The Working Lunch

Notch a win for the anti-corporate crowd. Amazon’s decision to pull out of New York City gives momentum to the populist wave sweeping both political parties. With Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks and now Disney in the crosshairs, could traditional restaurant brands be next? And speaking of Starbucks, we’ll discuss how his campaign is going so far and whether the business model is feeling the effects. And we’ll discuss a new study of how transportation and housing challenges are impacting employment. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The restaurant industry is about to get Uberized. Travis Kalanick is launching Cloud Kitchens, a worldwide network of food delivery kitchens. We’ll discuss the impacts to the traditional business model. Also, New York City is becoming a labor organizers dream. Now they are proposing legislation making it harder to fire employees. And lastly, this was a tough week for retail. The worst sales in 9 years, labor unrest at ToysRUs, Walmart loses a big court case and Amazon bails out of Queens. What is going on over in retail? We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Format bans are in the news again. This time New Hampshire is going after chains but instead of taxing them, they are trying to repeal local preemption laws to outright ban them. We’ll take a look at that. Also, efforts are underway in states to eliminate the tip credit. We’ll assess how those efforts are going and who is winning that battle. And lastly, as we have been predicting for some time, a major state may be going down the road of portable benefits. Start spreading the news, it's New York. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Howard Schultz is running for President. Herman Cain may join the Federal Reserve Board. Are these the Glory Days for the restaurant industry or are we running headlong into a public examination of our business model? We’ll kick that around. And Republicans out West - in Wyoming of all places - are going after big companies. Does populism have Corporate America in its sights? And this is the 100th episode of Working Lunch and we’ll take a look at what has changed in the political environment since we got this thing started. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The brightest new star in the democratic congressional galaxy is a former server and bartender and her agenda is becoming the party’s agenda. We’ll take a look at what impact she may have on her old employers and colleagues in the restaurant industry. And under the heading “no good deed goes unpunished”, we’ll discuss the events that led to Starbuck’s new needle disposal program and what may lay ahead for them. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Democrats have introduced their long-awaited legislation to raise the minimum wage to $ 15/hr. We’ll discuss its prospects, particularly against the backdrop of the federal shutdown impasse. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce made news this week announcing that they will begin to rate lawmakers based in part on their bi-partisanship and willingness to compromise.We’ll take a look at how that might play out. And, more Democrats are jumping into the presidential race but one thing they seem to have in common is their pledge to not accept corporate PAC donations. We discuss the ramifications of that for the business community. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The government is shut down leaving a lot of issues affecting operators in limbo. We'll look at the politics around the shutdown, how long it will go, and what this means for operators. And joint employer is back in the news both on Capitol Hill and in New York City. We’ll get our arms around what operators should expect. And our friends in California and New York are at it again - this time competing on the most generous mandated benefits. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Affordable Care Act suffered a significant blow this week as a federal judge ruled against its individual mandate. We’ll discuss how this impacts the issue , the political process, and most importantly, operators. Also, immigration is back in the news and it’s not just about walls and migrant caravans. some are saying that the immigration situation is negatively affecting food safety. Also, the marijuana debate is getting a little hazy and operators are finding themselves in the middle of it. Finally, we’ll have an interview with Martha Miller, president & managing director of Platinum Advisors, a leading California public affairs firm to give us her take on what to expect in the golden state for 2019. We’ll talk about those stories and then wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

If the employer community ever wants to “win” on workplace issues, they have to reframe wages, scheduling and paid leave as components of the workplace of the future where flexibility is paramount. We’ll discuss how operators could approach those issues in a way that improves their political fortunes. Additionally, we’ll take a look out continued post-election fallout and how brands can protect themselves from state level political food fights. We’ll talk about those stories and then wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Republicans in some key states are having some post-election meltdowns and take a look at whether that makes for smart politics and how it could impact operators. We’ll also discuss how cash may not be king for very much longer as more restaurants are considering only accepting credit or debit cards and we’ll take a look at the possible political ramifications. Jeff Hanscom from the International Franchise Association joins us to discuss the lawsuit they filed in New York City this week over their new scheduling law and what impact it may have on the pending joint employer legislation. We’ll talk about those stories and then wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.