U.S. foodservice and retail organizations are protesting the introduction of a bill in Congress they contend would “dramatically expand” the power of labor unions.
At the same time, restaurant organizations are lauding the re-introduction of the RESTAURANTS Act, which will provide much-needed funding for the restaurant industry.
The Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) would “cripple many businesses who have been hardest hit during the pandemic,” the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA) said in a press release. “This bill is a threat to America's workers, employers, and our economy, and lawmakers should strongly oppose the legislation.”
According to IFDA, the legislation would force employees to pay union dues regardless of whether they support a union, threaten private ballots in union elections, and strip workers of their independent contractor classification.
The bill, if passed, would also cripple restaurants, National Restaurant Association (NRA) Vice President of Public Policy and Legal Advocacy Shannon Meade said in a press release.
“The PRO Act will make radical changes to settled workplace policies creating chaos for the restaurant industry while it struggles to survive. The proposed changes erase a century of bipartisan consensus and balance reached by courts, regulators and lawmakers, and creates an entirely new national model for the employer-employee workplace,” Meade said.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) has “significant concerns with this sweeping legislation and its infringement on both employee and employer rights,” NRF Senior Vice President for Government Relations David French added in a press release.
“The policies embedded in the PRO Act are beyond the pale of reasonable workplace policy. The legislation puts the interests of labor organizers and powerful unions before the rights of employees and employers,” NRF said.
However, restaurant groups praised legislators’ reintroduction of the Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act, which would create a USD 120 billion (EUR 99.7 billion) Restaurant Revitalization Fund to provide relief to foodservice or drinking establishments that are part of a group of up to 20 facilities.
“The unified RESTAURANTS Act of 2021 is a light at the end of a long, dark winter for independent, chain, and franchise restaurants that have been most impacted by the pandemic,” NRA Executive Vice President Sean Kennedy said in a press release. “While many other industries have started to recover, the restaurant industry finished last year in a double-dip recession, and with 2.5 million fewer jobs. These grants will put even the hardest-hit restaurants on the path to economic survival.”
Erika Polmar, executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, applauded the move by Senators Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R- Pennsylvania).
“The RESTAURANTS Act is a crucial step to putting millions of Americans back to work and stimulating the vast network of local businesses powered by restaurants and bars,” said Erika Polmar, executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, in a press release.
The U.S. Senate voted 90-10 to support a budget amendment that will establish a USD 120 billion (EUR 99.7 billion) dedicated restaurant relief fund for foodservice or drinking establishments that are part of a group of up to 20 facilities, according to ABC News.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
