SEIU, Franchisees, Strike An Unusual Alliance

A coalition of franchisee trade organizations has forged an alliance with the Service Employees International Union to push for legislation that would strengthen franchisee rights in relation to franchisors. Last week the SEIU launched a website that highlighted the initiative. The overlap of interests here is limited, explains Washington Post reporter Lydia DePillis. It doesn’t concern joint liability for the franchisor in wage-and-hour disputes, something that unions want and that has been the subject of several recent high-profile court cases, and it’s not about raising the minimum wage. It’s safe to say that most franchisees don’t want unions at all. What the coalition is pushing, though, is for state-by-state legislation that would tip the balance of power from franchisors toward franchisees. This can occur, for example, by making it harder for the franchisor to terminate contracts and easier for franchisees to sell their businesses and recoup some of their investment. The strategy from the point of view of the union, says one analyst, is long range. It wants to improve business conditions overall for the franchisee as a way of creating more fertile ground for worker gains in the future.