StORES Magazine - August 2007 - (Page 26)

news NRF Board Takes Immigration, Labor Concerns to Capitol Hill xecutives from leading retailers participated in two days of discussions about legislative and public policy issues during the summer meeting of the NRF board of directors. The board met at the U.S. Capitol with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and Sen. John Kerry to discuss immigration reform, union “card-check” legislation and rising credit card interHouse Ways and Means change fees. Committee Chairman Charles As unions begin to target reRangel and NRF chairman tailers, legislation to curb cardM. Farooq Kathwari, chairman, checking – the elimination of president and CEO of Ethan secret ballots in union organizAllen Interiors. ing elections — has become a Roger N. Farah (left), president and COO of Polo Ralph Lauren, and JCPenney chairman and CEO Myron E. Ullman III listen to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. E Washington Leadership Conference just weeks before). While most CEOs supported the bill, they expressed concern that employment verification provisions remained impractical. As with card-check, immigration reform was pulled from the Senate floor after failing to receive sufficient votes on a procedural motion. It was the second time the motion had failed, and most observers are doubtful that further action will occur this year. Going to Bat for NYC Chain Restaurants RF’s National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) has been speaking out against a new regulation scheduled to go into effect in New York City this summer. The regulation would affect all chain restaurants – including those that already are providing calorie and nutrition information to their customers on a voluntary basis. The regulation requires restaurants to post caloric content on menu boards next to the price of the item. The impacted restaurants represent about 10 percent of New York City’s restaurants; the vast majority of N pertinent issue. The bill discussed during the meetings with members of Congress was defeated on a procedural vote in the Senate just after the board meeting, but “the challenge is long term,” NRF vice president for government and political affairs Rob Green told the board. “After 2008, Democrats could have a larger majority in the House and Senate and could have control of the White 26 STORES / AUGUST 2007 NRF president and CEO Tracy Mullin and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. House. President Bush has said he would veto the bill, but we may not have that backstop after 2008.” In a last-minute attempt to garner support for the immigration bill, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez requested a meeting with NRF’s board (he had also spoken at NRF’s restaurants are not sharing this information and will not be required to provide any nutritional information. The New York State Restaurant Association has filed suit in Federal Court challenging the New York City Board of Health regulation, and a ruling on this issue is expected this month. Although not part of the lawsuit, NCCR is participating in a pro-active media campaign designed to highlight the impact of the new regulation, which was written to directly target chain restaurants and will solely affect their businesses, says NCCR president Jack Whipple. The requirements set forth by New York City’s Board of Health are misleading to consumers and nearly impossible for many companies to follow, Whipple says, since chain restaurants offer thousands of variations of sandwiches, coffee, pizza or tacos. To comply with the regulation, a restaurant will “either have to have a Times Squaresized menu board, or it could look like a bad day at the eye doctor’s office,” he says. NCCR also is concerned that the New York City regulation might be used as a precedent by other jurisdictions. WWW.STORES.ORG PHOTOS: CARL COX http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of StORES Magazine - August 2007

Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Upfront NRF News Retail People Concept2Watch Supermarkets Cover Story Online Marketing In-Store Marketing RFID Data Management Payment Systems Software Loss Prevention E-Commerce Risk Management Communications Loyalty Marketing Human Resources Mobile Commerce Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View Advertising Index Retail Industry Calendar

StORES Magazine - August 2007

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