Dave Tucci: Franchisees in Maine Deserve Stability

The bipartisan American Franchise Act legislation that was recently introduced in Congress could be a game-changer.

By Dave Tucci

Dave Tucci is president of Aroma Joe’s Coffee, headquartered in Scarborough and with 60 locations across Maine.

Every day, people eat at their neighborhood café, squeeze in a quick workout at the gym or grab their favorite beverage. While these businesses may have a household name, they’re usually owned and operated by local families. These local business owners sponsor youth sports teams, create local jobs and keep our communities thriving.

After all, 85% of franchisees own and operate their establishments in the communities where they live, and on average they source 40% of all their inputs from local suppliers. An estimated 83% of franchisees donate to local charitable organizations, for an estimated annual total of $2.3 billion in contributions.

Thanks to the franchise model, more than 831,000 small businesses — from restaurants and gyms, to pet care facilities, hotels and real estate offices — serve every corner of America.

Here in Maine, there are nearly 3,000 franchises, including more than 60 Aroma Joe’s shops, where I have been proud to serve as president since 2022. Each Aroma Joe’s is rooted in its community, investing in it and offering pathways to upward mobility.

Now, by supporting a bipartisan bill in Congress, lawmakers can support this model now and into the future.

Franchises may share a recognized brand, but they’re not big corporations. The franchise model allows entrepreneurs to tap into the power of national branding, best in class training and support while running the daily operations of their own small businesses.

The system has opened doors for groups historically underrepresented in corporate America, including women, veterans and communities of color. Yet over the past decade, federal regulators have threatened to upend this successful model, weakening the partnership between franchisors and franchisees, stifling growth and putting jobs and trusted services at risk.

Nowhere is this challenge more pronounced than uncertainty around the joint employer standard, a federal regulation delineating when two entities — in this case, a franchisor and franchisee — share responsibility for the same employees. The definition has changed four times in the past decade alone.

Sometimes the standard has reflected the appropriate independence of a franchisor-franchisee relationship; other times, it has tried to make major franchisors responsible for employment matters long left up to an individual franchisee.

But even when the standard has reflected the reality of franchising, just the mere fact that the standard could change again has created a chilling effect on the industry, locking people out of opportunities to own their own franchise and costing an estimated 375,000 jobs.

These franchise owners remain community-minded. However, Congress has a unique chance to fix this problem, unlock opportunity and create even more small-business pillars across America.

The American Franchise Act, bipartisan legislation creating a permanent joint employer standard, was recently introduced in Congress. This bill would recognize that franchises are independent small businesses. This certainty would strengthen the franchisor-franchisee relationship, spurring investments that will deliver more trusted services to more people in more places and create the jobs necessary to serve consumers.

The next time you visit a chain establishment, know that there’s a strong likelihood that the person running it is your neighbor. Understand that the franchise model brought it there, created jobs for the hard-working staff and unleashed economic activity across your region. And remember that, without congressional action, these small businesses

may not exist in the future.

In 2024, both of Maine’s U.S. senators — Susan Collins and Angus King — stood up for franchising and a common sense joint employer standard. Our community was extremely grateful for their independent-minded leadership to support the small businesses that Mainers have come to count on every day.