You're "lobbyist?" So, what do you do, anyway? From strength in numbers to targeted outreach, IFA promotes franchising industry's interests.

Within the nation's capital, a robust subculture of political enthusiasts, politicians, lobbyists, interest groups and political commentators is thriving.

The International Franchise Association, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has made its government relations efforts a top priority, staffing the department with three lobbyists and a political affairs director.

Someone from outside the political jungle may inquire as to how the work is conducted, and often IFA struggles to provide the answers succinctly. As with most professions, one takes for granted that those whom the association represents already know how the work is undertaken.

An effective lobbyist is an educator. Every day, a member of Congress takes action on a breadth of topics, few of which may be within his expertise. Bringing data and experts to lawmakers to demonstrate the effects of their potential decisions is the role of a lobbyist. While IFA lobbies on behalf of its members, it also aims to educate and serve as a resource for its members because the most effective lobbyist is a constituent. A constituent can convey the same data as a lobbyist, but with an impact that only a voter has. For this reason, the association urges its members to contact their members of Congress on issues of importance and IFA provides the Web site www.franchisingvotes.com as an advocacy resource center. In addition to IFA-member grassroots action, the trade group hosts an annual legislative day on Capitol Hill, known as Franchise Appreciation Day. Association members are encouraged to join their industry peers for the Ninth Annual Franchise Appreciation Day Sept. 15-16.

IFA's lobbyists strive to maintain fairness and competitiveness in franchising. More specifically, they work with federal, state and local governments to uphold the IFA's mission: "To protect, enhance and promote franchising." As a business association, not a private firm, the mission, as well as those on whose behalf the association is working, remain constant. Unlike "hired guns" from private firms that take on different clients and represent different interests, IFA's steady promotion of the same cause, gives it a strong identity in Washington. With this identity, the association uses various forms of lobbying and advocacy to educate members of Congress.

One of these critical lobbying methods is forming coalitions. The association partners with other business-industry associations to form dozens of coalitions, each focused on one specific issue or set of issues. This allows IFA to use the strengths of its current lobbyists, while staying very active on all the issues of interest to our members. While the association uses other methods to further its policy objectives, this article will focus on a sampling of the coalitions it leads or with which it works.

Arbitration Fairness Act

IFA recently partnered with a group of businesses and national business organizations allied to oppose legislation titled the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007, H.R. 3010/S. 1782. The bill would render pre-dispute binding arbitration clauses in consumer contracts unenforceable. Specifically, the legislation would amend the Federal Arbitration Act to establish that agreements to arbitrate employment, consumer or franchise disputes will not be enforceable if they are entered before the actual dispute arises. IFA holds that this legislation is an unwarranted intrusion into the freedom of contract rights of private companies, and it unfairly voids specific and longstanding contract terms in existing agreements.

Coalition members and IFA lobbyists have been meeting with key congressional offices and organizing grassroots activity in opposition to the legislation, focusing on critical members of Congress, including the bill's sponsors, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), eight House Democrats, Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and those members of Congress who do not yet have a stance on the bill.

Business Activity Taxes

In June, legislation was introduced by U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Michael Crapo (R-Idaho) to assist franchise companies and other businesses throughout the country in limiting audits and tax bills from states where they do not have any buildings, property or staff. The Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2007, S. 1726, seeks to clarify the intent of existing interstate commerce law by codifying the "physical presence" standard and eliminating confusion for state tax administrators and businesses alike because in recent years, some states have argued that the presence of intangible property in their jurisdiction may be subject to state income taxation. For franchising, this expanded definition of "substantial nexus" has opened the door for states to impose new taxes on the royalty income paid to the franchise system by franchisees located in a different state. IFA has endorsed the legislation and joined a coalition of corporations and business groups allied to urge Congress to clarify the patchwork of state laws and define, once and for all, substantial nexus. The coalition's first steps are to line up original co-sponsors of the bill in anticipation of its introduction in the House.

Card-Check Authorizations

Last year, IFA and a number of allies in the business community launched a coalition to fight the Employee Free Choice Act, arguing that this radical legislation will undermine basic employee rights and open the door to coercive union organizing tactics. This bill is a threat for franchising and other service-sector interests, as it would substantially shorten the organizing process and compel unionization when a simple majority of employees publicly sign authorization cards. The bill would prohibit a private-ballot election, the standard for determining union representation since the 1940s. The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace has retained a media firm to help with communications and the coalition has raised more than $2 million from the business sector to fund message development and communications activities. IFA serves as a leader of this important coalition.

Death Tax Repeal

For years IFA has been a member of the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition, a group of large and small national, state and local associations and businesses that seek certainty in estate planning. The 2001 tax relief legislation phased out the "death tax" or the tax owed on an estate (including a family-owned business) by the estate's heir after the owner has died by the year 2010. Unless Congress acts to extend it, the Senate budget rules will bring the estate tax back to life in 2011, when it threatens inherited small businesses with up to a 55 percent tax on the accumulated estate. Full repeal of the death tax is especially important to small businesses because in many cases, upon the death of the owner, the beneficiaries are forced to sell the business to afford the tax. The bill would provide franchise-business owners with certainty when estate planning. IFA endorses full and permanent repeal of the death tax and supports efforts to lessen the burden of estate planning and the high level of estate tax on America's family businesses.

Health-Care Reform

As always, health care is a major priority for IFA members. IFA partners with two different coalitions in advocating market-based initiatives that would increase access to affordable health care for franchises, particularly small businesses.

With health-care costs and premiums rising much faster than the rate of inflation or the rate of employee wages, IFA has long advocated for small-business health plan legislation. For years, IFA has been a steering committee member of the SBHP coalition representing more than 80 million employees and 12 million employers. The group represents small business and is the largest and only group working for more affordable and improved access to health care for small businesses. SBHP legislation would allow small businesses, such as most franchisees, to band together to create national pools, through which to access health-care coverage that is more affordable than that is presently available on a state-by-state basis. IFA believes SBHP legislation could be the solution to the small-business franchisee's difficulty in offering health-care benefits because it would allow franchisees in the same system to pool together across state lines, united by their system affiliation.

In addition, IFA is a member of the Coalition for Affordable Healthcare, a multi-industry diverse group of healthcare stakeholders, from industry to small business and everything in between. The group works to cover the uninsured through market-based initiatives.

Immigration Reform 

Immigration reform remains at the forefront of the IFA's legislative priorities, and IFA continues to serve as a steering committee member of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition. The coalition works with House and Senate leadership, as well as the Bush administration to fashion a comprehensive reform plan. The core principles that the association advocates include a plan that will strengthen our border security; ensure only those legally in the United States get hired; create a dynamic "future flow" new worker visa program that provides for the legal and orderly admission of needed workers; and establish a practical solution to the issue of 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living and working in the United States that includes the notion of citizenship for those willing to earn the status. IFA also strongly urges that employer verification systems be practical and simple for smaller employers to utilize without burdensome administrative costs or hefty penalties.

Since the collapse of immigration legislation in the Senate in 2007, IFA and EWIC have been heavily engaged in discussions with the Department of Homeland Security and congressional leaders on regulatory and legislative remedies to some of our immigration woes. In particular, DHS issued a rule addressing an employer's obligations in response to receipt of a Social Security number mismatch notice (i.e. a "no match" letter) from the Social Security Administration. This new rule would dramatically impact millions of small employers and likely lead to the firing of legal employees who could not resolve "no match" letters within a short period of time.

In September, the IFA and others from the employer community including several EWIC members joined a lawsuit against DHS for failing to consider the affect of the new regulation on small businesses, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Subsequently, a federal judge in the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction to suspend the new rule until the court could fully consider the issue. This injunction is a substantial victory for the IFA and the employer community, and it will gain employers valuable time to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform.

Lawsuit Abuse Reform: ADA, LARA and Obesity

IFA supports several initiatives to free franchisees and franchisors from the burdens of frivolous lawsuits. As a part of the Litigation Fairness Campaign sponsored by the Institute for Legal Reform of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the association works with our allies in the business community to advocate on behalf of meaningful tort reform. For example, IFA has endorsed legislation to reform the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide businesses with an opportunity to "cure" or correct any alleged ADA violations before civil lawsuits could be filed against them. In order to remove junk lawsuits and litigation tourism, IFA has also supported the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, which would impose mandatory sanctions on lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits and crack down on "forum shopping." And finally, IFA has long advocated the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act, which would prohibit frivolous lawsuits against food manufacturers, distributors or restaurants.

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Respect Act

In addition to formal coalitions that operate with a budget and a media plan, IFA also belongs to "ad hoc" coalitions. The groups opposed to the two bills noted below are a good example of ad hoc coalitions.

IFA is strongly opposed to the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, H.R. 2831, which would increase employers' exposure to potentially frivolous litigation for unlimited periods of time. By virtually eliminating any time limitations for claims of employment discrimination the bill would remove an important incentive to prompt surfacing and resolution of potential claims. In addition, the bill expands the range of potential claims and allows claims to be brought by family members as well as the employee. The bill passed the House in 2007, and IFA is working with a coalition of employer groups to stop this legislation in the Senate in 2008.

The Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Trade Workers Act, H.R. 1644/S. 969, was introduced this year to convert employee supervisors into rank-and-file employees subject to union organizing by changing the definition of "supervisor" in the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRA currently excludes "supervisors," meaning unions cannot require supervisors to be included in a bargaining unit. Supervisors do not have a protected right to promote unionization in the workplace, but a supervisor's conduct toward his or her subordinates can expose the employer to liability for unfair labor practices. The "RESPECT" Act would undermine the law's intended balance when Congress mandated that individuals who possess supervisory authority owe allegiance to management, not labor unions. IFA is closely monitoring the progress of this legislation and working with other employer groups to educate policymakers about the harm of this change in labor law.

Travel Business Roundtable and the Discover America Partnership

For several years, IFA has partnered with businesses and associations in the tourism industry to form the Travel Business Roundtable. Roundtable members represent a wide range of industries that work together to communicate trends and legislative activity that affect tourism, which in turn affects many service sectors, especially franchised business. Representing a host of industries with varied stakes in the tourism industry, IFA has a seat at the table to help influence these discussions.

In 2007, some members of the roundtable, including IFA, formed the Discover America Partnership. This group is working to strengthen America's image worldwide through coordinated communications and increase travel to the United States from abroad by enhancing the experience of foreign tourists in the nation. This would be accomplished by making the visa process more secure and more efficient. More information about the partnership can be found at www.poweroftravel.org.

Jessica Bonanno served as director of government relations of the International Franchise Association through 200Z She returned to Ohio to spend more time with her family. For more information about IFA government relations' agenda, visit that section of www.franchise.org.