National Restaurant Association                          By Patricia B. Dailey

In ancient Rome, the governing body’s symbol was a tightly bundled sheaf of reeds, an early acknowledgment of the strength that is built through unity. A single reed easily could be snapped and broken, but a collection, bound together, presented cohesiveness and an unbreachable sense of might. This imagery, as potent and meaningful now as it was then, is a powerful reminder of why industry associations can be effective agents and allies, representing and advancing the common interests of members far more effectively than can a group of individuals, regardless of number. The Washington, D.C.-based National Restaurant Association (NRA) is foodservice’s collective voice, the courier of its legislative agenda and its face on Capital Hill. Amid growing governmental and regulatory issues that directly relate to the industry’s common business interests, foodservice’s diffuse resources can be stronger, more focused and reach further when corralled and channeled through a single entity. While the business of running a restaurant – or even a collection of them – may seem on the surface to be a fairly straightforward matter of buying, preparing and serving food on a large scale, the sheer size of foodservice and its constant interface with food employees and consumers draw it into a complex and highly politicized arena, one in which a rush of strong tides often runs counter to industry goals. With $420 billion in projected sales next year, some 850,000 units and nearly 12 million employees, foodservice concerns stand front and center, central issues in the mash of proposals and bills that fill legislative dockets. Minimum and living wages, immigration reform, health insurance, the Tip Tax Fairness Act, business-meal deductions, estate taxes, labeling laws, food safety and inspection, Work Opportunity Tax Credit and the growing, rancorous debate over government’s role in obesity and nutrition are among the issues that will directly influence members of the foodservice community. Failure to recognize or acknowledge the potential outcomes of these causes holds tremendous downside potential both for the individual operators and the industry at large. In a strategic plan announced last month, the NRA, working in tandem with the Chicago based National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, has mapped out an ambitious though well-conceived plan for itself, representing, educating and promoting the industry. Foodservice stands to benefit from these far-reaching efforts, particularly those that require navigating the tricky political maze, an area in which the NRA, under President and CEO Steven Anderson, has proven particularly adept. In fact, Fortune Magazine has named the association one of the nation’s 25 most powerful lobbying organizations. The question, then, is why the NRA counts only 260,000 member restaurants, when the benefits of its efforts are shared by nearly all the nation’s foodservice operations. An industry that represents more than $1 billion per day in sales should be effectively represented in the corridors of power. Support for the NRA, through membership and active participation, must not be viewed as optional, especially when so many issues are up for legislative debate.