The restaurant industry tries a powerful new lobbying weapon

The most powerful type of political lobbyist? | Photo: Shutterstock

Welcome to Government Watch, a new Restaurant Business column focused on regulatory, legislative, labor and other government issues relevant to the restaurant industry.

The weight of the restaurant industry's lobbying lies in its numbers. When a call to the ramparts is made to approximately a million establishments employing 12.4 million voters and contributing more than $1,000 billion to the gross national product, elected officials tend to respond when that giant roars.

But sometimes it's best to make the industry's case one-on-one: an operator talking with a congressman or senator about how a law would affect that constituent's restaurant, a place the manager could even known for having eaten there regularly during district visits. The theoretical becomes very real.

That's the flash the National Restaurant Association is working to achieve with a new program to protect and promote the industry's interests. Working with state affiliates, the group recruited 200 volunteer operators as “hill runners,” or individuals who have a personal relationship with their federal elected officials. The company intends to continue increasing this number until the industry has a one-to-one connection with all 535 U.S. senators and congressmen.

Participants are less like little men summoned to a political skirmish than like ambassadors who have the ear and trust of their elected officials. With this kind of access, they can explain how a piece of legislation or a regulatory proposal would affect them and their staff in very practical ways, as if they were two neighbors talking across a garden fence.

“They’re almost super-advocates,” says Mike Whatley, vice president of state affairs and local advocacy for the National Restaurant Association. The program is currently being leveraged for what the association calls A Summer of Action, which Whatley calls “our first advocacy sprint.” Each Hill runner is drawn to meet his legislative friend when officials return to their districts during Congress' summer recess.

Since the suggested meeting place is the runner's restaurant, this will probably be an easy sell. “Everyone loves going to restaurants,” notes Whatley.

The association provides runners with the information they need to speak confidently with officials. “We give them inside information about what’s going on in the halls of Congress,” Whatley says. “We give them a lot of material, a lot of suggestions. We’re developing several toolkits.”

It’s this internal perspective that makes the role enjoyable for riders, he adds. Indeed, that and the feeling of controlling their destiny are the great rewards; runners are neither paid nor subsidized. And they're still working restaurateurs, which means they're as chronically time-poor as any entrepreneur trying to make money.

Yet volunteers come from all types of restaurants and from all walks of life. “I'm amazed by the depth and diversity of people we've attracted, in terms of age range, but also in terms of segment,” Whatley says. “We have gastronomy professionals involved, we have fast service involved. It's widespread. »

The industry has worked for decades to increase grassroots involvement in the political process, but it has been stymied by the notoriously long days and weeks restaurateurs put in. The refusal was always that there was too little time to get involved politically.

That mindset has changed during the pandemic, Whatley says. With their survival uncertain, restaurants have mobilized to obtain help from the government.

“We received an outpouring of support from everyone during the pandemic,” he says. “Hundreds of thousands of people contacted their members of Congress, and it was a great success. This is why we have aid programs like the PPP [the Paycheck Protection Program] and the FRR [Restaurant Revitalization Fund].”

The association spent at least a year establishing the Hill Runners program, working closely with state associations. Part of this due diligence involved studying how other professional associations brought their members together when grassroots involvement was essential.

The program is now in 39 states. The recruiting effort will continue until that number reaches 50, Whatley said.

Masks are once again a political issue

At least two states are again wading into the minefield of face mask regulations, but this time the question is whether the protections should be banned.

Motivation has nothing to do with COVID. This time, the motivation is more the fear of violence. Politicians in North Carolina and New York say attackers use masks to hide their identities when attacking unsuspecting victims. In the wake of the pandemic, no one hesitates to wear protective gear. Officials say the stealth tactic has proven particularly popular with pro-Palestinian protesters who use violence against people suspected of being Jewish or who show support for Israel in the Gaza war.

Ban proposals have yet to advance significantly in either state, and none of the discussions specifically address restaurant patrons, at least not yet. In fact, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has so far limited her discussions of a ban to banning coverings on the subway.

The catering union doubles its recruitment budget

After two years of unprecedented union activity in the restaurant industry, one of the industry's largest labor groups warned last week that employers haven't seen anything yet. Unite Here's new president used her inaugural speech to announce that the union group is doubling its organizing budget, with an eye on the 14 million restaurant and hotel workers whose workplaces remain union-free .

Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton were named as particular targets by Gwen Mills, who promised a “historic showdown” in the hospitality industry.

Mills also pledged to build the union's political power in Arizona, Ohio and Michigan, where unions have led efforts to eliminate the tip credit, as well as Pennsylvania and Nevada. While it's common for union members to knock on doors or campaign for sympathetic political candidates, Mills said restaurant cooks and dishwashers will be instrumental in that effort this election cycle.

SBA remains a driving force for restaurant startups

The U.S. Small Business Administration has drawn widespread criticism during the pandemic for its handling of the PPP and RRF programs, but that hasn't tarnished the agency's reputation as a leading source of funding for restaurant startups . Between 2021 and June of this year, the SBA responded to more than 1 million requests for capital to start a food service or lodging establishment, according to an analysis prepared by the agency for the food service industry. About 800,000 of those businesses were restaurants, the SBA calculated.

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