Now that both major political parties have drafted their platforms, restaurant operators have a clear delineation of what the Democratic and Republican parties intend to do if their candidate is elected president in November.
Here is a quick review of where each party stands on issues of particular importance to the industry.
| Issue | Democratic position | Republican position |
|---|
| Compensation | - Mandate a $15-per-hour minimum nationwide
- Eliminate the tip credit nationwide
- Promote profit sharing
| - Leave minimum wage issues to states and local jurisdictions
- Encourage employee stock ownership programs
|
| Benefits | - 7 days of paid sick leave
- Encourage employers to provide paid vacations
| |
| Unionization | - “Democrats will make it easier for workers, public and private, to exercise their right to organize and join unions.”
- Fight against so-called Right to Work laws
| - Promote Right to Work laws
|
| NLRB | - Allow the Board to certify a union through a simple card vote
| - “We intend to restore fairness and common sense to that agency
|
| Tax reform | - Simplify current taxation process
- Ease taxes, simplify the taxation process
| - Replace current taxation system and start from scratch
|
| Small business assistance | - “We will cut the red tape that holds back small businesses.”
- Reduce “occupational licensing laws”
| - Reduce “occupational licensing laws”
- Overturn Dodd-Frank as a step toward ending a “regulatory nightmare”
|
| Immigration reform | - A path to legal residence
| - “We oppose any form of amnesty for those who, by breaking the law, have disadvantaged those who have obeyed it.”
|
| Healthcare | - Ensure ACA is truly universal coverage by promoting accessibility
| |
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Peter Romeo has covered the restaurant industry since 1984 for a variety of media. As Editor At Large for Restaurant Business, his current beats are government affairs, labor and family dining. He is also the publication's unofficial historian.
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