The Working Lunch

A couple of big brands this week announced some vigorous sustainability initiatives, namely Wendy’s & Chipotle. We’ll discuss those efforts and whether they fall in the category of good PR or preparing the business for the future - or both. And the ongoing tussle between some franchisees and their franchisor parents played out in a couple of state legislatures this week. We’ll take a look at the v...

We do a deep dive on the changing dynamics around tipping not only from an operational and reputational perspective, but ultimately politically as well. We’ll discuss all of this with Peter Romeo and Joe Guszkowski, two of the major contributors to Restaurant Business magazine’s recent project entitled, “Tipping Point” And in political news, we had some important elections this week in Chicago and...

We’re going to do a deep dive on Howard Shultz’s appearance before Bernie Sanders and the Senate HELP committee and assess his performance, whether or not it was a “win” for Bernie and what it means going forward for both the company and its powerful detractors. We'll be joined by Peter Romeo from Restaurant Business magazine who covered the hearing extensively and get his unique insight on the pr...

The Starbucks Workers United union put their cards on the table this week and unveiled their demands before company managers. The menu includes a $20/hr minimum starting wage - even higher in some places - a 37 hour week, free healthcare and schedules a month in advance. Let the games begin! And speaking of $20 minimum wages, has that become the new normal in the ongoing national debate. Has the F...

The war between Main Street and Wall Street over credit card interchange fees has spilled over into the states and we take a look at how certain states are attempting to exclude state and local taxes from inclusion in those fees. We talk to our old friend and colleague Joe Rinzel, now a principal at MultiState Associates, to get us up to speed on what’s going on. And the CEO of the Michigan Restau...

The big announcement this week is that Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will voluntarily testify in front of Sen. Sander’s committee to answer some presumably tough questions about the unionization campaign at his company. We’ll discuss what that hearing may look like and how it may bleed into an overall assault on the restaurant industry. And we visit with Chicago political veteran Ryan McLaughlin to...

It was a big week in Starbucks Land with Bernie Sanders announcing that he was subpoenaing CEO Howard Schultz, a major loss in a court decision concerning the entire Buffalo market, and a revolt among home office employees. We’ll unpack all of that. And to the surprise of none, the President nominated Julie Su to be the next Secretary of Labor. We’ll take a look at her record and discuss what her...

The Wall Street Journal posted an excellent article this week on the tipping issue and the IRS’s new proposed voluntary tip reporting program. We discuss the merits of the issue and if the new proposal is merely a solution in search of a problem. And Howard Schultz has put himself back in the spotlight by suggesting in recent interviews that his unionization issues have very little to do with his...

The Internal Revenue Service is proposing a revamp of their existing voluntary tip reporting program and rolling out the Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement or (SITCA). Is there a problem that they are trying to solve or are they merely joining in with their labor friends in the campaign against tipping? We’ll discuss. And the industry flexed a little muscle this week gumming up the works on...

We discuss the big week that the One Fair Wage campaign had with press conferences, Congressional pressure on the NRA, and a flurry of legislation at the state level. We’ll unpack all of that. And just when you thought we had dispensed with the scheduling issue, it’s back with a vengeance. Post-covid, labor community activists see the issue as a rallying point for organizers and we discuss the imp...

As we predicted, states are channeling their inner California envy and rolling out legislation similar to the Fast Act. We’ll take a look at the overall battle being waged on multiple fronts with new bills, new lawsuits and new disclosures regarding the brands that are leading the opposition. And speaking of California, there is new climate legislation forcing financial disclosures from companies...

Episode 275: What the New York Times missed in its story on ServSafe by Align Public Strategies

We examine the wins and losses of 2022 and the lessons learned as we head into the 2023 legislative sessions. We’ll discuss what issues the industry should be prepared to deal with this year and our strategies for managing them. And Sean Kennedy, the Executive Vice-President of Public Policy for the National Restaurant Association stops by the pod to talk about the current legal situation in Calif...

We do a deeper dive into some of the ballot initiatives this past election, especially the minimum wage measures across the country. We are joined by Mike Saltzman, Partner at Berman & Company, to discuss those outcomes and what they may tell us about industry engagement going forward. Starbucks workers staged a unique but effective walkout before Thanksgiving co-opting the company’s Red Cup Day a...

We take a long look at the volatility of the economy and the impact that inflation is having - and will have - on the industry for the next few quarters. We are joined by Michael Halen, Senior Restaurant Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence who will help us understand what we are seeing financially and what is likely coming down the road for the industry. And the midterm elections are here. We’ll dis...

We’ll take a look at ranked-choice voting and the impact it's having in Alaska giving independent, centrist candidates a legitimate shot at winning elections. Many cities and states are experimenting with it now - could it be the wave of the future? We’ll discuss. And the alcohol industry is coming at us in 2023, ready to pushback on Covid-era gains around cocktails-to-go and home delivery of alco...

The SEC’s new rule mandating publicly-traded companies provide detailed disclosure about the financial impact of climate change on their business is in the home stretch. To help us figure it out, Aaron Frazier, Vice President of Public Policy for the National Restaurant Association, stops by the pod and lets us know the latest and greatest and what brands need to prepare for. And last week, the Sc...

A new survey out this week by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) finds that the workplace is becoming more politically polarized leading to altercations and hostile work environments. We discuss what this means for employers as well as corporate decision making. And the Supreme Court has convened its new term and the docket is full of cases with important implications for employers i...

Last week was a big week for Starbucks as they announced they are willing to sit down and negotiate with the 250 or so stores that have voted to unionize - but they want to do it quickly - like in the next three weeks. We’ll discuss their strategy as well as what the union is looking for in negotiations. And the election is less than six weeks away and will discuss the polls, the trends and the ra...

The Political Right is getting fed up with “woke” companies and their investments in sustainable initiatives and industries and putting their money with their mouth is by pressuring companies they work with to resist. Now CEOs are faced with political litmus tests from all sides of the investment community. We’ll discuss the pressure on leaders in this difficult environment. And the Home Depot has...

We discuss the aftermath of California’s FAST Act and the environment for the labor community as they try to export similar legislation to other states. Can the industry stem the tide? We’ll discuss. And proponents of the PROAct have taken their show on the road, hitting the campaign trail to keep Democratic Senate candidates’ feet to the fire. Could that strategy backfire? We’ll discuss. And anot...

Episode: 264: Interview with Fat Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn and NRA's Michelle Korsmo by Align Public Strategies

The business community’s efforts to enact a federal law on data privacy instead of a patchwork of state laws appears to be running out of steam. And ironically, we may have the leading data privacy state, California, to blame for the loss. We are joined once again by Brennan Duckett, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy at the National Restaurant Association, to give us the latest and grea...

The industry gets a big win in California on legislation mandating disclosure of pay and gender equity data but the issue will continue to resonate with labor-friendly legislators across the country. We are joined by Matt Sutton, the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy for the California Restaurant Association to walk us through the issue and likely outcomes. And speaking o...

The industry has been enjoying a nice run of political success lately with the National Restaurant Association staring down the Small Business Administration over restaurant relief funds and the International Franchise Association basically determining who is and is not acceptable to run the Labor Department’s Wage & Hour Division. To what do we owe this burgeoning political power? We'll discuss....