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Working Lunch

Working Lunch is a podcast from Align Public Strategies devoted to explaining the so what and now what about key issues impacting the restaurant and retail industries.

Financing

Restaurants have good reasons for not turning cartwheels over the credit-card deal

 By Peter Romeo on Mar. 29, 2024

Working Lunch: The offer from MasterCard and Visa doesn't look so good when you dive into the details.

Operations

The restaurant service fee situation is getting dicey

 By Restaurant Business Staff on Mar. 18, 2024

Working Lunch: Add-on charges are now under scrutiny at both the federal and state levels and could be in danger of drawing even more unwanted attention.

Operations

SEC drops its plan to require field-to-fork environmental reporting

By Peter Romeo on Mar. 11, 2024

Working Lunch: The agency realized the mandate was too unwieldy and extensive.

Workforce

Countdown to California's new fast-food wage is triggering some strangeness

By Peter Romeo on Mar. 04, 2024

Working Lunch: Why the sudden controversy over some provisions, and the backtracking by the new law's sponsor?

Workforce

On the union front, it's open season on Starbucks

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 26, 2024

Working Lunch: Starbucks Workers United is stepping up its courtship of the public as it looks ahead to contract negotiations.

Workforce

Restaurants get unexpected help in protecting the tip credit

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 19, 2024

Working Lunch: A Congressional investigation is likely to throw sand into the well-oiled lobbying machinery of One Fair Wage.

Workforce

Georgia lawmaker wants to give restaurant franchisees more protection against franchisors

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 09, 2024

Working Lunch: The proposal is part of what's emerging as a wave of bills aiming to curb franchisors' power. That alone makes it worth tracking.

Marketing

Report finds some restaurant chains are using ingredients produced with prison labor

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 02, 2024

Working Lunch: The situation could draw fire to the industry, yet even the involved brands may not be aware of their vulnerability.

Workforce

Despite more 'salting,' labor unions are getting pushback in their drive to organize restaurants

By Peter Romeo on Jan. 22, 2024

Working Lunch: Some unionized workers aren't happy about a portion of their paycheck going to labor groups, and they're deciding to do something about it.

Workforce

Something's gotten into government this year. Here's why you should care

By Peter Romeo on Jan. 12, 2024

Working Lunch: The past week has brought at least one long-awaited and controversial regulatory change. But that's not all that's happening.

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