BossFeed Briefing for December 14, 2020. Last Sunday, shares of California’s limited water supply began trading on the stock market. Last Monday, legislators in Argentina passed a tax on the country’s wealthiest residents to help fund the COVID-19 recovery. Last Thursday, Starbucks announced plans to address the shortage of Starbucks by opening 20,000 more Starbucks. This Wednesday is the 69th anniversary of the 1951 work slowdown by the Bagel Bakers of America union, which kicked off over a dispute about workplace sanitation. This Thursday marks two weeks until WA’s current eviction moratorium expires.
Three things to know this week:
Gig delivery company DoorDash went public last week, with shares opening at $182. Average pay for DoorDash drivers is just $1.45/hr after expenses, which means a driver would need to work full-time for 3 weeks to afford a single share in the company.
Dozens of poultry workers at an Arkansas processing plant walked out on strike to protest the lack of COVID safety measures in their workplace. Workers say management hasn’t been implementing social distancing and recently ended staggered shifts.
The Seattle Chamber of Commerce is suing the City of Seattle in an effort to repeal the new Jumpstart tax on big businesses. Jumpstart requires the largest companies in the city to pay a small tax on their highest salaries—something the people running the biggest companies and getting the highest salaries apparently aren’t too happy about.
Two things to ask:
Maybe they’re planning to provide opportunities for low-income Martians? Billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are getting a federal tax break intended to support investment in low-income communities as they develop their space travel ventures. The special “Opportunity Zones” where Bezos and Musk are building their rockets will enable them to avoid paying taxes on their private space race.
Has anyone seen the federal government lately? WA state plans to provide some benefits to the 100,000 unemployed workers who are currently covered by the PUA unemployment program if the federal government lets the program expire. As we anxiously await more details about this good news, workers are calling on Gov. Inslee to take further action to address the crisis in our state’s unemployment system.
And one thing that's worth a closer look:
A handful of well-publicized restaurant owners continue to defy the state’s public health order banning indoor dining—and state officials are ramping up enforcement, with one Chehalis scofflaw racking up daily fines of nearly $10,000. Meanwhile, the WA Hospitality Association—the restaurant industry lobby group—is doubling down on its reckless claim that indoor dining is safe, calling the Governor’s decision to extend public health protections another three weeks “flat out disappointing”. What’s actually flat out disappointing is restaurant owners putting workers’ lives on the line for a publicity stunt. It’s also disappointing that, nine months into this crisis, so many reporters still can’t be bothered to interview workers for their stories, choosing instead to let a few vocal owners speak for workers while undermining their safety.
Read this far?
Consider yourself briefed, boss.
Let us know what you think about this week's look at the world of work, wages, and inequality!