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..."
"We find experienced employees impacted by these policies at major tech companies seek work elsewhere, taking some of the most valuable human capital investments and tools of productivity with them."
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."
And the entire actual left shrugs its shoulders, because what else was anyone expecting at this point?
I really hope she goes through with her threat to withhold funding.
Please, please, for fuck's sake - don't vote Labour.
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.
By Andrew Curry, originally published by thenextwave May 1, 2024
"...The Red and Green May Days can be described in ways that create the kinds of opposites that narratologists get excited by:
Green is a relationship to the earth & what grows there-from. Red is a relationship to other people & the blood spilt there among. Green designates life with only necessary labor; Red designates death with surplus labor. Green is natural appropriation; Red is social expropriation. Green is husbandry & nurturance; Red is proletarianization & prostitution. Green is useful activity; Red is useless toil. Green is creation of desire; Red is class struggle. May Day is both.
The Red May Day has its roots, in particular, in the bloody history of the American labour movement, and in particular in the city of Chicago, which in the late 19th century was an epicentre of both industrialisation & globalisation..."
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.
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.
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.
"When a full-time worker is living in poverty, it indicates a failed system and the need for major change; not more cuts, austerity and a further erosion of our rights at work."