A virtual cup of coffee with DDIFO Executive Director Ed Shanahan

Labor Shortage Front & Center  Notwithstanding the record number of job openings across the country, the lure of an additional $300 in unemployment benefits continues to outweigh the value of an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work for too many small businesses. In its monthly jobs report, the National Federation of Small Business (NFIB) reported that in the… Read More »

Biden Fills NLRB Vacancy  Earlier this week, President Biden nominated labor attorney Gwynne Wilcox to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), tapping the union-side practitioner to fill the long-vacant fifth seat on the panel. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Wilcox would become the first black woman to sit on the NLRB in its 85-year… Read More » Minimum Wage Updates  At the federal level, the push for a $15 minimum wage is still hung up by the opposition of moderate democrat Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). The two moderates have agreed that the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25/hour) should be raised, but balk at the $15 figure. Sinema last week joined Mitt… Read More »

New York Launching Grant Program  As the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program and Restaurant Revitalization Funds expire or run out of funds, New York will begin accepting applications on June 10 for what the state is calling the Small Business Recovery Grant Program. The grant program, proceeds from which must go to reimbursable pandemic related expenses incurred between March 1, 2020… Read More » Fair Workweek Act Advances  The state of Connecticut has moved closer to joining Oregon as the only states that mandate so-called predictive scheduling on retail and fast-food employers. The state senate last week by a vote of 20-16 passed Senate bill 668, which requires covered employers to post a weekly work schedule no less than 7 days in advance… Read More » DDIFO Chicago Meeting  We’re safely getting back into the swing of member meetings and following all CDC protocols when our first meeting since before the pandemic is held at the Hilton Rosemont/Chicago O’Hare Hotel on Wednesday, June 16. The program, Thriving as a Franchise Employer in the New Normal, will begin at 11:30 AM and feature Chicago-based labor… Read More »

Northeast Regional Meeting  We’ll be following up our Chicago meeting with the Northeast Regional Meeting just one week later on Wednesday, June 23 at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center. Again beginning at 11:30 AM, we’ll focus on the myriad changes to labor and employment law that directly impact you as a franchisee and an employer in… Read More » In The News  This week’s episode of Restaurant Business Podcast, A Deeper Dive, hosted by Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze featured DDIFO restaurant analyst John Gordon of Pacific Management Consulting Group speaking to the question of “Why are there so many big franchise disputes right now?” and addressing specifically current disputes within the McDonald’s, Subway and 7-Eleven systems.… Read More » CFA Day Forum Set  The Coalition of Franchisee Associations (CFA) has finalized and confirmed plans for its 2021 CFA Day Forum to be held on Tuesday, September 14, 2021. This year’s event, being held at the Yotel Washington DC on New Jersey Avenue in the heart of Capitol Hill, will begin with a Congressional briefing in the general session.… Read More »

May 28, 2021

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