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ericc's avatar

I really don't care how the courts rule on franchise vs. franchisee business rights, but the law should be consistent. If the franchisee has a right to close on Sundays against the wishes of the franchise, then other franchisees should have the right to open on Sundays against the wishes of the franchise.

Put another way, if a religious store owner has the right to say no to some nonreligious franchise owner, then a nonreligious store owner should have the right to say no to some religious franchise owner. To do otherwise is to carve out a special legal privilege for religious store and franchise owners that nonreligious owners don't get.

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Sarah Longstaff's avatar

To be honest, franchises have ruined workers' rights. Every middle man, and that includes franchise owners, inserted between workers and corporate executives/ shareholders siphons off more of the surplus, and there is a direct connection between franchising and the 40 year suppression of wages in the US. In Florida, there franchises, like Subway stores, that are operating with ONE employee to manage the entire store! That circumvents the "two employees needed to form a union" requirement, and it means that that single employee can't go to the bathroom. It is also extremely unsafe! Having lived in countries in Europe where businesses are closed on Sundays, the argument there is that "workers have the right to spend a day with their families." Religion is not the reason. Instead of criticizing this new law, let's figure out a way to reframe it to be pro-workers' rights rather than pro-religion, and let's try to expand it.

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