The Working Lunch

The 2020 legislative sessions are starting soon and we’ll take a look at what the industry will be facing and more importantly, where they will be facing it and how it may impact the industry. And the Retail Industry Leaders Association released a new study looking at why the traditional brick-and-mortar business - like retail and restaurants - are losing workers to the gig economy. Evan Armstrong from RILA stops by the program to discuss what they learned. And McDonald’s settled a huge lawsuit in California over pay discrepancies involving meal and rest breaks. What can the industry learn from their experience? We’ll take a look at that. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The mandated scheduling issue is at a critical inflection point and like the trajectory of paid leave, leading thinkers on the right are beginning to weigh in and are moving the issue to the center of the political spectrum. We interviewed Dr. Aparna Mathur, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss the current state of play of the issue and the role that the business community should be playing in finding the sensible center of the issue. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

A new piece from the business-friendly American Enterprise Institute is making the business case for some type of reasonable mandated scheduling legislation. We’ll discuss how companies in the heat of those battles might view those proposals and, more importantly, how elected officials in key battleground cities might as well. And federal apprenticeship programs are in the news this week and it's not the kind of news we would like. We’ll discuss some new challenges facing the Labor Department with regard to apprenticeships and if and how it affects the industry. And Louisiana will decide on a new governor tomorrow and considering what happened in Kentucky, if the incumbent Democrat hangs on, national Republicans will be in panic mode. We’ll kick that around.  We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

It was Election Day this week in five states and numerous cities throughout the country and we’ll discuss the results, the impacts for restaurant operators and what it all means for 2020. We’ll have a particular focus on Virginia where the results will have the biggest impact on the industry. We’ll have a conversation with Chris Lloyd with McGuireWoods Consulting in Richmond to walk us through what we need to be prepared for. And the CEO of McDonald’s stepped down this week after details of a relationship with a fellow employee became public. We’ll discuss how this plays into the ongoing narrative pushed by the labor community that the company and the industry have a culture of sexual harassment and hostility to women. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Starbucks is making an innovative investment in Chicago, providing seed money for local entrepreneurs to start small businesses and reinvest in neighborhoods. We’ll take a look at that and discuss its implications. And next week is Election Day in numerous cities throughout the country as well as in five states. We’ll discuss the national landscape and what restaurant owners can expect. And a friend from Silicon Valley stopped by the pod to talk about the role technology is playing in employers’ ability to provide additional educational opportunities and upskilling for their employees. We’ll discuss that with Chris Mancini from study.com. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

There was major movement this week on the portable benefits issue as lawmakers both in Congress as well as in cities debate the future of work. Policymakers from both the political left and right are increasingly addressing the issue and we’ll discuss how the industry should be reacting. And in the midst of a union organizing campaign, Chipotle appears to have shot themselves in the foot again and there is a major lawsuit pending. We’ll take a look at that situation. And while Big Tech is getting beaten up in Congress everyday, it appears that cities are increasingly taking the lead in Tech Lash. We’ll kick that around as well. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Elections are just weeks away in a number of key states and we’ll discuss how things look coming into the home stretch and how the results may impact 2020. And we recap the MUFSO conference in Denver where a couple of industry veterans dropped by the pod room to say hello and hang out with us a little bit including Bloomin' Brands CEO Dave Deno and longtime industry journalist Ron Ruggless who both shared their observations about the state of the industry and the important issues we are facing. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Align team interviews an old friend of ours and industry veteran, New York City labor attorney Carolyn Richmond who runs the Hospitality Practice Group for Fox Rothchild. She stopped by the pod to help us understand the likely next steps of the SEIU’s organizing campaign in New York and how area employers should prepare if organizers end up on their doorstep. And we’ve seen the inevitable pushback on recent narratives that CEOs should be prioritizing people and communities over profits. We discuss a New York Times piece this week that argues for CEOs to remember what their real job is. And under the heading of broken record, again this week, everyone’s talking about wage theft. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

It’s finally happening. The SEIU has begun their long-threatened campaign to organize McDonald’s workers, starting with outlets in New York City as well as some Chipotle restaurants. We’ll discuss what’s next and what the ramifications could be. And speaking of New York City, at the behest of the restaurant industry, Grubhub has found itself in the sights of the mayor and city council. Is this a one-off or the beginning of the industry’s entry into new economy issues. We’ll kick that around. And Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro have released their labor agendas and they are so far to the left that Bernie Sanders is having to play catch up. Let that soak in for a minute. We’ll try to make sense of that. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

A new study is suggesting that many young people entering the workforce are more concerned with the company they work for doing good things than they are concerned with making good money. Can this be right? We’ll take a look at this 12- city case study. And on the flip side of that, some prominent conservatives are mounting a backlash against “do gooder” companies and calling for government to intervene. We’ll try to make some sense out of that. And California may be on the path toward a “Restaurant Survivor Empowerment Act”. We’ll bring you up to speed on that. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.