BossFeed Briefing for July 15, 2023.
Reports say inflation may be letting up… slightly. Seattle survived MLB All-Star weekend by pretending it’s less embarrassing to conduct sweeps than to ignore housing solutions. Amazon wrapped up two Prime Days with record sales – hopefully that helps cover Bezos’s latest helicopter-support yacht. Two important worker history anniversaries were last week: July 2nd marked the 59th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act, and July 5th marked the signing of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK:
New high-heat protections go into effect July 17th for outdoor Washington state workers. Employers must follow bare-minimum rules around providing breaks and shade to prevent overheating during heat waves. Worker advocates aren’t cool with the new rules, saying the heat protections don’t go far enough to meet people’s needs.
Hollywood dragged its feet on contract renewals so now SAG-AFTRA is dragging them. The 160,000-member Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists issued a strike order (for the first time in 63 years!) against the studios and streamers after their television, theatrical, and streaming contracts expired on Thursday without a new deal in place.
Fancy shmancy Seattle restaurant Canlis was accused of wage theft in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by two former servers. The class-action lawsuit accuses Canlis of refusing to pay for first-day trial/training work, requiring staff to work off-the-clock, and keeping the 20% automatic service charge rather than distributing those funds to employees as they claimed they did.
TWO THINGS TO ASK:
Will they ever learn? Starbucks is being sued by the NLRB for retaliation against unionizing workers at the 1st and Pike location in Seattle. The petition aims to get 33 workers’ jobs back with back pay. Starbucks claims that this threatens the “hometown experience" they offer customers.
Do you ever wonder if reporting wage theft is worth it? It is. This week L&I made Lyft pay over 15,000 drivers almost $193,000 in back pay because three drivers reported being underpaid by one-quarter of a cent for each minute and mile of their trips.
AND ONE THING THAT'S WORTH A CLOSER LOOK:
According to the NYT, the Great Resignation is “over” and whether pandemic-era wins for workers are permanent remains to be seen. But data points to workers being wiser in a post-COVID world about negotiating wages and other benefits, and the labor market remains strong. Unemployment is low and wages continue to rise across industries. Workers are continuing to organize for better pay, stronger protections, and enforcement of our wins. The NYT can dither all day long about whether workers’ wins will last — we know they will because we won’t accept anything less.
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!