DIGITAL

ADVOCACY IN ACTION
Business Owners Testify on Joint
Employment Standard
Ciara Stockeland testifies Oct. 6 beofre the U.S.
Senate HELP committee.
Ciara Stockeland, owner and operator of
Fargo, N.D.-based MODE designer outlets,
testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
Oct. 6 on behalf of the Coalition to Save Local
Businesses (CSLB). IFA is a founding member
of the coalition. Stockeland shared her story
of small business ownership and asked the
Committee to take action to reverse the U.S.
National Labor Relations Board decision to alter
the definition of joint employer.
Nothing Bundt Cakes Franchisee Mara
Fortin testifies before the U.S. Senate HELP
Committee.
“Our businesses are threatened because
the NLRB’s new, ‘indirect’ standard may make
employers liable for employees, even if they
are not in their direct control,” she told the
committee. “No longer can businesses be sure
they will be safe from liability simply because
they do not control the hiring, wages, or
supervision of another business’s employees,
Stockeland added. “No one can safely assure
me or any other small business that we are safe
from joint employer liability with our franchisees
or contractors.”
HELP Committee Chairman Sen. Lamar
Alexander (R-Tenn.) stated in his opening
remarks that the NLRB action represents “the
biggest attack on the opportunity for small
business men and women in this country to
make their way into the middle class that we’ve
seen in a long, long time.”
Stockeland’s testimony occurred a week
after three small business owners testified on
Sept. 29 before the U.S. House Committee on
Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee
on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
The owners requested action to reverse the
NLRB decision to alter the joint employer
standard. Mara Fortin, a California-based
Nothing Bundt Cakes franchisee, stated in
her testimony that from a legal, business
and cultural perspective, “the joint employer
standard is harmful to the future of my locallyowned
business. The real world consequence
of the NLRB’s decision is that it will lead to
a loss of autonomy for local small business
owners.”
Burger King Franchisee Ed Braddy testifies
before the U.S. Senate HELP Committee.
Ed Braddy, a Maryland-based Burger
King franchisee, echoed Fortin’s concerns,
stating that, “among other devastating
consequences, by expanding liability, I
believe franchisors will be forced to protect
themselves. The NLRB ruling will destroy
the franchise model and franchisee small
business owners along with it.”
GROWTH
2015
FRANCHISE
BUSINESS ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Franchise Businesses Create Jobs Faster than Other Businesses
EMPLOYMENT 2007-2015:
0.4%
-0.9%
-2.8%
-5.2%
-0.3%
-0.8%
2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
New Report Shows Steady Progress for
Franchise Industry
The franchise industry will continue to grow
at rates that exceed economy-wide growth,
according to the Franchise Business Outlook
third quarter update report from the IFA
Educational Foundation and IHS Economics.
“Franchising is a growth engine for small
businesses. Not only are franchises creating
new businesses faster than other businesses,
the outlook report signals steady growth
in all franchise sectors over the last three
months despite the struggles of the broader
economy,” said IFA’s Educational Foundation
President John Reynolds, CFE. The outlook
forecasts a 1.6 percent increase in the
number of franchise businesses in 2015,
2.1%
1.8%
FRANCHISING
2.3% 2.5%
2.2%
2.1%
ALL BUSINESSES
2.9%
2.3%
2.9%
2.4%
along with a 2.9 percent uptick in employment
at franchise establishments — higher than the
2.4 percent growth rate expected in private
sector non-farm employment.
Growth of the output of franchise
businesses in nominal dollars will accelerate
to 5.5 percent in 2015, while the gross
domestic product of the sector will rise by
5.2 percent to $521 billion. According to IFA’s
Business Leader Survey completed Sept.
21, IFA members are worried about NLRB’s
change to the joint employer standard. The
survey shows that 94 percent believe a
change in the standard would raise the cost
of doing business. Read the full Franchise
Business Outlook Report here: http://www.
franchise.org/sites/default/files/Franchise_
Business_Outlook_September_2015.pdf
Three new groups have reached agreements
to develop a total of 27 new Del Taco
restaurants within central California.
Mike Sater inked a 20-store development
agreement spanning six counties. His first two
stores will open in Fresno and Clovis, and a
third is planned for Merced, Calif.
Edible Arrangements has opened its first
franchise on a U.S. military base at Fort Bragg
in North Carolina. Franchisees Laverna and
Martinez Alexander will operate the location,
serving more than 250,000 soldiers, retirees,
family members and civilians.
Sam Thompson has acquired the territory
for the existing Valpak of Greater Charleston,
S.C. The territory involves nearly 130,000
households in Charleston, Mount Pleasant,
Summerville, James Island, Goose Creek and
Moncks Corner.
9Round has opened a location in Bethlehem,
Pa. The expansion represents the 250th club
in the company’s franchise network.
World of Beer has opened its first location in
the New York City area, in Chelsea. The site
features more than 5,000 square feet of space
with a 1,200-square-foot indoor patio.
Kit Burgess has purchased a
new franchise for Steamatic in
Warren, Mich. The location will
serve northern Detroit.
SpeedPro Imaging has relocated its
corporate headquarters from Phoenix, Ariz.
to Denver, Colo. The new space includes a
training and technical support center.
(Continued on page 8)
FRANCHISING WORLD NOVEMBER 2015 7