Business

A Strike At Boeing Extends A New Era Of Labor Activism Long In Decline At US Work Places

Published

3 months ago

2024-09-13

Kiara Grace

Aircraft assembly workers walked off the job at Boeing plants near Seattle and elsewhere early Friday after union members overwhelmingly decided to strike.

Over the last year, organized labor has made its voice heard, and the number of union actions has increased dramatically. Last year, Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labour Relations reported 470 work stoppages (466 strikes and 4 lockouts) involving about 539,000 workers. The nearly 500 work stoppages resulted in an estimated 24,874,522 strike days.

According to Cornell, the number of work stoppages grew by only 9% between 2022 and 2023, but the number of workers participating increased 141% to well over a half million.

Unions such as the UAW, Teamsters, and, as of this week, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers claim to have made the sacrifices required by their employers during the pandemic and difficult economic conditions. They argue it’s time for wages and benefits to catch up, and workers look to be more inclined to strike.

boeing | AP AP News Image

A Strike At Boeing Extends A New Era Of Labor Activism Long In Decline At US Work Places

Here are some recent discussions between companies and their unions.

Late last year, the United Auto Workers union easily approved new contracts with Ford and Stellantis, as well as a similar agreement with General Motors, that would improve pay across the sector and require automakers to accept higher costs.

The agreements, which will last until April 2028, put an end to difficult negotiations that began in the summer of 2022 and resulted in six-week strikes at all three manufacturers.

The new contract agreements were widely regarded as a success for the UAW. The firms agreed to significantly improve pay for top-tier assembly plant workers, with raises and cost-of-living adjustments totaling 33% salary gains.

Top assembly plant workers were to receive an instant 11% rise and earn approximately $42 per hour when their contracts expired in April 2028.

Under the accords, the manufacturers also eliminated many of the salary categories they had used to compensate different workers. They also agreed in principle to include new electric vehicle battery factories in the national union contract.

UPS & Teamsters
UPS Teamsters union members approved a tentative contract with the package transportation business last year. However, the path to approval was not without controversy, with difficult labor discussions threatening to interrupt package delivery for millions of businesses and households countrywide.

After discussions broke down in early July 2023, Atlanta-based UPS secured a tentative contract agreement with the Teamsters just days before the deadline of August 1.

When the tentative agreement was reached, full- and part-time union workers were expected to earn $2.75 more per hour in 2023, and $7.50 more overall by the completion of the five-year contract. The starting hourly wage for part-time employees was also increased to $21, but some workers complained that it fell short of their expectations.

UPS stated at the time that at the end of the new deal, the average UPS full-time driver would earn around $170,000 per year in pay and benefits. It was unclear how much of the total represented benefits.

As part of the agreement, the delivery business promised to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a full holiday, eliminate forced overtime on drivers’ days off, and stop deploying driver-facing cameras in taxis, among other issues. It scrapped a two-tier compensation system for drivers and secured tentative agreements on safety problems, such as providing more trucks with air conditioning.

Video Games and SAG-AFTRA
Earlier last month, video game actors secured deals with 80 individual titles, which signed interim or tiered budget agreements with the artists’ union and agreed to the artificial intelligence provisions they sought.

The performers have been striking for more than a month.

Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike in July after more than a year and a half of discussions with game industry titans broke down over AI rights.

The interim deal includes wage increases, safeguards against “exploitative uses” of artificial intelligence, and safety measures that account for the strain of physical performance as well as voice stress. The tiered budget agreement intends to make working with union talent more feasible for independent game developers and smaller-budget projects, while simultaneously providing performers with the same safeguards as the interim agreement.

The Las Vegas Resorts and Culinary Workers Union
Last month, thousands of hospitality union members on the Las Vegas Strip negotiated a tentative agreement with the Venetian and Palazzo resorts, the first for staff at the huge Italian-inspired complex that opened 25 years ago.

The Culinary Workers Union stated on the social media site X that the deal was reached after a year of negotiations. It covers more than 4,000 hotel and casino personnel, including housekeepers, cocktail servers, bartenders, and porters.

According to Bethany Khan, a union representative, the agreement parallels the significant gains made in recent contracts extended to 40,000 hospitality workers at 18 Strip locations owned or controlled by casino behemoths MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts.

These victories included a 32% wage raise over five years, reduced housekeeping workloads, and increased job security in the face of technological and artificial intelligence breakthroughs.

According to the union, the increase in pay under those contracts will result in an average hourly income of $35 by the end of the contracts. Before obtaining their most recent contracts in November, workers at these locations earned around $26 per hour including perks.

In October 2023, 85,000 healthcare workers’ unions signed a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente after a strike over salaries and staffing levels.

The agreement included a minimum hourly salary of $25 in California, where the majority of Kaiser’s facilities are situated, and $23 in other states. Workers would also receive a 21% wage boost over four years.

The lead-up to the tentative deal was a three-day strike by 75,000 workers from several states.

The draft deal also contained safeguards against subcontracting and outsourcing, as well as steps to invest in current employees and alleviate a labor shortage.

A Strike At Boeing Extends A New Era Of Labor Activism Long In Decline At US Work Places

Hollywood Studios & SAG-AFTRA
Hollywood’s players voted in December 2023 to approve a settlement with studios that ended their almost four-month strike, bringing an official end to a labor dispute that rattled the entertainment industry for the majority of last year.

Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have ratified a three-year contract.

Control over the use of artificial intelligence was the most contentious topic during the lengthy, painstaking deliberations. The contract called for a 7% overall salary rise, with additional increases coming in the second and third years of the agreement.

The agreement also includes a hard-won provision that temporarily stalled talks: the establishment of a fund to compensate performers for future viewings of their work via streaming platforms, in addition to customary residuals paid for the screening of films or television shows.

United States Ports and the International Longshoremen’s Association
In a little more than two weeks, some 45,000 dockworkers along the United States East and Gulf coastlines are expected to go on strike, shutting down up to 36 ports that handle nearly half of the nation’s cargo from ships entering and exiting the country. While consumers are unlikely to notice much of an impact if the strike is short-lived, if the International Longshoremen’s Association’s walkout lasts longer than a month, shortages could harm the US economy.

SOURCE | AP

Business

Chinese Automaker BYD Slams Reports That Factory Conditions Are Poor In Brazil

Published

3 hours ago

2024-12-26

Salman Ahmad

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

(VOR News) – BYD, the Chinese manufacturer, has released a statement addressing concerns concerning adverse conditions at a construction site in Brazil where the business is building a facility.

The assertion claims that the accusations aim to “discredit” China and its enterprises. At the week’s outset, a task force led by Brazilian prosecutors declared the rescue of 163 Chinese people subjected to conditions akin to slavery at the location.

The Labor Prosecutor’s Office recorded a video of the workers’ dormitories, which displayed beds lacking mattresses and rudimentary kitchen facilities.

BYD spokeswoman Li Yunfei strongly opposed the issue on Weibo.

The statement additionally condemned the media’s portrayal of the incident. “The statement indicated that foreign entities are intentionally maligning Chinese brands, disparaging China, and seeking to jeopardize the relationship between China and Brazil.”

BYD, an acronym for “Build Your Dreams,” is a prominent maker of electric automobiles globally. On Monday evening, the corporation declared its intention to “immediately terminate the contract” with the Jinjiang Group, the contractor responsible for the factory’s construction, and stated that it was “evaluating other suitable measures…”

BYD announced that the employees at Jinjiang will be accommodated in nearby hotels temporarily and that they will not suffer negative consequences from the decision to halt operations at their workplace.

The corporation announced that it had been altering the working conditions at the construction site in recent weeks and had notified its contractors that “adjustments” were necessary.

Li’s tweet on Weibo included what it said to be a “declaration” from the Chinese workers at the site. The tweet included a video depicting individuals seated together in a room. The men’s thumbprints were crimson.

The video depicted a worker articulating a statement asserting that allegations of impoverished and “slave-like” conditions violated their human rights and that these difficulties stemmed from misunderstandings.

BYD should continue our employment here.”

Upon completing his work, the employees applauded. Prosecutors asserted that the sanitation conditions at BYD’s site were notably inadequate. There was one toilet for every 31 workers, necessitating their rise at four in the morning to line up and be prepared for work by five thirty.

Brazilian law defines conditions akin to slavery as defined by the worker’s subjugation to coerced labor or excessive working hours, acceptance of deplorable working conditions, and limitations on the worker’s freedom of movement.

Brazilian officials reported that Jinjiang Construction Brazil confiscated the workers’ passports and retained sixty percent of their wages, in addition to the substandard living conditions imposed on the workers.

The labor office’s statement indicates that employees who resign must reimburse the corporation for their travel expenses to China and return ticket costs.

The employees’ statement indicates that the passports were taken to enable the corporation to file work permits and other procedures that the employees could not accomplish independently due to language barriers.

Jinjiang Construction Brazil has reported that it is undergoing “frequent and intensive inspections by the BYD local labor department in Brazil.”

The labor department’s disclosed information was characterized as false, particularly the claims that the Jinjiang laborers were ‘enslaved’ and ‘rescued,’ which are entirely contradictory to the facts. This arose from cultural disparities, BYD translation difficulties, and comprehension difficulties regarding the content.

A declaration was issued asserting that the staff were enthusiastic about engaging with the media on the topic.

In numerous regions of the developing globe, the living conditions of migrant construction workers might be exceedingly inadequate. Moreover, such labor occasionally entails contracts that compel workers to reimburse BYD substantial sums of money expended to secure their positions, despite legal prohibitions against such agreements.

SOURCE: AP

Business

Walmart Charged With Unlawfully Establishing Bank Accounts for 1 Million Drivers

Published

2 days ago

2024-12-24

Salman Ahmad

Photo: Reuters

(VOR News) – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a lawsuit against Walmart and a fintech company called Branch Messenger, alleging that the two companies forced more than a million delivery workers to use costly bank accounts to receive their paychecks. Both of these companies were the targets of the lawsuit.

According to the action filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Walmart and Branch are accused of opening deposit accounts for Walmart’s Spark Drivers, who are considered independent contractors, without first getting their consent.

These bank accounts contained drivers’ personal data, including their Social Security numbers.

The lawsuit specifically claims that Walmart’s drivers, who are in charge of delivering goods from the company’s warehouses to consumers, are only allowed to have their earnings transferred into these branch accounts.

This goes against the company’s rules, which permit them to move their earnings to different accounts.

Walmart reportedly told employees in 2021 that using these accounts may lead to firing.

Additionally, the lawsuit claimed that accessing profits through the accounts was a “complex process,” typically causing weeks-long delays. Among the other accusations that were made was this one.

This was the predicament they ultimately found themselves in, even though the business had assured them that they would have prompt access to funds.

To make matters worse, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), drivers allegedly paid ten million dollars in “junk fees” to move their earnings to different bank accounts.

Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Rohit Chopra, said, “Companies cannot force workers into getting paid through accounts that drain their earnings with junk fees,” in his criticism of the practice. “Junk fees are a waste of money.”

This case’s next section outlined the traits of the average Spark Driver: “in addition to being a woman, having children, not having a college degree, and having a low income.”

Walmart denied the accusations made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and stated in a statement that it will firmly defend itself in court.

Walmart released a statement claiming that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) hurried lawsuit is full of factual errors, exaggerations, and blatant misrepresentations of basic legal principles.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) never gave Walmart a chance to make its case in an unbiased way throughout its rushed probe. In contrast to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, we are ready to fiercely defend the Company before a court that respects the due process of law principle.

Additionally, Branch was charged by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with engaging in deceptive advertising and neglecting to look into and address issues pertaining to the accounts. In addition to earlier accusations, these were also made.

In contrast, Branch denied the accusations and defended its services, saying, “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rushed to file a lawsuit despite the company’s extensive cooperation with its investigation, refusing to engage with Branch in any meaningful way about this matter.”

Branch responded to the Walmart accusations with a statement.

Furthermore, Branch claimed that the case was motivated more by a desire for “media attention” than by concerns for the welfare of the employees. This is what he stated in his statement.

This case, which is part of a larger campaign to give these gig workers more rights, targets these individuals who work for firms like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash who are supposed to be independent contractors. It is considered that gig workers are independent contractors.

Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) made claims against large financial firms, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase.

According to the CFPB, these organizations did not stop fraud on the money-sending app Zelle, which is a platform that lets people send and receive money.

The choice of a new director may have an impact on the outcome of this lawsuit because President-elect Donald Trump is expected to choose a replacement for the present director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

When Jaret Seiberg was employed as a financial services policy analyst at TD Cowen Washington Research Group, she noted that the new director’s strategy for handling such matters would be the deciding element in the case’s future course.

SOURCE: TN

Business

Naked Wines Issues 2024 Performance Review

Published

3 days ago

2024-12-24

Geoff Brown

Naked Wines claims to be in 'better position' despite falling sales

Naked Wines, an online retailer, has issued a performance review after announcing that sales declined 15% in the first half of the year to $112.3 million, despite management insisting it is in “a better position, both financially and strategically”.

Rodrigo Maza, who became CEO in February after joining the company as UK managing director in September 2023, stated that the company was in a better financial and strategic position, with “robust financial foundations” and committed and engaged members.

“Our strategic initiatives centred around customer acquisition and retention are generating learnings, and we are currently experiencing solid trading during the peak season period,” he told shareholders.

It also stated that a performance review is under underway in order to “proactively evaluate options to maximise shareholder value”. The end of the fiscal year will see the release of a report.

Naked Wines New CEO

He also welcomed new CFO Dominic Neary, who joined Naked Wines from Mind Gym in November, saying he was excited to collaborate with him “as we focus the business on cash, profitability, and growth with its rose wine and dry white wine.”A performance review is presently ongoing to “proactively evaluate options to maximise shareholder value,” according to the results, with a report expected to be released at the end of the fiscal year.

It also stated that it has continued to liquidate surplus inventory, with the UK and Australia returning to normal inventory levels, however US inventories remained “significantly” in excess, albeit being down $20.5 million from HY24.

It stated that it was “currently investigating options to reduce inventory levels more quickly,” which would help drive improved cash over the next two fiscal years, but “could lead to increased liquidation costs and result in EBIT at the lower end of guidance.”

Although active members (those with Angel or Wine Genie membership) declined 12% in the last 12 months, the statement noted retention of its ‘core’ members (those who had been customers for two years or more) was up two percentage points to 79%, and they remained “highly engaged”.

Customers’ total probability to refer the company to a friend (net promoter score) increased from 73 to 76 in the previous quarter, according to the report.

Turning Things Around

In August, the company reported a pre-tax loss of $16.3 million for the fiscal year ending 1 April 2024, up from $15 million in the fiscal year 2022/2023, with revenues down 18% to $290 million and repeat business down a quarter to $65 million.

Founder Rowan Gormley, on the other hand, asserted that the company was “making real progress in turning things around with its rose wine and dry white wine”.

It came after the engagement of debt consultants in March 2024 to look into refinancing possibilities and a possible wine company reorganization after the value of Naked Wines shares fell by about a third in the previous year.

Gormley increased his interest in Naked Wines significantly in December 2023, purchasing $9,600 in shares.

This was Gormley’s second round of stock purchases; he and other senior board members purchased a large number of shares in early November following a drop in share value after the firm stated it was lowering its full-year sales estimates to -12% to -16%.

Three of the company’s leaders at the time put a total of $94,000 in its stock.