The Working Lunch

The national conversation on tips hit overdrive this week as former president Trump’s new cause - eliminating taxes on tipped income - has found its way into the Republican party platform at the upcoming convention. We’ll discuss what that means to the industry, as well as talk about the big win in Ohio and significant developments in Massachusetts. And the Supreme Court continues to alter the reg...

Last week, we discussed how the former and possibly future President of the United States, Donald Trump, suggested that if elected, he would eliminate taxes on tipped income. This week, his loyalists in the U.S. Senate followed suit introducing legislation to do just that. While the bill may ever see the light of day, the conversation itself is putting the labor community and their friends on the...

This week, the former and possibly future President of the United States, Donald Trump, suggested that if elected, he would eliminate taxes on tipped income. Two questions. Doesn’t he need a willing Congress to do that and secondly, how did tips find their way into being a presidential campaign issue? We’ll discuss. And it was an important week on the minimum wage ballot front with big news out of...

We’re joined by Justin Winslow, the President & CEO of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association, who will discuss his organization’s successful legal battle before the state supreme court to remove a pending ballot measure to increase the minimum wage and eliminate the tip credit. But the issue is far from over and we talk about what’s coming next. And California is at it again - this time cr...

A unionization effort at a high-profile restaurant in Minneapolis could be the equivalent of the early efforts in the coffee sector in both Boston and Buffalo that led directly to Starbucks. Operators large and small in Minneapolis better buckle up and operators everywhere should be paying close attention. We’ll explain why. And we are joined by Mike Whatley, Vice-President of State Affairs & Gras...

We are joined by Phil Wilson, President & General Counsel of the Labor Relations Institute to talk about the recent application of the Cemex decision in a restaurant organizing effort and forcing the operators to bargain. Is this a one-off or just the beginning as the labor community continues to focus on the industry. We’ll talk about that important development and wrap it up with the legislative...

With a new union focused on organizing QSR’s in the South, and pro-union think tanks disparaging the “Southern Economic Model”, the escalation of the southern prison labor issue is not happening in a vacuum. How should the industry view what is happening down South and more importantly, how to prepare for it. And the landmark Cemex decision has barreled headfirst into the restaurant industry with...

Minneapolis has successfully engineered a labor standards board for nursing home workers that will set benefit and wage levels for that sector. So far advocates have considered it a big success building momentum for the concept. Any guesses as to which industry is next on their agenda? You guessed it. We’ll discuss what’s coming down the pike for the restaurant industry. And under the guise of “we...

We are joined by Sean Kennedy, the EVP of Public Affairs for the National Restaurant Association to reflect on last week’s summiting of Capitol Hill by hundreds of restauant operators during the Assocation’s annual Public Affairs Conference. What did Members of Congress learn from us and what did we learn from them? We’ll discuss. And in the wake of political blowback, are leading companies shying...

There are some important restaurant states this year with minimum wage and tip credit elimination measures on the November ballot. Ohio is at the top of that list. We are joined by John Barker, CEO of the Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance as well as Tod Bowen, their head of External Affiars & Government Relations, to level set on their pending measure to both incease the minimum wage to $15/h...

DoorDash is working with the state of Pennsylvania on a portable benefits pilot program that, if successful, could completely alter the dynamics of the national paid leave and benefits conversation. Is there a way for the industry to seize this opportunity and extricate itself from these reputationally-draining issues? We’ll discuss. And the media is having a field day in California documenting th...

We sit down with Doug Kantor, the general counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores, to discuss the biggest story this week - the preliminary settlement of the class action lawsuit brought by a group of retailers almost 20 years ago accusing the credit card companies and their electronic payments systems of being an anti-competitive monopoly. We’ll discuss the merits of the settlem...

We sit down with Brennan Duckett, the Director of Technology & Innovation Policy at the National Restaurant Association and discuss the junk fee and service charge issue both federally and its explosion at the state level. And the industry had a big win at the end of last week when the NLRB’s joint employer rule was thwarted in a Texas courtroom. What’s next for the agency, for the unions and for...

The President gave the annual State of the Union address this week and his war on junk fees was front and center - the same week his Council of Economic Advisiors said that restaurants made up close to 10% of all junk fees. Is the industry potentially heading for some major backlash? We’ll discuss. And the SEC put out their long-awaited climate disclosure regulations and believe it or not, the wor...

The author of the Fast Act in California has filed additional legislation to exempt certain industries from the new law he championed. Was this an altruistic gesture to relieve the pressure on a host of small businesses or inside baseball among the unions and the legislators that carry their water? We are joined by Jot Condie, the President & CEO of the California Restaurant Association to help us...

Starbucks was in the news this week on a number of different fronts, none of them very good. This past Tuesday, workers at 21 stores filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board to conduct elections, the most in one day since the campaign began two and a half years ago. And on top of that, a coordinated effort on college campuses has sprouted up pressuring administrators to throw Starbu...

A Committee Chair in the U.S. House of Representatives is demanding information from the Commissioner of the IRS regarding the lobbying and electioneering activities of One Fair Wage and whether their actions are in violation of their nonprofit status. Is the IRS looking the other way? We’ll discuss. And then we are joined by Jeff Hanscom, the Vice President of State & Local Government Relations &...

Two big legislative items this week popped up in California and Georgia that operators should take note of, one exempting a lot of folks out from under the FAST Act and the other a franchisee bill of rights proposal that should have parent companies pretty nervous. We’ll take a look. And then we are joined by Aaron Frazier, the Vice President of Public Policy at the National Restaurant Association...

This week, the Associated Press published the results of a two-year investigation into alleged exploitation of prison labor, primarily in the agriculture industry. The report not only documents the food production process, it follows the products through the supply chain and names retailers, grocery stores, industry suppliers and even some QSR brands that “benefit” from prison labor. We talk about...

We are joined by Mark Mix, the President of the National Right to Work Committee and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation who is assisting workers who wish to decertify their unions. It’s a fascinating and instructive conversation into what the next chapter could look like for the industry in the labor organizing space We’ll talk about that and wrap it up with the legislative scorec...

After years of regulatory and legal wrangling, the Labor Department released its long-awaited rule on the legal treatment of independent contractors. So what does this mean for operators leveraging outside resources for janitorial services, maintenance, and delivery drivers? We’ll discuss. And Mike Whatley, the Vice-President of State Affairs & Grassroots Advocacy for the National Restaurant Assoc...

It’s 2024 and legislative sessions are starting all over the country. Congress is heating up as well. And, oh yeah, there is a national election this year . We’ll discuss what the year ahead will look like for restaurant operators. And Sean Kennedy, the Executive Vice President of Public Affairs for the National Restaurant Association stops by to talk about the state of play with regard to the FTC...

Starbucks has had one heck of a week with the release of an internal audit regarding the company’s conduct during its ongoing unionization fight, another tough loss at the NLRB, and tons of media coverage about its sagging numbers. These are not happy days in Seattle. We’ll discuss. And a job training program gone bad or exploiting cheap labor? We’ll take a look at the lawsuit in Alabama against t...

We talk with Doug Kantor, General Counsel of the Nationl Association of Conveneince Stores about the new coalition in Washington that is leaning headfirst into the credit card debit card fee fight with the banks and credit card companies. And we discuss the cooling job market and how it may impact worker leverage and the ability of the labor community to continue their organizing efforts in the in...

We discuss the changing politics of the debate around interchange fees and how the banks and credit card industry, usually in lock step with Republicans, is increasingly finding itself at odds with their old friends and on the target list. We’ll discuss why. And Steve Clark, the President & CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association stops by the pod to give us a status check on One Fair Wage’...