Labor/Economics

News and events of the day
Motor City
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Post by Motor City »

Billowing black smoke seen for miles as massive Walmart distribution center burns in Indiana
Large plumes of thick smoke soared into the air in Plainfield, Indiana, on Wednesday after a 1.2 million-square-foot Walmart distribution center caught fire.

The structure fire began around 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Facebook post from the Avon Police Department. The building was fully engulfed in flames by the time fire authorities arrived.

Smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away — and even on satellite imagery — as the fire grew in the town near the Indianapolis International Airport.

One firefighter suffered minor injuries while fighting the fire but was treated and released back to the scene, Plainfield Fire Chief Brent Anderson said.
....Deputy Chief Joe Aldridge of the Plainfield Police Department said Walmart believed all 1,000 employees at the distribution center were accounted for and that they got out of the building safely......
....Fire officials warned the distribution center was full of items that could become toxic if burned. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency arrived Wednesday to assist in testing for hazardous materials and air quality issues from the fire, the fire chief said.

"We are going to err on the side of caution right now," Anderson said. "We will treat everything as if it's hazardous."...
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ap215
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Post by ap215 »

Starbucks Illegally Retaliated Against Pro-Union Workers, Labor Officials Allege

Federal labor officials issued a complaint against Starbucks on Tuesday accusing the coffee chain of illegally interfering with workers’ efforts to form a union.

A regional director for the National Labor Relations Board said in the filing that the company’s managers retaliated against pro-union employees in Arizona. One worker, Laila Dalton, was suspended while another, Alyssa Sanchez, eventually lost her job.

https://news.yahoo.com/starbucks-illega ... 33116.html
ap215
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Post by ap215 »

Jobless claims: Another 214,000 Americans filed new claims last week

New unemployment claims improved more than expected last week, further reflecting a tight labor market and relatively low levels of firings and layoffs.

The Labor Department released its latest weekly jobless claims report Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the print, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/weekly-j ... 55584.html
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carmenjonze
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Post by carmenjonze »

Seattle Starbucks location unanimously votes in favor of unionizing, a first in the company’s hometown
- CNBC
* Starbucks baristas at a Seattle location unanimously voted to unionize, a first in the company’s hometown.

* The growing union push is among the challenges that incoming interim CEO Howard Schultz will have to tackle once he returns to the helm of the company.

* The Seattle location is the seventh company-owned Starbucks cafe to vote in favor of unionizing under Workers United.
Good!
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Libertas
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Post by Libertas »

Fantastic news!

I remember when I first heard of Starbucks I wanted one and contacted them about franchises. They did not do them then, dont know about now.

One way to make sure you can abuse the workers is to own all the stores and fire anyone who even mentions unions.
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carmenjonze
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Post by carmenjonze »

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ap215
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Post by ap215 »

New jobless claims fall to 187,000, setting more than five-decade low

U.S. jobless claims set a more than 50-year low last week as the red-hot labor market shows few signs of cooling in the near-term.

The Labor Department released its latest weekly jobless claims report Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the print, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/weekly-j ... 06198.html
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carmenjonze
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Post by carmenjonze »

condeunion
@condeunion

We want to create a better, more equitable workplace at @condenast. So today we're uniting in solidarity to #UnionizeConde. We ask management to swiftly and voluntarily recognize our union. Find out more about supporting our union at http://condeunion.org

[IMAGE]

https://twitter.com/condeunion/status/1 ... 0393952268
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ap215
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Post by ap215 »

Private payrolls rose by 455,000 in March, topping expectations: ADP

U.S. private sector employers brought back slightly more jobs than expected in March as the economy faced ongoing labor shortages and widespread vacancies.

Private sector payrolls rose by 455,000 in this past month, ADP said in its latest report Wednesday. Consensus economists were looking for 450,000 jobs to return, according to Bloomberg data. In February, employers brought back 486,000 payrolls, based on ADP's upwardly revised monthly print.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/adp-jobs ... 53497.html
Motor City
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Post by Motor City »

They are forced to scramble and make tough decisions.

GM keeps plants running in China by asking workers to live in factory, sleep on floors
That lockdown is forcing automakers and suppliers to scramble and make tough decisions.
China has a "zero-COVID" strategy that relies on mass testing, contact tracing and other policies to control the spread of the virus. It also demands that companies use strict measures to keep factories going — or else shut down......
....."According to the Shanghai government’s pandemic control measures, companies are required to operate either in closed loop if necessary or have the employees work from home," the person said. "Closed-loop operation means that employees must stay in the plant."

The story was first reported by Reuters. It said the workers are being asked to sleep on the factory floor and that GM's joint venture got passes for trucks to continue deliveries. Reuters cited two unnamed sources.
Closed loop is a form of quarantine. Reuters described it as a "bubble-like arrangement" where workers sleep, live and work in isolation from the outside community to prevent COVID-19 transmission.
American plants have people live in the plants 6 or 7 days a week but instead of workers sleeping on the floor they fall asleep in their car while driving home. seems like that closed loop thing was a line in a movie a while back where tom green played a leader of a steve jobs cult.
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gounion
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Post by gounion »

Motor City wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 12:10 pm They are forced to scramble and make tough decisions.

GM keeps plants running in China by asking workers to live in factory, sleep on floors

American plants have people live in the plants 6 or 7 days a week but instead of workers sleeping on the floor they fall asleep in their car while driving home. seems like that closed loop thing was a line in a movie a while back where tom green played a leader of a steve jobs cult.
Not to defend GM - not at all - but let’s remember that GM does not own nor control those plants. They are owned by Chinese nationals. American companies cannot own anything in China. They contract the work out. And if we had a dispute with China, China would continue manufacturing the same products. We have no control.

And, of course, GM contracts work out there because they don’t have to worry about niggling concerns like living wages, worker rights and safety, or even pollution. GM is just fine with slave labor.
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carmenjonze
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Post by carmenjonze »

Amazon workers on Staten Island vote for company’s first unionized warehouse in U.S. - CNBC
• Amazon workers at a Staten Island warehouse voted Friday to join a union, the first time that’s happened at one of the company’s U.S. facilities.

• The outcome represents a landmark win for organized labor, which has for years tried to organize Amazon warehouse and delivery workers.

• By voting in a union, Staten Island workers stand to disrupt Amazon’s current labor model, which is the backbone of its Prime two-day shipping promise.
Good :!: :!: :!:
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gounion
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Post by gounion »

Fantastic news - this is groundbreaking.

But I'm also troubled. This vote was formed basically because of one fired worker. He must really be something.

But this union-to-be in unaffiliated with any larger union. This worries me. I hope the find a union to affiliate with.

There was a time there were many single-employer, unaffiliated independent unions. The problem is that companies learned how to deal with such unions and drive them bankrupt. Unions require a great deal of legal and financial expertise, and normally, costs of arbitration are shared equally between the company and union. The company can simply generate a lot of grievances, and refuse to bargain over them, pushing every one to arbitration, because they have extremely deep pockets, and the workers don't.

So, many years ago, these independent unions all, one by one, found larger unions to affiliate with. I hope these guys do the same.

If they do, they should be able to force Amazon to the table to get a decent contract.
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Libertas
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Post by Libertas »

https://twitter.com/jenn_elias/status/1 ... ng1uMLkatA

In a new statement, Amazon says it's now.. going after the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. https://cnbc.com/2022/04/01/amazon-work ... onize.html

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carmenjonze
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Post by carmenjonze »

Worthless cons.

3 Democrats join Republicans in sinking Biden nominee to lead Labor division - MSN
Three moderate ...
:roll:
... Senate Democrats joined Republicans on Wednesday night in voting against advancing President Joe Biden's nominee to head the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division.

Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Manchin and Mark Kelly voted against a procedural vote to advance David Weil's nomination. The final vote count was 47-53, where a simple majority was needed to advance the nomination.

Weil previously served in this role during the Obama administration from 2014 to 2017 and faced criticism from conservative groups for policies he enacted at the time that they argue hurt small businesses, such as pushing to classify independent contractors as employees. Private groups were urging moderate Democrats to vote against Weil's nomination.

Sinema's spokesperson said the senator reviewed his nomination and "had concerns" without elaborating.
Moderates are just dishonest cons.
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carmenjonze
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Post by carmenjonze »

History of IATSE - Youtube

Best credits roll ever!
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Motor City
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Re: Labor/Economics

Post by Motor City »

Applebee’s franchisee worker fired over leaked email
......Issues arose after someone shared the email last month with Jake Holcomb, who was the manager of an Applebee’s restaurant in Lawrence, Kansas. He quit soon after he read the email, which said: “As inflation continues to climb and gas prices continue to go up that means more hours employees will need to work to maintain their current level of living.”

Holcomb said he printed a couple dozen copies and left them where servers could find them, the Springfield News-Leader reported.

“Then, I gave everyone in the restaurant their food for free and we just left; we didn’t even close the store,” he said, adding that he also shared the email with a friend who posted a screenshot to Reddit on March 21........
Airlines cancel more than 3,500 US flights over weekend
Airlines have canceled more than 3,500 U.S. flights this weekend and delayed thousands more, citing weather in Florida and other issues......


........ People on social media complained about waiting on hold or in lines for hours to get their canceled flights rescheduled and being stranded for days......
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carmenjonze
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Post by carmenjonze »

A white conservative murdered MLK on this day.

The Strike That Brought MLK to Memphis - Smithsonian Mag

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In his final days, Martin Luther King Jr. stood by striking sanitation workers. We returned to the city to see what has changed—and what hasn’t

The Memphis sanitation workers’ strike is remembered as an example of powerless African-Americans standing up for themselves. It is also remembered as the prelude to the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The workers had made a few attempts to strike, several years earlier, but their efforts had failed to attract the support of the clergy or the middle class. By February 1968, though, things had changed. Memphis’ mayor, Henry Loeb, refused to negotiate with worker representatives and rejected a pay raise for workers that the city council had approved. Some of them began holding nonviolent marches; the use of mace and tear gas against demonstrators galvanized support for the strike. One hundred-fifty local ministers, led by the Rev. James Lawson, a friend of King’s, organized to support the workers. King came to town and on March 18 delivered a speech to a crowd of around 15,000 people. He returned ten days later to lead a march. Though King’s hallmark was nonviolent protest, the demonstration turned violent, with stores being looted and the police shooting and killing a 16-year-old. Police followed retreating demonstrators to a landmark church, the Clayborn Temple, entered the sanctuary, released tear gas and, per one authoritative account, “clubbed people as they lay on the floor to get fresh air.”

Some blamed the violence on a local Black Power group called the Invaders. King resolved to work with them and gain their cooperation for another march, to be held April 5. He arrived on April 3 and, as rain poured outside that night, he delivered his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech to a group of sanitation workers.

“We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live—a long life; longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man.”

King and his entourage, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, were staying in a black-owned motel, the Lorraine. As King stood on the balcony outside his second-floor room the next evening, April 4, a white supremacist sniper, James Earl Ray, who had been stalking King for weeks, shot and killed him with a high-powered rifle from the window of a rooming house across the street.
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Libertas
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Post by Libertas »

Yep...Personally I believe the FBI had a lot to do with it. But would be interested in what others (patriots only please) think.
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carmenjonze
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Post by carmenjonze »

Libertas wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 11:25 am Yep...Personally I believe the FBI had a lot to do with it. But would be interested in what others (patriots only please) think.
Well, the head of the FBI was a white conservative who published in the White Citizens Council newsletter.

So.
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Libertas
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Post by Libertas »

carmenjonze wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 11:33 am Well, the head of the FBI was a white conservative who published in the White Citizens Council newsletter.

So.
I heard an interview of the son of one of the guys who was hired by them to kill him. Very believable, might have been Thom Hartmann show, not sure.
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Number6
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Post by Number6 »

Tentative agreement reached with grocery workers' union and Ralph's and Vons/Pavilions/Albertsons stores. The union members will need to vote to accept the agreement to prevent a strike.
A tentative agreement was reached Monday in negotiations between the union representing Southern California grocery workers and stores including Ralphs and Vons/Pavilions/Albertsons, avoiding a potential strike.

"Once our members have had an opportunity to review and vote, we will release more information on this historic and transformational deal. Nothing is final until our members decide,'' a statement from the seven United Food and Commercial Workers International Union locals representing the workers said.

Union officials said they were seeking a $5-per-hour wage hike, phased in over the next three years, along with bolstered safety standards and "adequate scheduling and hours.''

The stores had offered annual 60-cent-per-hour wage increases over the next three years, totaling $1.80.
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/ ... s/2912559/
I use the Navy commissary for almost all of my grocery buys so a grocery worker's strike would little effect on me. I do support the union wanting more money for their members considering during the COVID pandemic grocery store workers were considered essential workers and some temporarily got increased pay in some cases that pay is now gone.
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Motor City
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Re: Labor/Economics

Post by Motor City »

Another weekend, another travel mess: JetBlue, Spirit cancel hundreds of flights
.....JetBlue canceled 18% of its Saturday flights and has canceled 13% of Sunday flights as of 2:30 p.m. ET. Spirit canceled 14% of its Saturday flights and has canceled 13% of its Sunday flights.

The troubles have spring break travelers scrambling to find new flights, in many cases the next day or later because weekend flights are packed, driving to their destination or canceling the trip.....
.....We are letting you and our customers down, and that is not consistent with what we stand for.....
.....JetBlue plans to proactively cut flights for the rest of April to reduce last-minute cancellations that strand travelers, Geraghty said, and it also expects to reduce its summer flight schedule by at least 8% to 10% despite predictions of a surge in travel.....
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ap215
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Post by ap215 »

Consumer prices spike in March as Russia-Ukraine war fueled inflation

Consumer prices rose 1.2 percent in March and 8.5 percent over the past 12 months as the war in Ukraine drove inflation even higher, according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department.

The Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI), which tracks inflation, spiked in March as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered sharp price increases across the global economy. The March annual increase in inflation was the fastest since December 1981.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/3264 ... inflation/
Glennfs
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Post by Glennfs »

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/ban ... april-2022

Bank of America and others are predicting a recession.
Everyone needs to begin to prepare now in order to make weathering the storm easier.
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