Statement on Franchise Survey Call

I am writing to clarify my involvement on yesterday's press call related to the Franchise Grade franchisee survey and the official positions of the Coalition of Franchisee Associations (CFA) board, which were not represented.  My participation was personal, not as a representative of nor endorsed by the CFA Board of Directors. 

Yesterday's call was titled the "Franchise Survey Call". I was a participant only to the extent that I was aware that portions of the survey related to specific provisions of proposed legislation known as AB-525 in California. The CFA is the sponsor of AB-525, and the CFA Board has officially supported the legislation.

CFA's mission is to support and strengthen franchising. It seeks to build strong relationships between responsible franchisees and responsible franchisors and to improve franchising for all stakeholders, including franchisees, franchisors, the public, franchisees' valued employees and future investors in franchising.  Franchising is a vital industry employing millions of Americans and providing upward mobility and business ownership opportunities like no other industry. 

Media stories have concentrated on me being representative of franchisees joining the fight for $15 with the unions or the We Are Main Street campaign, none of which I support. Any characterizations that I do are false.

CFA's official position has been, and continues to clearly be, that it is against measures such as Seattle’s discriminatory treatment of franchisees being targeted for higher wage mandates than other independently owned businesses, and against franchisees and franchisors being treated as joint employers.  

I regret allowing myself to be put in a position of being misinterpreted or be misperceived as speaking on behalf of the board, and this has caused unintentional harm to the association, its members and other stakeholders with whom CFA works in good faith to nobly advance the cause of responsible franchising.