BossFeed Briefing for November 20th, 2023
Happy Native American Heritage Month! Welcome to a week of busy travel and hopefully not dry turkey. Since our last edition, the people (and business dollars) have spoken and next year we’ll be looking at some newly elected faces. Hope they’re all ready to hear from working people of Washington!
THREE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK:
Happy second birthday: We just passed the second anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which has brought nearly $8 billion into our state expanding access to high speed internet, clean water, public transit, and the job opportunities to go with it.
Too fast, too furious: Delivery drivers at Amazon are being forced to work dangerously fast, this time at the Sumner location, jeopardizing worker health & safety. At another location, Labor & Industries (L&I) has received over 400 workers compensation claims for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Shockingly, Amazon disagrees.
Filling the worker gap: Hyatt hotels is working with community based organizations to hire young adults 16-24 who are not in school or working. The hospitality industry lost more jobs than any other industry in the pandemic and is providing a buddy system and transportation support to candidates. They aim to hire 10,000 young adults through the program by 2025.
TWO THINGS TO ASK:
101 Citations? Workers at the SODO doggy daycare that caught fire last week said anonymously that concerns they’ve raised in the past have been met with anger and threats from management, and now promises to sue after workers spoke to the news. Maybe if their concerns had been addressed, the business wouldn’t have had two fires and multiple dog fatalities in a year.
Need a restock? More free at-home COVID tests are being made available ahead of a busy travel week. If you didn’t order more in the fall, you can order twice as many now.
AND ONE THING THAT'S WORTH A CLOSER LOOK:
The full Seattle City Council will be voting tomorrow to approve the 2024 budget. Among the many important amendments and provisions, for the first time ever a direct funding source has been established for gig workers’ rights enforcement through the Office of Labor Standards. The committee passed the proposal despite extensive opposition from the network app companies who would rather not pay for their violations on unjust deactivations and minimum pay standards. We’re proud to say our community recognizes the importance of workers having the tools to enforce our rights and educate other workers about those rights.
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!