Wages
Los Angeles, CA – A recently-approved ordinance raising the minimum wage of some health care workers in the city to $25/hr was temporarily suspended from taking effect on Aug. 11 after a referendum challenging the ordinance was filed with the city clerk’s office. The ordinance will be suspended while the city clerk’s office determines if the petition contains a sufficient number of valid signatures (at least 40,717). If sufficient, the issue would go before voters in 2024 and the law would stay suspended until that outcome. For context, earlier this summer and under pressure from the SEIU, the city council voted unanimously to create the new minimum wage of $25/hr for frontline healthcare workers in private facilities. The law exempts county facilities including the hospital at the University of California Las Angeles (UCLA). Workers were also given the ability to pursue private rights of action under the state’s PAGA law. More details.
Taxes
Inflation Reduction Act – President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law which, among other provisions, would significantly increase corporate taxes. The bill also contains major climate-related provisions and expands the Affordable Care Act. Much of the business community, including the National Restaurant Association, voiced opposition to the bill. More details
Labor Policy
PRO Act – Elements of the PRO Act were omitted from the recently-signed Inflation Reduction Act, prompting a renewed call by labor unions for Democratic Senate leadership to force a floor vote on the PRO Act. The legislation represents the most significant set of proposed changes to labor law in decades. The bill would provide new protections to workers seeking to unionize and penalize companies that violate workers’ rights. It could also make it more difficult for companies to classify their workers as independent contractors. And, due to the joint employer provisions, it could upend the franchise business model. Additionally, it would repeal all state-level right to work laws as well as legalize a range of currently restricted strike activity. More details.
California – With the FAST Act heading to the senate floor soon, the industry held a “fly-in” as dozens of franchisees and other stakeholders traveled to the state capitol to directly lobby lawmakers. The bill advanced out of the Senate Appropriations Committee last week and must pass the full chamber by the end of the month. Because the senate version of the bill differs from the house version, the differences must be reconciled. The likely scenario is that the house picks up and approves the senate version. It is unclear whether there are currently enough votes to defeat the legislation. More details.
Florida – A Florida judge struck down portions of the Stop Woke Act, ruling that the law violates the First Amendment and is impermissibly vague. The law intended to set guardrails on what employers could include in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training programs, among other provisions. The state intends to appeal the ruling. More details.
Labor Activism
Lululemon – Workers at a location in the Georgetown-area of Washington, DC were set to vote in an organizing election Aug. 25-26; however, they have requested the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) withdraw their election petition, and the Board approved the request. According to their previous NLRB petition, they were filing under the name of the “Association of Concerted Educators” but the group’s Twitter account which had previously outlined the union’s demands and platform appears to have been deleted. If successful, it would have been the first of the 315 U.S. locations to unionize. More details.
Starbucks – The company earned national headlines this week calling for a halt to mail-in balloting for union elections, alleging that staff at the NLRB have improperly interfered in elections. In a letter to Board Chair Lauren McFerran and General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, Starbucks questioned the integrity of the vote involving a store in Overland Park, KS, and by extension the broader unionization push the company has fiercely resisted. Starbucks accused NLRB staff at its St. Louis-based regional office of “secretly coordinating” with Starbucks Workers United, including by giving union representatives updates about ballot returns while mail-in voting was in progress and setting up an in-person voting station at NLRB offices. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Ranking Member of the U.S House Committee on Education & Labor, called for a public hearing in response to the letter. In a win for union organizers, a federal judge this week ordered Starbucks to reinstate seven employees at a Memphis store after finding the company illegally retaliated against them for helping organize a union. The company has five days to reinstate the employees, known as the “Memphis Seven,” who were fired on Feb. 8 for previously violating its safety policies, sparking a complaint from the NLRB. The terminations included five of the store’s six union organizing committee members and two others involved in the efforts. More details.
Trader Joe’s – Workers at a Minneapolis store voted 55-5 to affiliate with Trader Joe’s United becoming the second store in the chain to successfully unionize. A third store in Boulder, CO is currently going through a similar process. In that case, workers are seeking to affiliate with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). More details.
Sustainability
Boston, MA – The mayor announced the city’s intention to ban fossil fuels from new building projects and major renovations taking advantage of a key provision in the climate change bill signed into law by Republican Governor Charlie Baker last week. The new law, which is meant to bring the state closer to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, calls for a pilot project allowing 10 Massachusetts cities and towns to require new building projects be all-electric, essentially banning the use of natural gas. The mayor said the city will file a home rule petition with the state legislature to join the pilot. More details.
Key Takeaway
- The manner by which the industry wins or loses in California on the FAST Act will determine the future political environment for operators within the state, as well as other blue trifecta states. A big loss is likely to expedite the consideration of copycat legislation in other states. A win (or even partial victory) is likely to stunt momentum. With two less than two weeks left in the legislative session, there is no more important industry priority. The outcome will be determined by how well the industry can mobilize in these final days.
Podcast
Check out our Working Lunch podcast each week that includes further analysis into these legislative issues, policy, politics and much more. You can find Working Lunch on the Restaurant Business online website, SoundCloud, iTunes and Spotify.