FRANCHISE OWNER TESTIFIES ABOUT ECONOMIC RECOVERY CHALLENGES FACING SMALL BUSINESSES

CONTACT: Erica Farage

efarage@franchise.org/202-441-8740

(WASHINGTON, July 21) – CEO and Owner of four FASTSIGNS locations in the Dallas area, Mark Glenn, testified today in the U.S. House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Regulations on behalf of the International Franchise Association (IFA) to inform the members of Congress about the continued struggles that small business owners are facing as the economic recovery continues.

Glenn shared his experience with the critical labor shortage, despite his extraordinary recruitment efforts, which he blames in part on the continued extension of pandemic unemployment insurance. “At my four locations, I generally have 28-30 staff, so with 4 open positions, that is roughly 10% of my workforce that is unfilled,” he stated. Glenn went on to say, “I strive to be an employer of choice through competitive wages and career building opportunities. These are good paying jobs in a strong industry that a career can be built upon.”

In addition to the lack of prospective employees, Glenn stressed the “Protecting the Right to Organize Act” (PRO Act) has become another pressing issue for himself and other small business owners. “I’m also concerned about the House’s support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act and how close this bill is to becoming law. There are two provisions in the legislation which will corporatize the franchise model and threaten my franchisee equity. These provisions include changes to the definitions of independent contractor and joint employment,” Glenn stated.

Additionally, in his written testimony found here Glenn references a survey conducted by Oxford Economics that shows a wage and benefit premium associated with franchise jobs in certain industries compared to non-franchise small businesses. 32 percent of respondents also said they would not be business owners without franchising, which translates to about 60,000 small businesses across the economy.

###

About the International Franchise Association

Celebrating 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development.