#Algorithms are generally bad, esp. for workers, but good for corporations:
Variable pricing (surge pricing) has a much more insidious effect on workers than on consumers. When a worker is selling their labor… it's about their ability to survive.
Hospitals have begun using apps to allocate tasks based on⬆️sophisticated calculations of how workers move thru space & time -fastest nurse -not necessarily the best at sanitation or skill.
A #union representing thousands of workers at #SamsungElectronics has called the first strike at the South Korean technology giant since it was founded five and a half decades ago.
Apple workers are striking at a store in Maryland by Millie Giles 5/13/24
"...In the aftermath of its outrage-inducing object-crushing advert, Apple has been dealt another PR blow, as it faces its first retail employee strike in history.
...While Apple is currently in the firing line for its employee practices, with labor unions like the Communications Workers of America accusing the tech giant of union-busting, collective strike action has been gaining traction across the US more widely..."
Are we heading into another wave of the "great resignation"?
"Nearly half (46%) of professionals say they’re considering quitting in the year ahead — higher than the 40% who said the same ahead of 2021′s great resignation, according to new research from Microsoft and LinkedIn [...]"
"This work to maximize oil production with our technology is negating all of our good work, extending the age of fossil fuels, and enabling untold emissions."
The 9 to 5 working women’s movement changed workplaces across America and inspired a Hollywood hit movie. Ellen Cassedy was there. Join us on Wednesday, May 22, at 6:00 PM ET as she tells the story of how brave women took on the corporate titans and formed a women-led union. The chain of working women’s activism stretches from the garment workers of early-20th-century New York, through the 9 to 5’ers (and Dolly Parton) — and now today’s labor surge.
A dose of inspiration for Labor History Month!
Ten attendees will win a free signed copy of Ellen’s book, Working 9 to 5: A Women’s Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie (foreword by Jane Fonda).
"Google went from you have to be in Mountain View at least three days a week to do this job to you can do it from India and Mexico in less than a year."
Sen Markey introduced new leg. to regulate the use of productivity quotas by warehouse employers such as Amazon, a tool critics have said encourages employees to work faster & w/o frequent breaks, putting them at higher risk of injury.
From the Workers Circle:
This May Day, champion workers' rights by urging your Members of Congress to support the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
Ensuring the right to organize and bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions is vital for a fair and inclusive economy. But corporate-friendly laws in the United States have reduced worker power. The PRO Act fights back.
Among its provisions, the PRO Act would broaden the scope of workers covered by national fair labor standards and prohibit the replacement or discrimination of workers who participate in strikes. The PRO Act would also establish penalties and injunctive relief against entities that fail to comply with National Labor Relation Board orders. It puts real enforcement power behind workers' rights.
Join me in urging Congress to take action on the PRO Act this May Day.
Any Texan, in particular, can cast propaganda aside and simply look around to see that our state is built, maintained, and improved every day by unauthorized workers.
Today, the new minimum wage of $17.28 in my city of Bellingham, WA goes into effect.
Compared to some other cities in the US, this may sound high. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 (since 2009).
Unfortunately, experts have calculated Bellingham's "living wage" closer to $23.52 for an individual and $29.97 for a family of four with two working parents.
According to Redfin, "In March 2024, Bellingham home prices were up 12.2% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $685K."
Average rent for an apartment is $1,863, and average rent for a house is $2,891.
Whatcom County, where Bellingham is located, recorded a 27% jump in unhoused people in 2023 (the most recent data), the highest increase since the point in time survey began in 2008.
In 2023, we broke the story of #Texas Department of #Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's transphobic dress code. One year later, employees are still suffering under this policy.
Strawberry picking is one of the worst jobs in agriculture — it's hard on the body, poorly paid, and workers are badly treated by bosses. Civil Eats talked to some of the people who work in the fields about what it's like, and their hopes for change. “People have to unite — and we need big demonstrations. It’s necessary to pressure the ranchers so they value our work. Without us they have nothing," says Matilde, a worker who refused to give her last name for fear of reprisals.
UAW's Fain braces for fight with politicians to win at Mercedes plants
"Our next stop is Mercedes because workers there are fired up, they're fed up and they want a union," Fain said. "By mid-May we believe those workers are going to vote strongly for a union also and they're going to win justice for themselves."
FTC Ban on Noncompetes Is a Victory for the US Economy (www.bloomberg.com)
By giving workers more bargaining power, the new rule will make businesses more competitive.