Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2016 | Page 60

Freedom of Associations
she says, who then can
take action at the local
and state levels, as well
as in Washington, D.C.
“One of our top issues
is to promote a more
fair landscape in relation
to rights granted in the
franchise agreement,”
says Chally. The CFA
is supporting two Congressional bills intended
to help candidates who
are considering buying a
franchise: H.R. 3196 (Fair
Franchise Act of 2015)
Keith
and H.R. 3559 (Small
Business Administration Franchise Loan
Transparency Act of 2015). Both were introduced by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN).
At the state level, Chally says she is
“very excited” about the passage of A.B.
525 in California, which passed in October
and applies to all franchise agreements
signed on or after January 1, 2016. Chally,
who was a state lobbyist before com-

O

ing to the CFA, knows
how difficult it can be
to pass a bill, even the
most benign. Along with
CFA Chair Keith Miller and CFA Vice Chair
Rob Branca, she worked
with the IFA to come up
with the language that
would most likely pass
the state legislature and
maximize the goals of
the CFA’s members. “I
don’t think it should be
easy to pass a bill,” she
says. “Legislators need
Miller
to take a look at all sides
and understand the full impact of a bill
before casting their vote.”
Miller, a multi-unit Subway franchisee
in California, issued the following statement after the bill became law in October:
“This journey started almost five years
ago, when then Assemblyman Jared Huffman introduced a comprehensive franchise
bill. While not everything wished for was

Educating Congress

n September 29, 2015, Mara Fortin, a 7-unit franchisee of Nothing Bundt
Cakes and a co-chair of the Coalition to Save Local Businesses testified
before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and
the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions at
a legislative hearing on H.R. 3459 (Protecting Local Business Opportunity Act).
What follows are excerpts from Fortin’s testimony:
• “The simple, one-sentence legislation contained in H.R. 3459 is the solution
that can protect small businesses like mine and give us certainty that out-of-touch
regulators are not going to threaten our business again in the future.”
• “[U]nder the NLRB’s ruling in Browning-Ferris Industries, my franchisor could
be found to be the joint employer of my employees.”
• “The real world consequence of the NLRB’s decision is that it will lead to
consolidation among our franchisors and a loss of autonomy for local franchise
business owners…. My franchisor may decide to exert more control over my business, relegating me to a middle manager role for which I did not sign up.”
• “To consider my franchisor a joint employer of my employees is to completely
misunderstand how franchising works. When I entered into a franchise agreement
with Nothing Bundt Cakes, I signed up to independently operate my business,
and that is what I have done for more than eight years. My franchisor provides
the recognized brands and trademarks, a set of business practices to ensure consistency and quality across all franchised locations, and support for marketing and
advertising. Everything else is up to me—I hire my workers and set their wage and
benefit rates. I manage my inventory and purchase equipment. I pay taxes as my
own small business, with my own identification number. And I help my employees
when they are in need of assistance. My franchisor plays no part in any of these
key functions that only a true and sole employer performs. The suggestion that my
franchisor is in any w ^H[