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Franchises Dismiss Minimum Wage Protests

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As union members and fast food workers protests for a $15 minimum wage Wednesday, franchises are dismissing the movement as a way to mislead the public.

“Millions of underpaid workers can’t support their families or make ends meet on hourly wages that haven’t kept pace with the bills – or their employers’ profits,” Fight for 15, the group leading the protests, said in a statement.

“Today, fast food cashiers and cooks, retail employees, child care workers, adjunct professors, home care providers, college students, airport workers, and all of us who believe they deserve better are showing up in cities across the country to say enough,” it added.

Though Fight for 15 is claiming it is fighting to help lower income workers, the International Franchise Association argues the protests are actually just a means to benefit its primary financial backer, the Service Employees International Union. IFA claims the protests are designed to mislead the public and policymakers from “politically-motivated” decisions by the National Labor Relations Board, particularly recently proposed rule changes to the franchise model which is expected to greatly benefit organized labor.

“Recently disclosed financial reports unequivocally prove these protests are nothing more than union-funded public relations stunts, serving as the backbone of one of the most egregious examples of government overreach in American history,” Steve Caldeira, president of IFA, declared in a statement.

The nationwide protests Wednesday are the latest in a series that goes back to 2012. People have gathered in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas and many more cities across the country. The group even reports protests appearing internationally in Chile and Japan.

“The SEIU can claim that the goal of these protests is to increase wages for workers,” Caldeira continued. “Unfortunately, the victims of the NLRB’s overreach will be the workers, which these paid protests are supposedly designed to help.”

According to the 2014 LM-2 annual report, which was released by the Department of Labor earlier in the month, the SEIU spent millions on the Fight for 15 protests by contributing to the worker centers behind it.

“By terminating local control of franchise businesses through an expanded joint employer standard promulgated by a pro-union government agency,” Caldeira added. “The only winners are union leaders and the policymakers beholden to them.”

IFA, as well as other business groups, has adamantly opposed efforts by the NLRB to expand the joint-employer standard. Under federal labor law a company can be considered an employer over a company it contracts with if it has significant enough control over its employees. Known as the joint-employer standard, the rule helps to resolve labor disputes when it’s not clear whether the dispute arose from decisions made by the direct employer or a larger corporation it contracts with. The NLRB is trying to apply a broader standard to the joint-employer rule which critics say will hurt workers and employers alike.

Unions, particularly the SEIU which is funding the minimum wage protests, have a lot to gain from the rule change. If every franchise under a corporate band name is considered one operation, unions have the option of unionizing the entire thing as opposed to each individual business within the system.

Throughout the fast-food protests, others have accused the SEIU for using the protests as a way to bypass labor laws to more easily unionize fast food workers. Additionally, according to a report from Union Facts, a minimum wage increase would benefit the SEIU directly while hurting non-unionized SEIU competitors.

Another report by the Freedom Foundation found an increase to a $15 minimum wage would have vastly negative consequences for the economy. The study looked at the impact of raising the minimum wage in Washington state and found it did little to help lower income workers while hurting the local economy.

Despite all this, Fight for 15 has claimed to be a workers initiative. Those behind the group have noted they aren’t just fighting for fast food workers, they are fast food workers.

“As low wage workers we know what it’s like to struggle to get by,” a statement on its website proclaimed. “Because our pay is too low, we struggle to pay our bills and put food on the table. McDonald’s answer? Go on food stamps. We’re robbed on the job by our employers looking to cut corners. Employers that are multi-billion dollar corporations. Even though we work hard, we’re forced to live in poverty.”

The SEIU and Fight for 15 did not respond to requests for comment from TheDCNF.

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