Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 48 stations) with the sobering news that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is destroying the very foundation of America’s franchise system by creating an environment that will allow unions to force big franchisors to unionize their franchisees. Their first target is McDonald’s, which has been singled out initially since they aren’t big Obama supporters. This movement could eliminate thousands of jobs as franchisees’ labor costs will make it economically unfeasible to stay in business.
“We’re talking about the 18 million jobs supported by the franchise industry that contribute $1.2 trillion to the economy,” noted Neal.
Returning to Made in America as a guest was Fred Wszolek, spokesperson for the Workforce Fairness Institute, who concurred with Neal that the NLRB is redefining the relationship between franchise employer and employee, putting jobs and franchisees at risk.
“This NLRB ruling can’t stand and I’m pretty sure it’s heading to the Supreme Court. This ruling essentially makes it easier and cheaper for unions to go after small franchisees by going after their franchisor. This gives unions the green light to start the process, and I think they will begin acting immediately,” predicted Wszolek.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman proposed that the NLRB ruling completely overturns the franchise model that has worked so well for decades. He characterized this as another slap in the face of business by the Obama administration, and predicted that it will force franchisees, especially in fast-food, to accelerate the process of replacing workers with automation.
Wszolek agreed, adding that the insidious part of this ruling is that it will force franchisors to set a national hourly rate for all of its franchisees. But this fails to take in to account the local economy of franchisees. So a franchise operating in a market with low employment where there are fewer workers looking for low paying jobs, will have to pay top wage. But in a depressed market, franchisees can’t afford to increase hourly wages to meet the national wage level. It will put them out of business.
Continuing the discussion of the NLRB ruling, Neal reminded listeners that just because a local franchise carries a big national brand name, they are essentially a neighborhood mom & pop business run by families trying to make a living.
Dr. Roffman added that franchisees lead a precarious economic life, and if they are forced to unionize, they might be forced to close their doors.
Neal moved onto another situation that is killing jobs—the rise in immigrants taking jobs from American workers because they will work for lower wages. He noted that in Tennessee, almost all of the job growth there was attributed to the hiring of immigrants.
Dr. Roffman suggested that many of these jobs were in industries where employers claimed they couldn’t find qualified American workers, which Dr. Roffman characterized as completely untrue; and continues a myth that America is not turning out enough workers with training required by today’s employers.
Iain Murray, Vice President of Strategy for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, was the next guest on Made in America, who discussed Operation Choke Point, a federal initiative to cut off banking relationships for industries out of favor with the Obama administration.
“The administration is allowing federal banking regulators to determine that if a company poses a ‘reputation risk’ due to the nature of their business, they can force banks to cut ties with the company, cutting off all access to capital. You’re seeing this in the ammunition industry, where firearm sellers are losing their banking relationships, putting them out of business. They are being punished because the Obama administration doesn’t like the firearms industry,” maintained Murray, who added that it comes on the heels of Dodd-Frank, which is forcing small community banks to close or merge with a bigger bank.
Returning to Made in America was Thomas J. Pyle, President of the American Energy Alliance, who takes umbrage to the Obama administration’s ongoing War on Coal which is losing thousands of jobs while making the American energy system more vulnerable.
“The coal industry has done everything it has been asked to do to lower emissions – the lowest in 30 years – but it continues to be under attack even as coal remains the most abundant, affordable energy option. Since Day One of his administration, President Obama has made it clear that coal is the nation’s number one enemy. The result is the coal’s share of the energy industry has dropped from 50 percent to 40 percent,” noted Pyle.
Dr. Roffman found it ironic that Tesla Motors, the manufacturer of battery- operated cars and a big friend of the Obama administration, is part of an industry of renewable fuel that received $50 billion in government subsidies. Now they want to build the world’s largest battery manufacturing facility. But Dr. Roffman wonders where the energy will come from to charge all the batteries – which will probably be electricity delivered on the national grid.
Pyle agreed, noting that 82 percent of the nation’s energy comes from coal natural gas and petroleum. But the Obama’s favorite energy –wind and solar—account for only two percent of our energy supply; not nearly enough to make up for the differential.
Neal and Dr. Roffman moved on to their weekly segment identifying rampant cronyism.
“The Washington Examiner and other media sources are questioning how Bill Clinton could make 215 paid speeches, netting him about $48 million, while his wife was Secretary of State. This included two speeches he gave in Saudi Arabia, for which he was paid $300,000 per speech, and millions of dollars were dispersed to his foundation. I’m pretty sure this is a big conflict of interest, but no one in the Obama administration seemed to pay this much attention. What goes around comes around when you’re talking about the Obama administration,” concluded Dr. Roffman.
Each week Neal Asbury’ Made in America provides Neal’s insights into the week’s top news stories and their impact on the worlds of entrepreneurship, small business ownership and the overall economy. Neal’s analysis, together with co-host Dr. Richard Roffman, a veteran 30-year publisher with extensive domestic and international experience, takes a non-biased approach based on real life experience in business as an American manufacturer and exporter. Made in America airs nationally each Saturday from 7-8:00 PM on Radio America. Link to Made in America at http://www.nealasburysmadeinamerica.com.
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