Restaurant Chains Big And Small Are Encouraging Employees To Get Out The Vote.
A number of restaurant brands are incentivizing their employees to participate in the process, providing benefits like paid-time off to vote or registration resources.
There's good reason for chains to encourage their employees to vote. The restaurant industry is the second largest private-sector employer-a big target to help promote the democratic process, particularly as a measly 56% of eligible Americans voted in the 2016 election.
Further, because of the industry's size, an abundance of legislative policies directly affect these employees. Consider 2018, for example. During that election, nearly 20 states voted to increase their minimum wage.
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Wage legislation is simply scratching the surface. A glance at the
The idea to incentivize employees to vote isn't necessarily new in general, let alone in the restaurant industry. In 2016, for example,
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But there are more involved this go-round. Seemingly, much more. In 2018, ElectionDay.org, which offers vote-friendly policies, had 150 companies sign up. So far this year, there are more than 700 companies on board. Among those companies are restaurant brands like Sweetgreen, CAVA, &pizza, Farm Burger and Southern Cross Coffee. Time To Vote, another corporate voting initiative, has over 1,100 companies on board this year. Restaurants on this list include the
That Cava and Sweetgreen are on both lists underscores just how meaningful this effort is for some restaurant brands.
Cava's commitment includes offering badged poll workers a free meal, offering paid-time off to all hourly and salaried employees to cast their vote, and sharing election resources with employees.
Sweetgreen is providing up to three hours of paid time off for all hourly employees both on
Just this week, Mod Pizza announced its 2020 voter engagement initiative, 'MOD the Vote.' It includes time off to vote; a voter resource page with links to registration, eligibility, deadlines and state-by-state polling details; a 'Mod the Vote' stamp on every pizza box to encourage customers to visit its resource site; and first-person voter stories on the company's social platforms.
In a press release, cofounders Scott and
'We strongly believe that every voice deserves to be heard and voting is one of the most powerful ways to create the future you want to see ... this initiative is intended to uplift and empower our Squads to ensure their voices are heard,' they said.
&pizza is taking things a step further, closing all of its 37 stores on
The company, which employs 700 people, also offers three days of paid time off for employees to participate in 'activism of their choosing.' Additionally, &pizza is adding voter registration portals at its stores and on its website. All of this is part of the company's Vote It Out campaign.
&pizza's comprehensive voting efforts seem to have inspired Pincho Burgers and Kebabs to do something as well. In a LinkedIn post, Pincho cofounder and CEO
'We are proud to encourage our team to perform their civic duty and not have to choose between work and working,' Othman wrote. He added that Lastoria and Hooper 'always remind me that no matter how small we are as a brand, we should always challenge the status quo and that we will always do good by doing good.'
It's not just the small players getting out the vote, however. Noodles & Company NDLS -3.2% is granting one hour of paid time off to vote and has also created an online resource library for employees with information such as how to vote and polling locations.
In a release, CEO
In a letter to employees, CEO
Restaurant giant Yum Brands YUM 0.0%, parent company of
In a letter to Yum's employees, CEO
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