November 6th, 2024
Coalition To Save Local Businesses: “It’s A New Day For Franchising In Montana”
Coalition To Save Local Businesses: “It’s A New Day For Franchising In Montana”
With his vote against local franchises, Senator Tester turned his back on Montana’s more than 3,000 franchise small businesses
WASHINGTON – The Coalition to Save Local Businesses (CSLB) issued the following statement on the election of Tim Sheehy to U.S. Senate, who defeated U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT):
“When the future of the franchise model was hanging in the balance, Senator Tester showed his true colors to Montana’s more than 3,000 local franchise establishments,” said Michael Layman, senior advisor to the Coalition to Save Local Business. “By refusing to support a bipartisan measure overturning an unworkable and expansive joint employer rule, the franchise small business community saw once and for all where Senator Tester’s priorities lay, and they were with the special interests, not the job creators. It’s a new day for franchising in Montana, and we look forward to educating the entire congressional delegation on the appropriate joint employer standard.”
In October 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a new joint employer standard that would deem franchisors and franchisees jointly liable for the same employees – undercutting the foundation of the entire franchise model. The rule went even further than a previous joint employer rule that destroyed 376,000 jobs, cost small businesses $33.3 billion, and led to a 93% spike in lawsuits in the franchise sector alone.
In response, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed H.J. Res. 98, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution overturning the rule, with bipartisan majorities. Senator Tester voted against the bipartisan effort.
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The Coalition to Save Local Businesses represents hundreds of thousands of local businesses and millions of American jobs through its membership and partner organizations. The coalition’s goal is to raise the voices of everyday Americans who own, operate, work for and depend on local businesses for their livelihoods.