Recently, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that impacts area small businesses. The new law will raise the minimum wage to $15/hour over a period of time. Among the many viewpoints surrounding this ordinance is the discussion regarding indepently owned franchises versus locally owned independent businesses. Under the Seattle ordinance, locally owned independent franchises are being treated like large corporations because of their “ties” to national corporates.
I have always been of the opinion that independently owned franchises are small businesses. Yes, the owner-operators of these businesses pay a franchise fee to national corporations for advertising, menus, operational and personnel procedures. However, the small business owner makes the hiring and firing decisions as well as other day-to-day operations of the business like filing and paying taxe, dealing with local government codes and accessing capital for their franchise business.
On one hand, I’m glad that Seattle passed this ordinance because it has spurred the filing of a federal lawsuit that is contending that by treating independently owned franchises differently from local companies of similar size, the Seattle law violates the rights of the franchises to equal treatment under the law. I’m hopeful that another conversation will enter the discussion and that is the question “What is an unskilled job worth?” If pushing an unskilled worker’s pay to $15/hour, what will that mean for those workers who are currently making $15/hour because of their skill level? Is their pay increased by 30% to 60% also? What are doing to the American dream of owning a small business? Are we confining small businesses to remain as micro businesses (less than 3 employees) or sole proprietors?
The video below gives a very good overview of the issues in Seattle and the two opposing viewpoints. This USA article gives you more information.
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