The Working Lunch

McDonald’s and other restaurant industry players take a stand on Russia and are ceasing their operations in there in response to the invasion of Ukraine. We’ll take a look at the calculations companies make when they decide to enter - either willfully or begrudgingly - into the high stakes game of public policy.

We’ll also take a look at what the move toward a cashless economy is having on tipping not only from the perspective of the worker but also with regard to the ongoing debate around eliminating the tipping system altogether.

And of course we’ll have another installment of Starbucks Watch where this week, the unions get to take a few more victory laps in Buffalo.

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

As the monthly jobs report comes out today signaling that there is a rebound in hiring, it appears to be the Labor Department itself that is hiring as well - as many as 100 new auditors in the Wage & Hour Division it was announced this week. What will those new employees be doing? Cracking down on violators but with a specific interest in the hospitality sector. We’ll discuss what employers need to know.

And Uber is proactively working with the provincial government in Ontario to basically create a new classification of worker - not independent contractor and not traditional employee - but a hybrid with a portable benefits regime. We’ll dive into that and discuss those implications.

And of course we’ll have another installment of Starbucks Watch. But this week Amazon, REI and a host of independent coffee shops will be on the menu as well. We will update you on the latest with regard to industry unionization efforts.

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

Activist investor Carl Ichan is making a bold move at McDonald’s trying to force changes on their Board of Directors over the direction the company is going with regard to animal welfare. If successful, the ramifications could be significant for both supply chains and industry corporate governance. We’ll take a look.

And Maryland has become the epicenter of the conversation around Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This week, much of the business community lent its support to a framework significantly overhauling the recycling marketplace. We’ll discuss how that legislation will likely become the national blueprint for other states and cities.

And the Starbucks beat goes on. This week, the company was dealt a few tough but very important decisions that will likely shape the nature of the campaign going forward. We’ll discuss those implications as well as other interesting developments this week.

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

The National Restaurant Association has a new leader and we’ll discuss her background, her impressive resume, and the big job she has ahead of her.

And the number of Starbucks units being organized topped 100 this week and the company has begun punching back a little bit. We’ll discuss their messaging, their timing, and the lessens other companies can learn from their actions going forward.

And MIT, yes that MIT, has released a new study equating increases in minimum wages to increases in voting participation. We’ll take a look at that study and see what it might mean for the wage conversation going forward.

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

Major Democratic governors are breaking with the President and pumping the brakes on mask mandates in their states. With a general public fatigued by COVID-related restrictions, the politics of the issue are evolving. We’ll talk about what this means for operators and other health and safety issues going forward.

And Surprise Surprise. The U.S. Congress can actually agree on something. In an overwhelming bi-partisan vote, both the house and senate this week passed sweeping legislation that would forbid clauses in employment contracts requiring workers to litigate sexual harassment and abuse cases in private, rather than a court. We’ll talk about the impacts of ending mandatory arbitration clauses for sexual harrassmant claims.

And new data from California suggests progressives lost key parts of their political bases when they were trying to push back on Uber and Lyft’s business models. What does that mean for the other states trying to reclassify those drivers as employees and not independent contractors? We’ll discuss it.

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

The changing nature of work coupled with the post-pandemic labor force disruptions are causing policy makers and opinion leaders to revisit the issue of portable benefits. Can a portable benefits system help to level the playing field for entry level employers struggling to recruit and retain workers. Mohona Siddique, the Senior Project Manager for the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program - and also Aspen’s point person on portable benefits - joins us to discuss the issue and how employers could effectively engage in the portable benefits conversation.

And the controversial FAST Act has passed the California Assembly and heads to the Senate. Is it time for Quick Service Brands to pull the fire alarm if they haven’t already done so? We give you the latest and greatest on one of the most far- reaching pieces of legislation we’ve seen in years.

And the list of Starbucks units pursuing union representation ballooned this week and now is closing in on 60 units. We will update the latest state of play in that very important campaign.

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

Still included in the President’s infrastructure package are massive investments in workforce recruitment and training to produce the workers necessary to actually build the roads and bridges in the plan. The investment is sure to attract and retain the very workers that restaurants and retailers are competing for. We’ll discuss the ramifications of the spending plan on the labor market.

And as the saying goes, “money talks”. This week, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, the same BlackRock with over $10 Trillion in assets, sent his annual letter to CEOs and this year is putting them on notice that failure to properly address the climate space will result in a virtual blacklisting by his and other venture capital funds. We’ll discuss.

The Human Rights Campaign has published its annual report of workplace inclusion and employers’ commitment to LGBTQ Equity. And low and behold, nine restaurant companies made the list of best places to work. We’ll take a look at that and what that means for industry reputation.

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

Labor shortages, supply chain issues and ever increasing food prices are putting unprecedented pressure on a business model that already runs on thin margins. But what impact is all this having on the attractiveness of the industry for investment - either stock prices, the private equity space, or purchasing franchises? We are joined by a regular contributor to the pod, our friend Michael Halen, the Sr. Restaurant Industry Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, to help us understand the impacts that these outside pressures are having on the financial health of the industry. And at a time when newsrooms across the country are eliminating staff, one area of major investment is the labor, workforce and workplace beat. We’ll discuss why major publications are escalating their reporting in this space and how it could impact the employer community.

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

It was a big week for two big reasons - the list of Starbucks’ locations seeking union representation nearly doubled this week and the Supreme Court essentially put the death knell on the President’s vaccine mandate for large employers. We are joined by Peter Romeo, Editor at Large for Restaurant Business Magazine to get his unique insights on the week that was and how employers are reacting to the issue challenges before them.

And then we will wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Well it’s a new year and with the new year comes the opening of state legislatures across the country. We are joined once again by Mike Whatley, Vice President of State Affairs and Grassroots Advocacy for the National Restaurant Association who will walk us through the industry’s key issues for 2022 and what operators and industry executives need to know.

And we’ll discuss what’s the status of the President’s vaccine mandate, recent actions by governors and mayors, as well as the pending hearing in the U.S. Supreme Court.

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