The National Restaurant Association is the lobby of choice for Fortune 500 Restaurant Companies. As one of the most powerful lobbies in the country, they've effectively legislated their way out of paying their workforce. The majority of tipped workers are servers in the restaurant industry; their federal base pay has been a whopping $2.13 since 1991, meaning that most of a server's wages don't come from their employer but from tips, and since servers use food stamps at double the rate of the rest of the US workforce, taxpayers are regularly subsidizing their pay.
A lobby as powerful as the National Restaurant Association has a way of influencing more than just the restaurant industry, which is why yesterday's march and rally coincided with a full-page ad in The New York Times co-signed by leaders from environmental, women's, food, health, and corporate accountability movements.
“The NRA and its corporate members have consistently put profits before public health, animal welfare, consumers, workers, and the planet. Any long-term strategy aimed at bringing sustainability and transparency to our food system depends on pushing back against the NRA’s monied influence in Congress.” - Anna Lappé, best-selling author of Diet for a Hot Planet
“Women are standing in solidarity with our sisters and brothers calling for one fair wage. Restaurant workers today are disproportionately women. The National Restaurant Association is anti-women and we are going to help take them down if they do not change their ways.” - Terry O'Neill, President of National Organization for Women
The National Restaurant Association and its corporate members are:
-Destroying our environment: NRA members are significant buyers of protein from large consolidated meat and poultry companies which are leading contributors to global warming and water pollution.
-Destroying our health: The NRA lobbies aggressively against public health initiatives, including soda taxes, trans fat bans, lowering sodium levels, and regulations that limit marketing to children.
-Destroying our economy: The corporate restaurant industry’s workforce often lives in poverty and needs public assistance to get by. Meanwhile, CEO compensation for the most profitable NRA members has never been higher. Most small business owners, however, support raising the minimum wage and many restaurant owners see supporting their workers and their community as the right - and the smart - thing to do.
-Destroying our democracy: Taking cues from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the NRA has lobbied successfully to pass legislation that prevents localities from getting to vote on paid sick days, stripped states of their right to enact nutrition labeling requirements, and obstructs the advancement of women’s equality by opposing the Paycheck Fairness Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act.
Yesterday, ROC United released the most comprehensive report to date on the National Restaurant Association and its top corporate members, "The Other NRA: Unmasking the Agenda of the National Restaurant Association," including new analysis on its political spending. Find the report here.
Find the full page ad here.