The Working Lunch

The unions had a big week as a Midwest chain of coffee shops lost a close union vote this week, the latest in a series of successful organizing campaigns in the upper Midwest blue wall states. Is the health and safety crisis we are facing just what the doctor ordered for the labor community? We’ll take a look at the opening the pandemic has provided. And some new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics has thrown a little cold water on the ongoing narrative around the impact of unemployment benefits on the labor shortage. We’ll take a look at what the numbers say - and don’t say - and how that impacts the conversation going forward. We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The AFL-CIO makes its choice today to name Richard Trumpka’s interim successor and all indications are that Liz Shuler, Trumpka’s loyal right hand, will get the nod making her the first woman to ever lead the nation's largest union. Mike Saltsman, a frequent contributor to the pod and a partner with Berman & Company joins us to share his expertise on what the future looks like for Big Labor and what it means for business owners. And we’ll lead off the legislative scorecard with a deep dive on the current state of the battle over masks, vaccine passports and boosters as well as report on the rest of the legislative and regulatory developments this week.

More cities are requiring vaccination passports and masks for indoor dining with one state even bringing back dining restrictions. It feels like we are going backwards quickly and companies are increasingly enacting their own policies. We’ll discuss the increasing pressure on operators as the virus continues to rage. And the Democrats find themselves with their bench thinning as Andrew Cuomo is forced out of office and Gavin Newsom in California facing a very tight recall. Both went from presidential aspirants to damaged goods in the blink of an eye. We’ll take a look at the political situation for the blue team. And with the second infrastructure bill on the move, the debates on national paid leave, national childcare and a host of other labor community priorities are commencing. We’ll take a look at what’s ahead for the industry. We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Masks and vaccinations are the story of the week with Governor’s squabbling with the President, Governor’s squabbling with each other, attorneys general squabbling with Mayor’s and once again, operators caught in the middle of both a health crisis and a political food fight. The two largest cities in America are soon to be mandating vaccination records to eat indoors and major companies are starting to enact their own policies. We’ll discuss the situation and where operators may find themselves going forward. And Sean Kennedy, the EVP of Public Affairs for the National Restaurant Association stops by the pod again to help us sort out the state of play with regard to the infrastructure package, why the Association supports it, and what may be next that impacts bottom lines of operators. And we’ll discuss the unexpected passing of AFL-CIO head Richard Trumpka and what the nation’s largest union may look like in the years ahead. We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Delta Variant is threatening to significantly disrupt the economy again just as the industry was showing signs of a meaningful recovery. And with it will bring new public affairs and employee relations challenges for operators including masks, immunizations and potentially the return of dining restrictions to name a few. We’ll take a look at what might be in store for restaurant owners both operationally and reputationally as the virus makes a comeback. And data continues to emerge on the impacts of supplemental unemployment benefits on the labor market. We’ll take a look at the latest information and discuss what could lay ahead for operators. And a new study by researchers at Notre Dame and Penn State examines the potential linkage between the practice of tipping and the increased risks of sexual harassment. We’ll discuss how these findings could lead to more extensive research and potentially place tipping itself under more scrutiny. We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

This week, Washington, DC was a hotbed of legislative activity critically important to restaurant operators. Hearings on the nominations of industry adversaries, pieces of the PRO Act potentially being passed through reconciliation, the infrastructure bill and the fate of paid leave and child care are just a few of the issues in play during a busy week in the nation’s capital. We will dive into all that and try to sort it all out. And California has just passed the nation’s first statewide Universal Basic Income Program. Whether it’s UBI, the CARES Act, unemployment benefits or forgivable loans to employers, we’ll discuss the growing bi-partisan consensus around direct government payments to both individuals and small businesses. We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Maine is about to enact the most far-reaching product stewardship law in the country dramatically redefining how traditional recycling plans have been structured. Following models in Europe and Canada, everyone along the supply chain - including restaurants and retailers - will have significant new responsibilities in handling waste and other packaging as well as bearing the cost of recycling. We talk to Curtis Picard, CEO & President of the Retail Association of Maine and Scot Case, the Vice-President of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability at the National Retail Federation to better understand what is happening in this space and what operators can expect going forward. And Gallup is out with their newest edition of annual polling on how optimistic or pessimistic Americans are regarding quality of life and the future. We’ll discuss what impacts those attitudes may have on not only politics and voting but also on spending decisions in the marketplace. We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The SBA has rejected yet another pool of Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant applicants because of pending litigation against the agency over their racial and gender preferences in distributing initial grants. As a result, thousands of restaurant owners still find themselves in limbo. We sit down with Sean Kennedy, EVP of Public Affairs for the National Restaurant Association to get the latest on the state of play of the situation and what the road ahead looks like. And the larger legacy players in the industry seemed to have stabilized financially in the wake of the pandemic. We sit down with Michael Halen, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Senior Restaurant Analyst and take a look at the financial landscape, the impact of both stimulus checks on sales and unemployment checks on labor, and what the overall economic health of the industry is right now. And we saw a slew of local elections across the country this week, most notably in New York City and in Buffalo where the country will now have its first socialist mayor in nearly 60 years. We’ll discuss what happened and as always what it means moving ahead. We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Small Business Administration has been sued - ostensibly by restaurant owners in Texas and Tennessee over loan preferences for traditionally disadvantaged business owners, namely minorities and women with regard to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. Behind the scenes however, the lawsuit is one among many begging choreographed by Trump Administration alumni to call out preferential treatment for minorities across various agencies of government. We’ll discuss the implications of all this for the industry both operationally and reputationally. And the industry is getting caught up in the Tech-lash wars as traditionally business-friendly Republicans take aim at big tech and employers are finding themselves as collateral damage in an ideological political battle. Brennan Duckett, Technology & Innovation Policy Director for the National Restaurant Association stops by the pod to help us to sort it all out and help operators understand how they are impacted. And Maine is on the doorstep of a first in the nation environmental law that fundamentally shifts the financial responsibility of recycling programs from taxpayers to manufacturers and distributors of the products themselves - such as restaurants. We’ll discuss the ramifications of this effort and what it could mean for operators. We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Congress and state legislators are beginning to get serious about the labor shortage facing employers. Discussions around tax incentives, government-funded hiring bonuses and other remedies are at the forefront of the conversation. We’ll discuss the state of play of this important issue and what operators should expect. And Walmart is the latest company to get a visit from activist shareholders demanding change. This week leading labor activist Rev. William Barber showed up in Bentonville demanding higher wages and worker protections. We’ll take a look at how that played out. And CEO Pay is increasingly being tied to Diversity Goals. This week a number of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, ran stories detailing the increasing pressure executives are under from, surprisingly, institutional investors. We’ll dive right into that. And to top it off, our old friend Mike Whatley, Vice President of State Affairs and Grassroots Programs at the National Restaurant Association, stops by the pod and discusses The NRA’s BluePrint for Rebuilding - a resource to help state and local policy makers as the look for ways to reinvigorate the industry in their states and towns. We’ll discuss those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.