Restaurant and Food Service Blog

It’s long after Election Day and the buzz is still abound of cheers and fears when it comes to anticipating what things will be like when Obama becomes our next President. There are those changes that undoubtedly will be refreshing and good, while there are those that we simply must not only be cautious of, but have a voice about when it comes to preserving a certain way of life. Many of you will agree with me that the card-check legislation is a change that falls into the latter classification.

Democrats for the most part seem to side with the President-elect that this is a good idea, but as you look across the vast majority of workers who would actually be affected and whose voices should be heard—democrat or republican—it isn’t a popular idea. I want to take this opportunity to take a brief look at the issue, the implications of its approval, and what both sides are saying.

What Is It?

For those of you who may not already be aware, the card-check legislation, also known as the “Employee Free Choice Act,” is a piece of legislation that will in essence remove the ability of employees to vote by private-ballot in elections—a current right provided to union members. The moniker donned by this bill, as you can see, is a false-front, advertising an untruth to unknowing and unwitting employees as it actually strips free choice away. By signing a card, the majority of employees can effectively elect for union representation and lose their right to vote. 

What’s the Problem?

The issues with this piece of legislation are multi-fold.

1.     Introduction of Coercion—Currently, private-ballot elections are overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, which ensures fraud-free elections without the threat of coercion. Without this protection, coercion, intimidation and peer pressure are all re-introduced.

2.     Abolition of Privacy—The basis of a union has always and should continue to come with the right to keep that association private, a right that will no longer exist with a card-check system. Unions, employers and coworkers will all be informed.

3.     Elimination of Democracy—Quite simply, the right to vote is what democracy is all about. By taking this away from the American worker, you remove a civil liberty.

4.     Problems for Employers—Companies too will be negatively affected as unions impose stringent guidelines, effecting freezing control in the workplace.

What Is Everyone Saying?

The position on the democratic side of the fence, clearly by those who are not going to be affected by the passing of such a bill, is in clear support of this movement. In fact, President-elect Obama said that card check will be “the law of the land when I’m President of the United States.” On the other side, we see as I said from the beginning, are the workers, owners and managers who will be profoundly affected by this decision. And, according to a recent poll by American Solutions, 77% of republicans, 79% of independents, and 82% of democrats are against the implications of card-check legislation. Yet, only 30% of employees are required to sign the card in order to give the union power. Clearly, more of these workers need to be educated on the implications of such a bill.

For more information on this legislation and the efforts in place to stop its enactment, visit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at http://www.voteforbusiness.net/article.jsf?postId=897.

Todd Graves, multimillionaire founder of Raising Cane’s Chicken, with wife Gwen was on the new Fox reality show “Secret Millionaire.” The show puts millionaires in the middle of very poor areas where the millionaires pose as regular “joes”. They befriend unknowing, down-and-out people who are in need. At the end of the show, the millionaires reveal their true background and present their new friends with checks up to $100,000 to help them out.

In this particular show, Todd and his wife meet three different Katrina victims who are looking to put their live back together after the disaster from 2005. They are all trying to rebuild their homes and lives back in the Louisiana area.

Although the show was very well done and a great plug for Todd and his company, is seemed to be very canned. Todd and his wife simply show out of the blue and start talking to strangers about their past. All the time, this is being taped? Did all of these unsuspecting people just think that this couple to claim to be from Virginia and drive up in a big SUV with Louisiana plates with a film crew following them, just decided to come to one of the most devastated areas in Louisiana just for the fun of it? C’mon.

More revealing was when Todd and his wife went grocery shopping. They were only allowed to have $107 (the same amount that is considered at the poverty line) for spending during the week. So they had to go get food at the local grocery store. Somehow, the CEO of a multi-million dollar chain doesn’t know the price of food and grocery items? They have to return food back upon check out because they will not have enough money for the week. How is it that Todd and his wife, who also was a McDonald’s franchisee, doesn’t know how to buy their own groceries on a budget?

In the end, the show was touching. But definitely a made for TV 1 hour special.

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Seth Godin just posted a great entry in his blog about the power of copyrighting and words. So much can be said of a brand in a few simple words. Here Pete’s Coffee tries to get the message across, but falls short. So much of what many companies try to convey today simply gets mired in trying to get across to customers.