BossFeed Briefing for November 8, 2022. Last Thursday, Seattle gig workers and customers demanded gig companies raise base pay to prevent a pay cut after the expiration of hazard pay. Last Saturday was the 167th birthday of labor leader Eugene Debs. Last Sunday marked the Fall iteration of our twice-annual collective time travel ritual. Today is Election Day—ballots must be put in a dropbox by 8pm or postmarked by the end of the day. This Saturday is the end of the first full week of pre-5pm sunsets.
Three things to know this week:
A WA state judge blocked a planned $4 billion payout for Albertsons shareholders. The stock dividend was part of the company’s $25 billion merger with Kroger.
U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Yakima) joined agricultural industry lobbyists in urging the Senate to pass the Farmworker Modernization Act. Farmworker groups, including Familias Unidas por la Justicia, oppose the bill, arguing that the proposed pathway to citizenship is too narrow and traps workers in hazardous jobs.
Phil Knight, the billionaire founder of Nike, gave $1.5 million to the Republican candidate for governor in Oregon. The contribution amounts to 0.004% of Knight’s total wealth.
Two things to ask:
“Where have the workers gone”? That’s the question Seattle’s KOMO News posed in this recent story about the hospitality industry. To find answers, the station interviewed a host of restaurant owners and a grand total of…zero current or former restaurant workers.
Anyone see a pattern? A former housekeeper filed suit against Jeff Bezos, alleging that she regularly had to work 14-hour shifts without breaks and had to climb out a window just to access the bathroom. Previously, Amazon delivery drivers reported being forced to pee in bottles during their shifts.
And one thing that's worth a closer look:
As leaders from around the world gathered in Copenhagen for the COP27 climate summit, a group of cycling protestors prevented private jets from taking off at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Demonstrators are demanding “fewer flights, more trains, and a ban on unnecessary short-haul flights and private jets.” The private flight industry accounts for a disproportionate chunk of global carbon emissions: the average person produces 7 metric tons of CO2 each year, while the typical wealthy private jet owner emits an annual total of more than 3,300 metric tons. Without significant climate action by governments—particularly in the wealthiest nations—global emissions are on track to rise 10% by 2030 as compared to 2010.
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!