The Working Lunch

The U.S. House passed their long-awaited relief bill this week and while it is unlikely to pass the Senate in its current form, it is noteworthy because Democratic leaders championed and included many of the Independent Restaurant Coalition’s priorities while chains and franchisees were deliberately left out in the cold. Is there a political divide developing in the industry that may reshape our traditional approach to advocacy? We’ll discuss that and the ramifications for operators. And while the Trump Administration has suspended many Obama-era regulations regarding corporate diversity numbers and corresponding pay equity, more and more companies are disclosing that data voluntarily. We'll take a look at those trendlines and where that conversation may be heading. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Important players in the conservative intelligentia are calling for a new approach and relationship to the labor community and making the conservative case for not necessarily traditional unions but worker empowerment. We will sit down with Eli Lehrer, President of R Street Institute and discuss his recent joint statement in the American Compass calling for a new paradigm in labor relations. And Democrats in Congress, along with some independent restaurant owners, are calling for the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on third-party delivery platforms and the “harmful impacts” they are having on the industry. We discuss what’s happening there. And over the last few years, the #MeToo movement has provided a legislative and political roadmap for the Black Lives Matter movement that will likely come to fruition in 2021. We’ll discuss how that may play out and how the industry needs to prepare. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

We interview Sean Kennedy, Executive Vice President for Public Affairs at the National Restaurant Association and get his perspective on the likelihood that Congress will come to the aid of the industry anytime soon. He’ll let us know where things stand in Washington and how the industry is working to support operators. We’ll also discuss the recent CDC report and how both operators and corporate leaders need to be careful on how and what we say regarding those findings. Additionally, our old friend Matt Haller from the International Franchise Association stops by the pod and brings us up to speed on all things joint employer, including the Labor Department’s planned appeal of the recent court ruling invalidating part of their new joint employer rule. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

It’s happened again in Minneapolis. This week yet another brew pub in the city became a target for UNITE HERE and, as we discussed last week, we are not overly surprised. What was surprising, however, was how that particular management team reacted. We’ll discuss what they did and what the potential implications could be. And Samantha Padgett, General Counsel for the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association stopped by the pod and will bring us up to speed on the pending ballot initiative to raise the Florida minimum wage to $15/hour by 2026. She’ll tell us the state of play and what operators need to know and how to get engaged. And McDonald's is being sued by a group of former Black franchisees accusing the company of systemic racism when it comes to site selection and other franchise-related issues. We’ll discuss what that means for the company and how it fits into the overall ongoing national conversation on equality. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

This week saw our industry’s first successful union election in the post-Covid era when a Tattersall Distillery and cocktail bar location in Minneapolis overwhelmingly voted to organize. We’ll take a look at the factors that contributed to this, the vulnerability of that particular market and what operators need to pay attention to going forward. And we talk automation with Jamie Richardson, the Vice President of Government & Shareholder Relations for White Castle System, Inc and discuss his companies pending experiment leveraging robots in the back of the house. And we’ll also have a conversation about how a possible Biden Administration may have very different criteria for what responsible corporate engagement looks like than the current administration and what that could mean for brands going forward. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Independent Restaurant Coalition and the Restaurant Opportunities Center strengthened their alliance this week with a joint event held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention. We’ll discuss this budding partnership and the potential impact it may have on the industry’s traditional political and policy agenda. And the franchise business model has once again been pulled into the ongoing debate in California around the reclassification of Uber drivers from independent contractors to regular employees. We’ll discuss what impact this may have on both franchisors and franchisees. And speaking of California, legislation has been introduced to create a wealth tax unlike any we’ve ever seen. We’ll discuss not only the bill itself but the larger impact it may have on the income inequality conversation. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Restaurants and bars continue to find themselves at the center of the national debate over recent spikes in the COVID-19 pandemic putting the industry in a precarious political and reputational position. We’ll discuss how the industry is going to have to thread the needle and be vigorous advocates for the business model while being sensitive to the health and safety challenges communities are facing. And after a long summer of suspense, Joe Biden finally made it official - naming Sen. Kamala Harris from California, his onetime rival for the nomination, as his running mate. We’ll take a look at her record from an industry perspective and discuss what her priorities might be. And the CEO of Uber is once again emerging from the independent contractor fracas in California - one that he partially created - and using it as a national platform to advocate for portable benefits. We’ll discuss what that could mean for employers both now and going forward. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Delivery Platforms are under the gun across the country as policymakers are significantly altering their business models. We’ll discuss how they have tried to change the conversation, their reputation and their role in the industry. And states are stepping into the health and safety space that critics feel has been abandoned by the federal government and mandating significant COVID-related worker protections. Virginia has been leading the way in that area and Christopher Lloyd from the McGuireWoods law firm in Richmond walks us through what his state has done and why other states may follow. And the Business Roundtable continues to jump in the fray on contentious issues but. We’ll discuss the impacts of their engagement - if any - and the potential for blowback. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The next Coronavirus relief package seems to have stalled in Congress leaving displaced workers and business owners in a precarious position. Matt Walker, Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Restaurant Association joins us to sort it all out and help us understand what’s ahead. And as a result of the uncertainty facing workers right now, operators need to be extremely cognizant of the labor relations environment and the tremendous pressure that many of their workers - and customers as well - are currently feeling. We’ll take a look at how they should navigate that space. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Of all the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the labor model, one of the more lasting ones may be the acceleration of the adoption of technology. White Castle is aggressively experimenting with a robot named, “Flippy” that can handle a lot of the back of the house duties. We’ll discuss what this could mean going forward. And speaking of labor, the pandemic may have also but the nail in the coffin of the no-tipping movement. This week, Danny Meyer of the Union Square Hospitality Group pulled the plug on their no-tipping policy and instead will move to a more traditional tip sharing model. We’ll take a look at how that will impact the national conversation on tips. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.