The Working Lunch

The War on Woke heated up this week with Republicans in many states upping the ante and announcing their states intention to stop dealing with banks and investment firms that use Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance (ESG) standards as criteria for investments. Is this bad financial management or good politics? We’ll discuss. And Build Back Better seems to have had a rebirth this week with...

Chipotle Is feeling the heat as criticism piles up on their decision to close a store in Maine that had voted to organize. We take a look at that situation and try to be predictive of how the National Labor Relations Board will react. And speaking of the NLRB, the the Board has signed yet another Memorandum of Understanding will a fellow federal agency to work collaboratively against employers on...

We are visited by Lance Trenary, the CEO of Golden Corral and if that’s not enough, the Chairman of the Board of the National Restaurant Association. Lance stopped by the pod to share his experiences on leading his company out of the pandemic, how that changed his outlook as a leader, and his vision for the National Restaurant Association going forward. It’s a fascinating conversation and worth li...

We’ll talk about the ramifications of the repeal of Roe v. Wade and what employers not only may be facing from an employee relations and benefits perspective but pressures from elected officials, the media and even customers. We’ll discuss the sticky situation that employers are facing in the near future. And at the halfway point of the year, we’ll take a look at the state of the industry’s relati...

The GOP’s war on the United States Chamber of Commerce escalated this week as Republican House members welcomed a new, upstart chamber called The American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce to push back on “woke” Capitalism. Could this DC gamesmanship eventually put corporate leaders in a political tug of war with Republicans? We’ll take a look. And the California FAST Act advanced out of its fir...

Inflation is putting additional pressures on restaurant margins and some operators are adding additional fees right on the receipt. Good idea or bad idea? We’ll take a look. And another celebrity chef has publicly criticized the tipping system. Will celebrity chefs be able to change the conversation on this issue? We’ll discuss. And McDonald’s announced, per a shareholder resolution, that it will...

The Securities & Exchange Commission has proposed a rule mandating, among other things, that publicly-traded companies will for the first time be required to report their greenhouse-gas emissions including, in certain cases, those from their suppliers and customers. We’ll talk to the National Restaurant Association’s Vice President of Public Policy, Aaron Frazier, who is the industry’s point perso...

Coming up on the podcast: * The primary elections continue forward with some interesting results for the restaurant industry including a McDonald’s franchisee that is very likely on his way to Congress. We discuss those results. * And Starbucks along with Jeff Bezos of Amazon took on the White House last week in an escalating war of words. Is that smart politics for corporate players? We’ll take a...

Despite the inflationary pressures facing retailers and small business operators, the credit card companies have decided that now’s the time to increase their fees and take an even bigger chunk out of already tight margins. We are joined by Lyle Beckwith, the Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the National Association of Convenience Stores and also the leader of the Merchant Payment...

The industry took to Capitol Hill this week in force as restaurant operators from around the country came to Washington, DC to make their case for legislative and regulatory relief as they still navigate the aftermath of the pandemic. We’ll discuss the potential remedies Congress and the Administration can utilize to help the industry. And one unforeseen ramification from the labor market upheaval...

The heat has been turned up on Disney and the state of Florida is attacking their tax status. Is this debacle emblematic of what awaits other corporate brands? Is this a good time for corporate leaders to re-examine their relationship to partisan politics? We’ll discuss. And New York’s comptroller is once again leveraging the state pension fund to pressure corporate shareholders to back resolution...

The general counsel of the NLRB, Jennifer Abruzzo, made some startling recommendations to the Board this week, one of which would essentially revitalize card check, long a top labor union priority. We’ll discuss what she is doing and the impacts it could have on restaurant operators. And the SEC has turned down McDonald’s request to omit a shareholder resolution from its annual proxy calling for a...

As of July 1, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will have a new Democratic majority with the appointment of a new commissioner. We discuss the new agenda laid out this week by the Chair of the commission and discuss what it means for employers. And Massachusetts, a current hotbed of labor organizing, has an avowed restaurant industry antagonist running for Attorney General. We’ll take a...

7-11 franchisees in Massachusetts have renewed hope in their ongoing litigation against the company contending that they are little more than glorified store managers and should be paid the minimum wage and receive other protections afforded to employees under Massachusetts law. We are joined by Jeff Hanscom, the International Franchise Association's Vice President of State & Local Government Rela...

Boston is turning into the new epicenter of Starbucks organizing as more than a dozen stores in the market are in play right now. We talk to reporter Tori Bedford from GBH Boston, the NPR affiliate, to get a sense of what's happening on the ground in the market and how important the next few weeks are for the company. And Consumer Reports rocked the industry this week releasing a study documenting...

Peter Romeo from Restaurant Business joins us this week to discuss a variety of topics including Kevin Johnson who is abruptly out as CEO of Starbucks despite the strong performance of the company as they navigated the pandemic. Was it the combination of the burgeoning unionization campaign, the perceived missteps of the company in addressing it, formal reprimands from the NLRB and the subsequent...

McDonald’s and other restaurant industry players take a stand on Russia and are ceasing their operations in there in response to the invasion of Ukraine. We’ll take a look at the calculations companies make when they decide to enter - either willfully or begrudgingly - into the high stakes game of public policy. We’ll also take a look at what the move toward a cashless economy is having on tipping...

As the monthly jobs report comes out today signaling that there is a rebound in hiring, it appears to be the Labor Department itself that is hiring as well - as many as 100 new auditors in the Wage & Hour Division it was announced this week. What will those new employees be doing? Cracking down on violators but with a specific interest in the hospitality sector. We’ll discuss what employers need t...

Activist investor Carl Ichan is making a bold move at McDonald’s trying to force changes on their Board of Directors over the direction the company is going with regard to animal welfare. If successful, the ramifications could be significant for both supply chains and industry corporate governance. We’ll take a look. And Maryland has become the epicenter of the conversation around Extended Produce...

The National Restaurant Association has a new leader and we’ll discuss her background, her impressive resume, and the big job she has ahead of her. And the number of Starbucks units being organized topped 100 this week and the company has begun punching back a little bit. We’ll discuss their messaging, their timing, and the lessens other companies can learn from their actions going forward. And MI...

Major Democratic governors are breaking with the President and pumping the brakes on mask mandates in their states. With a general public fatigued by COVID-related restrictions, the politics of the issue are evolving. We’ll talk about what this means for operators and other health and safety issues going forward. And Surprise Surprise. The U.S. Congress can actually agree on something. In an overw...

The changing nature of work coupled with the post-pandemic labor force disruptions are causing policy makers and opinion leaders to revisit the issue of portable benefits. Can a portable benefits system help to level the playing field for entry level employers struggling to recruit and retain workers. Mohona Siddique, the Senior Project Manager for the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunities Prog...

Still included in the President’s infrastructure package are massive investments in workforce recruitment and training to produce the workers necessary to actually build the roads and bridges in the plan. The investment is sure to attract and retain the very workers that restaurants and retailers are competing for. We’ll discuss the ramifications of the spending plan on the labor market. And as th...

Labor shortages, supply chain issues and ever increasing food prices are putting unprecedented pressure on a business model that already runs on thin margins. But what impact is all this having on the attractiveness of the industry for investment - either stock prices, the private equity space, or purchasing franchises? We are joined by a regular contributor to the pod, our friend Michael Halen, t...

It was a big week for two big reasons - the list of Starbucks’ locations seeking union representation nearly doubled this week and the Supreme Court essentially put the death knell on the President’s vaccine mandate for large employers. We are joined by Peter Romeo, Editor at Large for Restaurant Business Magazine to get his unique insights on the week that was and how employers are reacting to th...