An infatuation with Donald Trump’s proposal to stop taxing restaurant workers’ tips was nearly impossible to escape in the aftermath of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, according to the head of the National Restaurant Association’s lobbying team, Sean Kennedy.
Never mind that the chances of the measure ever flying are miniscule (opponents estimate it could cost the nation up to $250 billion in lost revenues), or that most of the tipped workforce makes too little to qualify. Plus, the nation has far more critical issues to address, like immigration and the cash suck of two ongoing wars.
Yet the buzz, as much of a distraction as it might have been at times, was still music to Kennedy. “Anytime you have everyone talking about restaurant workers, that’s a win for the industry,” he said in an interview with Restaurant Business during the lull between the GOP and Democratic conventions.
Share of conversation is tough to land during the political parties’ quadrennial get-togethers. The confabs tend to be a cross between a pep rally and an enormous block party, with more than a few circus elements blended into the mix.
Certainly there’s more of a nod to fun and celebration than somber discussions of how the country should be run, with much of the policy work thrashed out beforehand. A hardcore presentation on the need to curb credit-card swipe fees is going to be met with all the enthusiasm an IRS audit might muster.
“People always question the value of political conventions. But when you have so many political figures on one stage, you have to show up,” said Kennedy, the trade group’s EVP of public affairs. The wonks might be going a little wild, but the party runs for less than a week.
“What it helps us reinforce is that the restaurant industry’s issues are America’s issues,” he said.
Still, advocacy takes on a different tenor.
“A lot of the convention is socializing. So it’s a matter of bringing a soft touch,” explained Kennedy. “It’s really a matter of walking and talking in the halls of the convention. It’s a lot of elevator pitches. It’s a matter of being there and answering the question, ‘How’s the restaurant industry doing?’”
The idea is to foster a connection so phone calls might be returned a little faster and policymakers know whom they can tap for perspective should a restaurant-related issue arise.
“Conventions aren’t where you’re going to see ah-ha breakthroughs on policy,” he continued. “Did we talk about swipe fees and the tip credit? Absolutely.”
But the goal is connection, not vote commitments.
“If I worked for the sand and gravel industry, my job would be a lot harder,” said Kennedy. Lawmakers and other politicos, like seemingly all Americans, are avid users of restaurants. “The ace in the hole for this industry is that elected officials are personally and professionally interested in it. We are usually pretty high on that list of people who they might want to meet with, because they appreciate restaurants.”
That fondness is pronounced within both parties, and the National Restaurant Association has a policy of striving to be as nonpartisan as possible in the presidential election. “We are not looking for one political party to solve all of the industry’s problems,” Kennedy said. “We’re going to have a seat at the table irrespective of who wins on Election Day.”
He and his team will be in Chicago when the Democrats descend on the city Aug. 19-22 for their convention. Kennedy expects that gathering to be significantly different from the Republican confab because the nation is less familiar with Kamala Harris, the Democrat’s presumptive presidential candidate, than it is with former president Donald Trump. A major goal will be introducing the former senator and California attorney general to much of the nation.
Plus, President Biden’s withdrawal from the race means the Democratic gathering will be an open convention, meaning challengers could try to pull the nomination away from Harris. The party hasn’t had an open convention since the mid-1960s.
Who's going to win?
So, which party does Kennedy expect to prevail at the polls in November?
“I can’t tell you what will happen in either chamber of Congress,” he said. “In recent times, there’s been a remarkable turnover on the Hill—one Congress the Democrats are up, the next the Republicans are up. The amount of turnover is just stunning. We’ve never seen this much.”
But, he stresses, that doesn’t mean the elections don’t matter, by any calculation. Of particular importance will be who ends up controlling the executive branch.
‘The person who controls the white House controls every piece of legislation that comes out of Congress, every type of tax reform that comes out of Congress, every new regulation that comes out of the executive branch,” he said. “What happens is going to have an immediate impact on every restaurant in the country.”