The Working Lunch

Starbucks is back in the news this week as their Workers United union has voted to authorize a national strike at any moment. What’s going on behind the scenes? Is this a bargaining ploy as both slides sit down at the negotiating table this week or is it for real? We’ll discuss.

And we are joined by Maggie Gentile, a partner at Food Directions and a consultant to the National Restaurant Association to discuss the impact that the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda being led by Robert Kennedy, Jr. will have on the industry. Maggie’s going to tell us what the food policy landscape will look like in 2025 and what operators should be paying attention to.

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

It was a tough week for the National Labor Relations Board with the Senate failing to confirm Pres. Biden’s nominations to the Board. This clears the decks for the incoming Trump Admnistration to remake the Board much quicker than anticipated. And just down the street, the agency lost a major court battle that could dramatically alter the roles - and tenure - of Administrative Law Judges. We’ll discuss.

And we are joined by Mike Whatley, the Vice President of State Affairs and Grassroots Advocacy at the National Restaurant Association to discuss some issues currently percolating, look back at 2024 and look ahead to 2025.

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

We have a conversation with Greg Astley, Director of Government Affairs for the Oregon Restaurant Association, about Oregan Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer and his team’s working relationship with the new Cabinet member. What has been her record in Congress? What are her priorities? And what’s her relationship with the Teamsters? We’ll get the view from back home in Oregon.

And then we’ll talk about another major employer, Walmart, joining the growing group of companies pivoting on their DEI policies.

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

In yet another surprise appointment, President-Elect Trump has nominated an outgoing member of Congress, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, to run the Labor Department. Ironically, she is one of a small handful of Republicans to vote for the PRO Act, organized labor’s signature piece of legislation in years. To say the least, the nomination is causing significant consternation in the business community. We’ll take a deep dive into that.

And Waffle House filed a lawsuit against the National Labor Relations Board questioning the consitutionality of the Board and charging that employers are denied due process. What does this mean to pending unfair labor practice accusations against the company as well as the broader corporate campaign being waged against it by the Southern Service Workers union? We’ll take a look at that as well.

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

The President-elect has been shocking allies and foes alike with his nominations for cabinet posts. While some will have more impact on the industry than others, the nomination of Robert F Kennedy, Jr will likely cause shock waves up and down the food supply as he goes after processed food, sodium, sugar and other additives. It’s going to be a wild ride.

And we are joined by David King, the Guidance and Outreach Director for the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to talk about pending regulations regarding Beneficial Ownership Information that all employers must submit to the agency to comply with the Corporate Transparancy Act. He will walk us through the origin of the law, why it’s necessary, and the responsibility of all business owners to file the information.

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

It’s finally over. In a surprise for most, Republicans have a huge night sweeping Donald Trump back into the White House. We’ll discuss what happened this week both at the federal level as well as in the states and take a look at what the industry can expect going forward.

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

Well, the election is finally here and it can’t come fast enough. While we don’t know the outcome yet, we do know that it will be razor-close and legally contested. To help us sort it out, we’re joined by our good friend Sean Kennedy, Executive Vice President of Public Policy for the National Restaurant Assocation, who will help us get it all sorted out.

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

McDonald’s was all over the news this week for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was a visit to a Pennsylvania restaurant by none other than The Donald himself. Besides his work at the fry station and his voluminous lunch order, what was the key takeaway politically from his visit, both for himself and for the industry? We’ll discuss.

And the Gallup organization released survey data regarding American attitudes toward taxes, tax fairness and tax reform. While results were all over the board depending on political ideologies, one thing the vast majority of Americans agreed on was that corporate taxes are too low. We’ll take a look at how that environment may shape the pending tax debate in 2025.

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

The very liberal governor of Massachusetts made a splash this week when she came out strongly against Question 5, the pending ballot proposal to eliminate the tip credit in the Bay State by 2029. The former server demonstrated her first hand knowledge of the issue and its ramifications for both workers and operators. This is a huge deal and could have implications for how the industry manages the issue across the country going forward. We’ll take a deep dive into this one.

And One Fair Wage puts on quite a show in Michigan, upping the ante with an event in downtown Detroit equating tipping with shackles and chains. Oh my. Lots to unpack there.

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

We do a deep dive into next month’s general election and discuss not only the top of the ticket, but of importance to operators, what is happening at the state and local level that may impact their bottom lines.

And Jeff Hanscom, Vice President of State & Local Government Relations & Public Policy for the International Franchise Association, stops by the pod to talk about a big win in California and the collective efforts of both franchisors and franchisees working together on what could be a model going forward.

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