Starbucks despite the strong performance of the company as they navigated the pandemic. Was it the combination of the burgeoning unionization campaign, the perceived missteps of the company in addressing it, formal reprimands from the NLRB and the subsequent unrest of key shareholders that made the move necessary? We’ll discuss.

And we’ll take a look at the opioid issue within the industry and a new pilot program rolled out by the state of Delaware targeting restaurant workers.

And then we are joined by Brennan Duckett, the Director of Technology & Innovation Policy at the National Restaurant Association to discuss data privacy and the growing political and legislative challenge that the industry is facing in that very important space.

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