Tucson business owner unhappy with new NLRB rule on franchises

Published: Monday, February 19, 2024 - 1:31pm
Updated: Monday, February 19, 2024 - 3:57pm
Audio icon Download mp3 (1.4 MB)

A rule resetting how the National Labor Relations Board determines if a company has to negotiate with workers in franchise locations is scheduled to take effect Feb. 26.

A franchisee with stores in Tucson is hoping Congress will act to keep the current rule made during the Trump administration. Wes Snyder is an accountant who owns a handful of FASTSIGNS franchises, including two stores in Tucson. Some of his Arizona employees have earned a stake in the franchise.

Snyder said future staff can't be as successful if government action makes him into a middle manager for a conglomerate.

“My entire team is just employees of a larger company. That’s what this joint-employer rule kind of looks like to me," Snyder said.

The NLRB determines if a company and franchises are a joint-employer.

The board said the pending analysis-standard is driven by whether a company has power to control at least one essential condition of employment for franchise workers.

Business Retail + Consumer