Category Archives: #FranchiseJobs

IFA Pres. & CEO Steve Caldeira Joins President Obama, Vice President Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden for Veterans and Military Spouses Hiring Announcement

Posted on by
6

 

 

caldeira_blanchard_whitehouse_franblog

As part of the franchising industry’s support of the White House Joining Forces initiative, IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira joined President Obama, Vice President Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden onstage to mark the hiring of 290,000 veterans and military spouses who have been hired or trained since the launch of the initiative in 2011.   Franchising contributed almost a quarter of this total.  Caldeira was accompanied by Tasti D-Lite CEO and IFA Hall of Famer Jim Amos, and IFA staff member Kevin Blanchard, both Marine veterans.

The First Lady and Dr. Biden noted that with the Iraq war over and the war in Afghanistan drawing to a close, more than one million service members are projected to leave the military in the next several years and transition to civilian life. And that’s on top of the hundreds of thousands of veterans and military spouses already out there looking for work. Hiring our veterans and military spouses will not only help them manage this transition, but shows them that our nation truly honors their service, not simply with words, but with real, concrete action that will profoundly impact their lives long after they leave the military.

The announcement reflects the building momentum within the private sector alone to hire and train veterans and military spouses.  First Lady Michelle Obama applauded the work the International Franchise Association has done to help veterans find jobs and transition back into civilian life and recognized, “the IFA has helped more than 4,300 veterans own their own businesses since 2011.”

caldeira_blanchard_whitehouse2_franblog

The franchising industry, led by IFA and 562 franchised businesses that are part of IFA’s VetFran strategic initiative, were part of the first private sector commitments to the White House Joining Forces initiative on Veterans Day in 2011. IFA and its membership pledged to hire and recruit 80,000 veterans and military spouses by 2014, including 5,000 wounded warriors as team members and franchise small business owners. In the first year alone, nearly 65,000 veterans have started careers in franchising – including 4,314 as franchise business owners using discounts offered by VetFran member companies.

The franchising industry has a long-standing history of supporting veterans. In 1991, IFA launched VetFran, a strategic initiative to help Gulf War veteran’s access business ownership opportunities in franchising. In 2011, Operation Enduring Opportunity was launched to expand that initiative to include hiring.

“With the war in Iraq over and the war in Afghanistan drawing to a close and more than one million service members are projected to leave the military in the next several years, franchise businesses have realized that hiring our veterans, military spouses and wounded warriors is not only the right thing to do, but it makes good business sense,” said IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira. “With its rapid training opportunities, scalability, and need for operational execution and excellence in following proven systems, franchising provides an ideal structure to enable returning veterans to become leaders of and productive participants in the U.S. economy.”

Making franchising’s voice heard on immigration

Posted on by
1

caldeira_FOXbusiness_immigration_WSJwebgraphic

As the immigration reform debate heats up in Washington ahead of the anticipated release of the Senate “Gang of Eight” legislative framework next week, IFA is making the voice of franchising heard to ensure the industry has the workers it needs as it continues to grow in the years ahead as part of any guest worker program that is included in the legislation.

On Wednesday, IFA Pres. & CEO Steve Caldeira penned an op-ed with Jerry Howard, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, that appeared in The Wall Street Journal, arguing for a market-based guest worker program:

“Elegant political deals, anchored by common principles agreed to by business and labor groups often at odds, may bring cheers in Washington. But the real key to success will be a final immigration measure that is comprehensive in nature. That would mean ensuring that the government isn’t put in the position of picking winners and losers, and that the legislation is appropriately aligned with the constantly changing needs of small and large businesses.

An employer’s access to lower-skill workers participating in the visa program should be triggered after a check with the domestic labor market. If Americans want the jobs that employers need to fill, they would be first in line to get them and there would be less need for foreign workers. But the need will always exist to some degree, and a guest-worker program that permits a market-based supply of lower-skill workers is essential. Without such a program, no immigration reform bill will be worthy of the name. With one, the framework will be set to power the most prosperous economy in the world.”

The piece serves as a great reminder of the economic impact of the franchising industry to the overall economic recovery, and how a guest worker program that works for our businesses will help power the economy, which continues to create jobs at rates faster than other businesses.

Also on Wednesday, IFA was quoted in this POLITICO story that noted the concern of IFA and other leading business groups with the emerging details of a the potential legislative framework of the immigration reform package coming from the Gang of Eight and negotiated by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the labor unions.

International Franchise Association CEO Steve Caldeira also told POLITICO he is concerned about the size of the program and economic indicators used as triggers.

“Obviously we would like to see a number higher than 20,000 workers at the start of the program,” said Caldeira. If Americans want the jobs that employers need to fill, they would be first in line to get them and there would be less need for foreign workers.”

The POLITICO story led to an appearance on Thursday evening by IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira and ImmigrationWorks USA CEO Tamar Jacoby on FOX Business’ Cavuto program to discuss whether or not the “deal” negotiated by the Gang of Eight is sufficient.

In the segment, Caldeira and Jacoby expressed praise for the Senate negotiators and the business and labor groups involved in crafting the current framework.

“We believe in the basic principles negotiated by the Gang of Eight and the Chamber and Labor, but we believe it does not go far enough as it relates to guest worker program. The caps that you just mentioned on the program account for not even 1/10 of the workers we’ll need in franchise industry as well as construction industry…In our industry, we added 150,000 jobs last year, we forecast 162,000 jobs this year, but we can’t find the workers to meet the forecast of demand moving forward.

As the debate evolves in the coming weeks and months over immigration reform, IFA will continue to engage in an integrated lobbying, grassroots, media outreach and member engagement campaign throughout the country to ensure the franchise industry’s voice is heard. This campaign included a roundtable at last week’s Franchise Update Multi-Unit Conference in Las Vegas and at the upcoming Restaurant Leadership Conference in Arizona. The Las Vegas outreach resulted in a story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal featuring comments from Aslam Khan, George Zografos, and IFA VP for Government Relations & Public Policy Jay Perron, as well as an April 1 Las Vegas Review-Journal opinion piece by IFA member Patrick Walls, the president of Capriotti’s Sandwich Shops.

Mark your calendar to attend IFA’s “California Franchising Day”

Posted on by
2

 

 

Mark your calendar for March 5th to attend IFA’s “California Franchising Day” in Sacramento.  It will be a great opportunity for franchisees and franchisors to let the California Legislature know the major economic impact that franchising makes in the state. In addition to meeting with legislators and staff, attendees will also get to speak one-on-one with key policymakers to educate them on the franchise industry.

Here are some fast facts on the Golden State:

  • Ÿ39 new California legislators were elected last year.
  • ŸAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 37,691,912 people in California. This is almost 12% of the entire U.S. population.
  • ŸThere are approximately 83,000 franchised businesses and 925,000 people employed by franchises in California.
  • ŸFranchise businesses have an economic output of $94 billion in the state.

For more information about Franchising Day, please contact IFA’s Dean Heyl at dheyl@franchise.org.

Franchise business leaders speak out on “fiscal cliff” in Washington

Posted on by
6

 

 

With ongoing discussions by Republicans and Democrats on the fiscal cliff, franchise business owners are weighing in about the impact higher tax rates would have on their business.

House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy met with small business owners Wednesday to discuss the danger the fiscal cliff poses to the economy.  The event followed President Obama’s meetings with primarily corporate CEOs from The Business Roundtable as Republicans and Democrats work toward a solution to the fiscal cliff. IFA’s Don Fox, CEO Firehouse Subs and Mitch Cohen, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin’ Robins franchisee, were among the nine business owners with a seat at the table to shine light on what will happen to their business if tax rates go up on individuals earning more than $250,000, which includes many small business owners.

“They said they are willing to continue negotiations but Republicans need more detailed spending cuts from the President,” commented Cohen as he left the meeting.  Fox said if a compromise isn’t reached, his stores are not going to be able to continue to expand and generate jobs.  “It can be said with absolute, undeniable certainty that if an ever increasing amount of the profit earned by the hard working franchisee is taken by the government, or redirected according to government edicts, the direct effect is that it will take longer to open new restaurants, and longer to create new jobs.”

IFA President and CEO Steve Caldeira and CEO of Firehouse Subs Don Fox spoke with Lauren Simonetti on FOX News Live from Capitol Hill to give their perspective on what the fiscal cliff means for the franchise industry (scroll to the 11 minute mark to watch their segment).

Each new franchise creates on average 40 jobs and with small businesses accounting for 65% of the jobs in this country (according to the Department of Labor), “it doesn’t make sense in this environment to raise taxes on anyone, especially the job creators”, states Caldeira. “There is no good outcome achieved by going over the fiscal cliff and agreeing on a fiscal deal is the first step toward creating long-term growth for the franchise industry,” explains Fox. “Of our small business owners, 80% are LLC’s and Partnerships and are already holding back until they know what tax rates are going to be.”

According to a member survey conducted by the IFA, 79 percent of members would halt growth plans if tax rates go up at the end of 2012.  The IFA sent a letter to Congress by 51 CEO’s urging the fiscal cliff to be averted and for Congress to extend all current rates while creating a framework for comprehensive tax reform in 2013.  Read the letter here.

The President continues to talk about the importance of small businesses to the growth of the economy, yet raising taxes on these owners is not the prescription for growth.  As we talk about the impending effects of the fiscal cliff and tax rates, small business owners need to have a seat at the table talking to the President and lawmakers in both parties about what they believe will enable the creation of new jobs our country so urgently needs.

For additional media coverage, see below:

IFA members top Inc. Job Creators list and continue to help rebuild the U.S. economy

Posted on by
2

 

 

Several IFA member companies, including Smashburger, Yodle and Home Care Assistance, were honored with being named to Inc. Hire Power Awards list, recognizing companies that are rebuilding the economy at such a critical time for our country.  Inc. released the list of the top 100 small businesses that have led the country in job creation over the past three years and will host an awards dinner to honor these companies featuring SBA Administrator Karen Mills.

Smashburger, Yodle and Home Care Assistance together added 8,047 jobs to the U.S. economy. The IFA has continued to be a key player in promoting the importance of small businesses to the ongoing economic recovery.

With members of Congress looking for ways to create more jobs, franchising continues to demonstrate meaningful and sustainable job growth.  For more information on Inc. top 100 list please click here.