Advocating Beyond Brands at the 2016 CFA Day Forum
Earlier this year, PFIFA became a member of the Coalition of Franchisee Associations( CFA). The CFA was founded in 2007 and is comprised of 19 franchisee associations representing various brands from Dunkin’ Donuts to Subway, Burger King ®, Meineke, Supercuts, major hotel brands and many others. The leaders from these associations gather together 3-4 times a year to share best practices, knowledge and resources for the benefit of the entire franchisee population. The CFA’ s mission is to“ leverage the collective strengths of franchisee associations for the benefit of the franchisee community.”
It is an amazing resource to draw experiences from franchised brands that have been in existence for decades and from these associations that all have varying histories and relationships with their franchisor – some very amicable, others not as harmonious.
Each year the CFA unites franchisees from across the nation in Washington, D. C., for the CFA Day Forum. At this annual event, attendees learn about pressing legislative issues from subject-matter experts, advocate before members of Congress, campaign at the federal level on legislative issues important to small-business owners and connect with top franchise attorneys to discuss current franchise legal issues.
Many franchised brands have their own legislative“ fly-ins” where franchisees and corporate staff head to the Hill to lobby on issues important to their particular business, but the CFA’ s event is truly unique. The impact of heading up to the Hill with franchisees from almost 20 different brands, some of them direct competitors like Little Caesars and Domino’ s, united on issues that affect all of your businesses is significant.
This year I attended the event as a representative of PFIFA. The event began with a joint-employer legal panel at the Capitol Visitors Center featuring Michael Lotito, co-chair of Littler’ s Workplace Policy Institute; Michael Einbinder, founding member of Einbinder Dunn & Goniea; Robert Zarco, founding partner of Zarco Einhorn Salkowski & Brito, P. A.; and Ron Gardner, managing partner of Dady and Gardner, P. A.
Following a luncheon highlighted by Congressional speakers, we joined our“ Hill groups” for a legislative review and Hill visits. My group included a Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee and two Huntington Learning Center franchisees. We visited the offices of Rep. Barry Loudermilk( R-GA-11), Rep. John Larsen( D-CT-01) and Rep. Ann Kuster( D-NH-02).
In our meetings we discussed four legislative priorities, which were determined by the CFA Government Relations Committee before the event. We covered the Joint-Employer Standard and lobbied in support of the Protecting Local Business Opportunity Act( S. 2015 and H. R. 3459), which restores the Joint-Employer
Standard and preserves franchisee independence; we also promoted the ADA Education and Reform Act( H. R. 3765), aimed at protecting small-business owners from frivolous lawsuits related to the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, we requested co-sponsors for the Franchise Loan Transparency Act( H. R. 3559), which by Kristi Hoffman seeks to promote transparency in the Small Business Administration’ s loan processes so all parties – particularly franchisee-borrowers – have access to information that is key to the lending process. Finally, we asked for co-sponsors to Congressman Keith Ellison’ s Fair Franchise Act( H. R. 3916), crafted to create a more balanced playing field in regard to the franchisee-franchisor relationship and protect franchisees’ investment.
To close out the 2016 CFA Day Forum, franchisees and legal counsel gathered for a roundtable breakfast. Broken up into 20-minute sessions, attendees were able to take away valuable insight into major issues facing franchisees and ask questions pertinent to their situation.
We moved from table to table, each with its own attorney focused on a specific topic. We heard from Lotito, Zarco, Einbinder and Jeffrey Haff of Dady & Gardner on a range of topics. Lotito covered“ Labor Laws: Overtime and Persuader Rules, Minimum Wage and Others.” Zarco and Einbinder addressed litigation topics. Zarco spoke on“ Avoiding Litigation: How to Protect Your Business,” and Einbinder provided insight with“ Litigation Strategies: How to Gain the Upper Hand.” Haff discussed“ Exit Strategies: Transfers, Renewals and Right of First Refusal.”
During my time working with associations I’ ve been to D. C. to lobby on Capitol Hill several times. While intimidating at first, it is truly a unique experience to see the legislative process in action. I can’ t stress how important it is for business owners to share your real-life experiences and how legislation and regulations impact your business. Many of the legislative aides are not educated or experienced on your key legislative issues, yet they hold the ear of the member and need to be informed about the impact of legislation they and their colleagues often draft. They need to hear from their constituents as you are the job creators in your local communities.
The dates for the 2017 CFA Day Forum have not been finalized. When they are, I will share them with the PFIFA membership and I encourage you to join me next year in“ Advocating Beyond Brands.”
If you would like to learn more about the CFA, please visit www. thecfainc. com or contact me at 678-797-5160 or kristik @ pffranchisee. org.
GearedUp | 2016 Issue 2
43