PLEASANTON, Texas – Rep. Henry Cuellar spoke with Pleasanton-area hotel owners today at a small business roundtable at the Best Western Plus in Pleasanton. The event was organized by the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, a nationwide trade group that has more than 3,300 members in Texas.
Hotel owners from the greater San Antonio area came to owner Raj Patel’s Best Western Plus to speak to Cuellar (D, Laredo) about a number of small business concerns. Chief among them is the joint employer standard, which defines the legal responsibility for employees between small businesses like franchised hotels and their larger brands. In 2015, a federal labor panel expanded the standard in a decision critiqued by small business groups.
“The expanded joint employer standard is a dire threat to the future of small business entrepreneurship,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AAHOA. “Thankfully, Rep. Cuellar knows and understands this issue well as is a cosponsor of the bipartisan bill to address this threat. He has been a champion for small business in Congress.”
“As a former business owner, I know the challenges of starting and maintaining a small business. Owning and maintaining a small business has been part of the American dream for generations,” said Rep. Cuellar. “I have met with and listened to many small business owners in my district, including the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, about issues that affect business and growth. I will continue to work to make sure small business owners receive the fair treatment they deserve from the federal government and I will continue fight arbitrary regulations that hinder economic development and job growth.”
Prior to the discussion with the small business owners, Cuellar took a tour of the property. The back of the house tour showed him the inner workings of a hotel’s operations.
Cuellar represents the 28th Congressional District of Texas. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee in charge of the federal budget. Prior to being elected in 2004, he was a Texas state representative and the Texas Secretary of State.
AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The more than 16,000 AAHOA members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community in the United States. As an association, AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American Dream.
For more information, contact: Brandon VerVelde, (920) 207-1899, [email protected]
