Tag: labor

Around 100 Devs At Just Cause Studio Are Unionizing

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Image: Avalanche Studios Group

Around 100 employees at Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios Group are unionizing. This means around a fifth of the 500-person Swedish team is now bargaining with the company’s management for a fair contract.

The Week In Games: What’s Releasing Beyond Pikmin 4

IGN confirmed with a union representative that more than 100 workers have joined Unionen, a Swedish trade union. According to their statement, Avalanche Studios Group workers have been working toward joining a union since earlier this year, when members formed a local union board to bargain with the studio’s management over specific benefits, but the rep didn’t share specific issues. According to IGN’s sources, moving to a four-day work week is at least one issue the team has raised in its negotiations.

While one in five workers joining the union might seem small, Swedish union membership is different than what we typically know of unions in the USA, as workers can join a trade union without a union election. This means that around “70 percent of the country” is part of a union, according to data shared with IGN by Unionen.

Avalanche Studios Group provided the following comment to IGN regarding the situation:

As an employer, we’re committed to creating the best possible conditions for all Avalanchers to thrive. We support and welcome any initiative that goes in this direction. This also means that we listen, invite dialogue, and encourage people to bring forward their perspectives and needs. After all, it’s thanks to each and every Avalancher that we’re able to make the great games we’re known for.

This comes less than a year after a public dispute between Avalanche’s workers and management, which lead to a public apology from the company, which reportedly encountered internal pushback regarding its HR department’s lack of communication and follow-through on worker concerns.

Beyond Just Cause, Avalanche Studios Group is currently working on Contraband in partnership with Xbox Game Studios, meaning the open-world co-op game will be exclusive to Xbox and Windows.

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Kenneth Shepard

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October 6, 2023
Stock market today: Asian benchmarks mostly rise in subdued trading on US jobs worries

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TOKYO — Asian shares mostly rose in cautious trading Friday after Wall Street drifted to a quiet close on worries about a too-hot U.S. job market.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to finish at 30,994.67. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 6,954.20. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.2% to 2,408.73. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.4% to 17,449.42.

Markets in China were closed Friday for a holiday and will reopen on Monday.

Shares in Hong Kong jumped on strong buying of property and technology stocks that have seen sharp losses in recent trading sessions. However, troubled property developer China Evergrande’s shares were down 6.3%.

A comprehensive report on the overall U.S. job market is due Friday, and economists expect it to show hiring slowed to a pace of 163,000 jobs added in September from 187,000 in August.

Investors worry that too strong a U.S. job market could add to upward pressure on inflation. That’s why the Fed has raised its main interest rate to the highest level since 2001, to intentionally slow the job market.

“The sentiment of unease prevails as the market awaits the release of the U.S. employment report later today,” said Anderson Alves at ActivTrades.

Market attention also remains on oil prices, which have fluctuated recently and will have major effects on how central banks act on interest rates. Chinese markets were closed for a holiday.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 4,258.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down less than 0.1% to 33,119.57. The Nasdaq composite dipped 0.1%, to 13,219.83.

Stocks have struggled since the summer under the weight of soaring Treasury yields in the bond market, which undercut stock prices and crimp corporate profits. Yields have leaped as traders acquiesce to a new normal where the Federal Reserve is likely to keep its main interest rate at a high level for a long time, as it tries to extinguish high inflation.

Treasury yields wavered up and down Thursday after a report showed fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected. That’s a sign fewer workers are getting laid off than expected, which is normally a good sign.

“Even as the Fed has taken aggressive action to soften labor market conditions, businesses continue to hold on to workers,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.

Clorox fell 5.2% after the company described how big a loss it expects to take for its latest quarter because of a previously disclosed cybersecurity attack. The company said its shipments had been in line with its expectations before the attack caused widespread disruptions.

Rivian Automotive sank 22.9% after the electric vehicle maker said it will raise $1.5 billion by selling debt that could later convert into stock.

On the winning side was Lamb Weston, which sells frozen fries, hash browns and other potato products. It jumped 8% after reporting stronger profit for its latest quarter than analysts expected. The company also raised its profit forecast for the fiscal year, saying it’s benefiting after raising prices for its products.

After initially jumping on a strong jobless claims report, the yield on the 10-year Treasury later pulled back. The 10-year yield was at 4.71%, down from 4.73% late Wednesday. Earlier this week, it hit its highest level since 2007.

The 10-year Treasury is the centerpiece of the bond market, and movements in its yield ripple across the entire economy.

A recent pullback in the price of oil has offered some relief on the inflation front for both U.S. households and the Federal Reserve.

U.S. benchmark crude gained 39 cents to $82.70 a barrel. On Thursday, it fell $1.91 to settle at $82.31, a day after tumbling more than $5 for its worst drop in more than a year.

After surging from $70 in the summer to more than $93 last week, the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude has slumped sharply. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 28 cents to $84.35 per barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 148.94 Japanese yen from 148.49 yen. The euro cost $1.0546, down from $1.0553.

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October 6, 2023
Economic spotlight turns to US jobs data as markets are roiled by high rates and uncertainties

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WASHINGTON — Job growth in the United States has remained resilient for the past 2 1/2 years even after high inflation flared and the Federal Reserve jacked up interest rates at the fastest pace in four decades.

The September jobs report that the Labor Department will issue Friday will show just how much of that durability remains. Additional threats to the economy have emerged in recent weeks, including much higher long-term interest rates, rising energy prices, the resumption of student loan payments, widening labor strikes and the ongoing threat of a government shutdown.

Economists have forecast that employers added 163,000 jobs last month, a solid increase, though down sharply from the pace earlier this year, when the economy was adding an average of 310,000 jobs a month in the first quarter. The unemployment rate is expected to drop to 3.7%, near a 50-year low, from 3.8% in August.

A growing body of evidence, though, suggests that the job market is cooling — something Fed officials would like to see. A slower pace of hiring eases pressure on employers to offer higher pay to find and keep employees, which, in turn, can help cool inflation. Businesses often raise their prices to cover their higher labor costs.

Fewer Americans are quitting their jobs after a surge in resignations in the aftermath of the pandemic. Most people quit to take other jobs with higher pay, so the decline in quitting indicates that workers now see fewer available opportunities elsewhere.

And while the government reported a jump in open jobs in August, other measures, like those compiled by the job listings website Indeed, showed little change in that month and a steady decline in job vacancies for more than a year.

Yet the job market has been so strong for so long that a slowdown, as long as it remains gradual, would still keep it at healthy levels. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits, which tends to track the pace of layoffs, has remained persistently low. Many companies are reluctant to shed workers after having found it difficult to staff up again after the 2020 pandemic recession ended with a quick and robust recovery.

And surveys by the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, found that both manufacturing and services companies kept adding jobs last month. Among banks, restaurants, retailers and other service sector companies, hiring accelerated in September compared with August, according to the ISM.

Friday’s jobs report comes at a time when the Fed is scrutinizing every piece of economic data to determine whether it needs to raise its key rate once more this year or instead just leave it elevated well into next year. After 11 hikes beginning in March 2022, the Fed’s benchmark rate stands at a 22-year high of roughly 5.4%. The central bank’s rate increases have led to much higher borrowing costs for consumer and businesses across the economy.

On the one hand, Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, have stressed that inflation remains too far above their 2% target and that another rate hike might be needed to reduce it to that level. At the same time, several Fed policymakers have underscored that they want to be careful not to raise borrowing rates so much as to trigger a deep recession.

One of them, Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said Thursday that a slower pace of hiring could help persuade the Fed not to hike again this year.

“If we continue to see a cooling labor market and inflation heading back to our target, we can hold interest rates steady and let the effects of policy continue to work,” Daly said in remarks to the Economic Club of New York.

After a period in the spring when traders seemed to expect the Fed to reverse course and cut interest rates soon, the financial markets have increasingly recognized that the central bank will keep its key rate elevated well into 2024. That’s one reason why the yield on the 10-year Treasury note has surged since July, reaching a 16-year high this week before slipping to 4.7% Thursday.

The 10-year yield is a benchmark rate for other borrowing costs, including mortgages, auto loans and business borrowing. The average rate on a fixed 30-year mortgage jumped to nearly 7.5% this week, the highest level in 23 years. The higher yield has, in turn, punished stocks. The S&P 500 stock index has tumbled 7.2% since late July.

The surge in longer-term rates coincides with other threats to the economy, from higher gas prices and this week’s resumption of student loan payments to the autoworkers’ strike and the risk of a government shutdown next month, all of which could leave consumers with less money to spend to power the economy.

The economy’s growth in the current October-December quarter could slow to an annual rate as low as a 0.7%, Goldman Sachs has estimated, sharply below a roughly 3.5% pace in the July-September quarter.

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October 6, 2023
Social Security Administration to review overpayments, may claw back payments

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The Social Security Administration said Wednesday it would review its overpayment procedures and policies, and may claw back any overpayments found.

During the 2022 fiscal year, the agency recovered $4.7 billion of overpayments, according to a report by the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General.

While payment accuracy rates are high, overpayments do happen given the number of people the agency serves, the number of changes in their circumstances and the complexity of the programs, the SSA said.

“Despite our high accuracy rates, I am putting together a team to review our overpayment policies and procedures to further improve how we serve our customers,” said Kilolo Kijakazi, acting commissioner of Social Security.

“There is misinformation in the media claiming that the Social Security Administration is attempting to collect $21 billion. This figure was derived from the total amount of overpayments that have occurred over the history of the programs,” the SSA said in a statement.

The announcement comes the week before Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is expected to be released.

The 2024 COLA for Social Security is expected to rise about 3.2%, according to estimates from the Senior Citizens League, a pro-senior think tank. That’s compared with an 8.7% increase for 2023, which was the highest COLA in more than 40 years amid high inflation.

Social Security is an important benefit for most Americans. Half of the population age 65 or older live in households that receive at least 50% of their family income from Social Security benefits, according to SSA data, and about 25% of senior households rely on Social Security benefits for at least 90% of their income.

“The government’s got to fix this,” Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat who chairs a Senate panel that oversees Social Security, recently told KFF Health News on the subject of overpayments. Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Carey of Ohio, the No. 2 Republican on a House panel that oversees Social Security, has called for a congressional hearing to review the problem, according to the KFF Health News report.

Social Security pays $1.4 trillion in benefits to more than 71 million people each year. Only around 0.5% of Social Security payments are overpayments, the SSA said.

“For the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, overpayments also represent a small percentage of payments — about 8% — but are higher due to the complexity in administering statutory income and resource limits and asset evaluations,” the agency said in the announcement.

If a person doesn’t agree that they’ve been overpaid, or believes the amount is incorrect, they can appeal. If they believe they shouldn’t have to pay the money back, they can request that the agency waive collection of the overpayment. There’s no time limit for filing a waiver.

The SSA said it is required by law to adjust benefits or recover debts when overpayments occur. The law allows Social Security to waive recovery in some cases.

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October 5, 2023
More evidence that the US job market remains hot after US job openings rise unexpectedly in August

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WASHINGTON — U.S. job openings unexpectedly rose in August, another sign the U.S. labor market remains strong despite higher interest rates — perhaps too strong for the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve.

American employers posted 9.6 million job openings in August, up from 8.9 million in July and the first uptick in three months, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Economists had expected only another 8.9 million vacancies. The number of layoffs and of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — were both essentially unchanged from July.

Nick Bunker, head of economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab, noted that most of the August increase in openings came from just one industry: professional and business services. “”Yes, the job market is still retaining a lot of heat,” he said, “but it hasn’t gone back on the boil.”

The Federal Reserve wants to see the red-hot U.S. job market cool off, reducing pressure on businesses to raise pay, which can feed into higher prices. The central bank has raised its benchmark rate 11 times since March 2022 to combat inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has expressed hope that hiring would moderate in the least painful way possible — with fewer vacancies and less job-hopping rather than through layoffs.

The strong jobs data sent a ripple through U.S. markets with many investors seeing increased odds of more aggressive actions by the Fed. The Dow Jones dipped by 100 points in seconds.

So far, the economy has cooperated. Openings and quits are down from their 2022 peaks, while the unemployment rate (at 3.8% in August) remains near a half-century low. And inflation, which hit a four-decade high in mid-2022, has decelerated markedly over the past year, raising hopes that the Fed can achieve a so-called soft landing — raising rates just enough to rein in rising prices without tipping the economy into a recession.

The Fed chose not to raise rates at its last meeting Sept. 19-20. But Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said the unexpected increase in openings may keep the Fed “open to another rate hike this year.”

Loretta Mester, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, late Monday said that rising gas prices could thwart further progress on inflation by pushing up related costs, such as shipping and airfares, and underscored that the Fed may still hike its key rate later this year. The rate is already at a 22-year high of about 5.4%.

“I suspect we may well need to raise the (Fed’s) rate once more this year and then hold it there for some time as we accumulate more information on economic developments,” Mester said.

_____

AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report.

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October 3, 2023
Signs Touting ‘Autoworkers For Trump’ At Michigan Rally Found To Be Fake

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Attendees at Trump’s autoworkers rally outside Detroit reportedly confessed to journalists that they were not union autoworkers, despite the signs they were holding saying “Autoworkers For Trump.” What do you think?

“If Trump were still president, those jobs and unions would be real.”

Vivian Heitman, Sleepover Chaperone

NYPD Arrests Trump After Routine Stop-And-Frisk Turns Up Unlicensed Handgun, 400 Mg Of Ketamine

“Even better. It’s time we have a president that supports real and fake jobs.”

Scott Cummings, Dirigible Pilot

“Who’s to say these people haven’t worked on a car at least once in their lives.”

Melvin Husbenet, Systems Analyst

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October 2, 2023
Government shutdown looms: Here’s how to help preserve your investment portfolio.

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“ The economic impact of a shutdown and the potential implications on your portfolio depend largely on how long the shutdown lasts. ”

The potential for a U.S. government shutdown can raise alarm for investors and send the phone of a financial adviser like me ringing off the hook. Headlines in front of them, my clients are increasingly asking about potential portfolio implications and how they should respond.

There is certainly a measured response, which includes not overreacting to the headlines and sticking to your long-term investment plan, and I’ll show you how to draw it.

Government shutdown explained

First, it’s important to understand what is happening. During a shutdown, the federal government will suspend all services that are deemed nonessential until a funding agreement is reached. This is much different than a default — which can happen when the government can’t pay its debts or satisfy its obligations. A default can have significant ramifications on U.S. creditworthiness and in turn, the global financial system. You may recall lawmakers’ discussions earlier this year regarding raising the debt ceiling — a solution to avoid defaulting.

A U.S. default has never happened, but shutdowns have occurred more than 20 times since 1976. Unlike a default, a shutdown does not affect the government’s ability to pay its obligations, and many critical government services, like Social Security may continue. When weighing the two, one can presume that markets may react more negatively to a default.

Markets may experience heightened volatility in response to the shutdown uncertainty, but markets do not react consistently to the news. In the past we have seen U.S. stocks — as measured by the S&P 500
SPX
— finish positively after more than half of these shutdowns. Results are similar for fixed-income securities, as we’ve seen an even split between positive and negative returns in the bond markets in shutdowns since 1976.

Of course, all investing is subject to risk, past performance is not a guarantee for future returns, and the performance of an index is not an exact representation of any particular investment.

The economic impact of a shutdown — and the potential implications on your portfolio — depend largely on how long the shutdown lasts. The longer the shutdown, the more Americans experience dampened economic activity from things like loss of furloughed federal workers’ contribution to GDP, the delay in federal spending on goods and services, and the reduction in aggregate demand (which lowers private-sector activity).

Read: Government shutdown: Analysts warn of ‘perhaps a long one lasting into the winter’

A measured response

A government shutdown is just one of many factors, both positive and negative, that can cause fluctuation in the market, so it’s important to treat it just as you would other fluctuations.

With so many variables, it’s impossible to precisely predict the effects the shutdown will have or determine how long it will last. This can seem scary for many, so it’s important to remember your long-term financial plan and focus on the factors you can control.

First, do not try to time the market. Doing so based on short-term events is never a good idea, and volatility is unpredictable. Even if the markets fall, we don’t know when they might recover. If you make an emotionally charged decision, you run the risk of missing out on potentially substantial market gains.

Instead, focus on the following: align your asset allocation with your risk tolerance; control your costs; adopt realistic expectations; hold a broadly diversified portfolio and stay disciplined. Doing so can help you weather any form of market uncertainty, including a shutdown.

Stick to healthy financial habits

In addition to not making any sudden moves in your investment portfolio, now is a suitable time to make sure you are keeping up with healthy financial habits, especially if you are a federal employee facing a furlough. This can look like readjusting your budget based on your current needs, keeping high-interest debt to a minimum, paying the minimum on all debt to keep your credit score in good standing and continuing to save.

Remember, using your emergency fund to navigate tight times is exactly what you have saved for and tapping it in this instance is considered a healthy financial habit. Just be sure to replenish it when you have the funds to do so. As a good practice, Vanguard recommends having three- to six months of expenses saved in readily accessible investments.

With a level, long-term approach and a personalized financial plan, you can be prepared for this potential storm and the inevitable ones to come.

Lauren Wybar is a senior financial adviser with Vanguard Personal Advisor.

More: Bill Ackman says Treasury yields are going higher in a hurry, and that investors should shun U.S. government debt

Plus: Social Security checks will still come if there’s a shutdown. But there are other immediate threats to America’s benefits.

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September 30, 2023
Tesla sued for racial discrimination, retaliation by EEOC

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Tesla Inc. was sued Thursday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which alleges the EV maker violated federal law by “tolerating widespread and ongoing racial harassment of its Black employees” at its Fremont, Calif., plant, and by retaliating against those opposing the harassment.

Black employees at the Fremont factory, Tesla’s
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+2.44%
first assembly plant and for years its only vehicle-manufacturing facility in the U.S., “have routinely endured racial abuse, pervasive stereotyping and hostility” as well as having racial slurs hurled at them, the lawsuit alleges.

“Slurs were used casually and openly in high-traffic areas and at worker hubs,” the EEOC said. Black employees “regularly” saw graffiti with slurs, swastikas, threats and nooses throughout the facility, including on desks, in bathroom stalls and elevators, according to the suit.

Tesla, which disbanded its media relations team during the pandemic, did not immediately return a request for comment. In August, SpaceX, another one of Tesla’s Chief Executive Elon Musk’s companies, was sued by the Justice Department over its hiring practices.

Employees who spoke up against the racial hostility suffered retaliations that included being fired or transferred, the EEOC said.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California after attempts at reaching a settlement before the litigation. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages as well as back pay for the affected workers. It also seeks changes to Tesla’s employment practices to prevent discrimination in the future, the EEOC said.

A Black Tesla employee was awarded $137 million in 2021 by a jury that agreed he was subjected to racial harassment at the Fremont factory, but in April 2022 a judge reduced the award to $15 million.

Shares of Tesla have doubled so far this year, compared with an advance of around 12% for the S&P 500 index
SPX.

The first Model S rolled out of the Fremont factory in 2012, and the plant now makes Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y vehicles, with capacity to make more than a million vehicles a year as well as energy products and battery cells.

Tesla opened up its second U.S. vehicle-making factory in the Austin, Texas, area in the spring of 2022.

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September 28, 2023
Rishi Sunak to sign UK-India trade deal without binding worker or environment pledges

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LONDON — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s trade deal with India will not include legally enforceable commitments on labor rights or environmental standards, five people briefed on the text have told POLITICO.

British businesses and unions now fear the deal’s already-finalized labor and environment chapters will undercut U.K. workers’ rights and efforts to combat climate change.

Sunak’s government is racing to score a win with the booming South Asian economy ahead of the 2024 election. His plans for a return trip to India in October with the aim of sealing the pact are still on track.

Sunak and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi added impetus to negotiations when they met on the sidelines of the G20 in New Delhi early this month. The 13th round of talks continues in London this week.

Just days after Sunak’s meeting with Modi, Badenoch’s team shared the deal’s labor and environment chapters with businesses, unions and trade experts on a September 13 briefing call.

Key enforceable dispute resolution powers which the U.K. set out to negotiate are missing from those chapters, said the five people briefed on the text. It means neither London nor New Delhi can hold the other to their climate, environmental and workers’ rights commitments.

Businesses, unions and NGOs now fear the deal could undercut British firms because Indian firms operate to less stringent and expensive environmental and labor standards. Firms and unions say their access to the negotiations was curtailed earlier this year as talks progressed.

“Industry also wants binding commitments — partly for greater certainty, partly because businesses are made up of people who themselves want to be properly treated and to avoid climate catastrophe,” said a senior British businessperson from the services sector briefed on the chapters. They were granted anonymity to speak candidly about the negotiations.

“Suppression of trade unions, child labor and forced labor are all widespread in India,” said Rosa Crawford, trade lead at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) — the largest coalition of unions in Britain. “But the labor chapter that the U.K. government has negotiated cannot be used to clamp down on these abuses and could lead to more good jobs being offshored to exploitative jobs in India.”

The Department for Business and Trade said it does not comment on live negotiations and that it will only sign a deal that benefits the U.K. and its economy.

‘Everyone was deeply unhappy’

At the outset of the talks, the British government committed to negotiating enforceable labor and environment chapters as it laid out its strategic approach. “We remain committed to upholding our high environmental, labour, food safety and animal welfare standards in our trade agreement with India,” the government said in January 2022.

Indian and British officials say the labor and environment chapters are now closed and are not up for discussion. The U.K.’s first post-Brexit trade pacts with Australia and New Zealand have dispute settlement mechanisms in both these chapters. Three people POLITICO spoke to for this piece said it was an achievement in itself that Britain was able to get such chapters in a deal with India.

Businesses, unions and NGOs have all been concerned after Kemi Badenoch closed the key forums in February to carry out a required review of their activities | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

But, as the U.K.-India deal stands, if either country were to weaken its environmental standards or workers’ rights “the other party would not have recourse to initiate consultations on changes in laws,” said a person familiar with the content of the chapters. “There is no dispute settlement in the environment and labor chapters.”

British firms and unions are also concerned that the pact the EU is negotiating with India has enforceable chapters “bound by sanctions in case the parties don’t comply,” the same person said. Those EU-India chapters are not yet finalized.

British stakeholders “are totally up in arms,” said a former trade department official familiar with the briefing. “Everyone was deeply unhappy.”

India has changed its labor laws to deprive workers of the right to strike. Over the past year several Indian states, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, have weakened their workers’ rights laws making 12-hour daily shifts and overnight shifts for women legal as Apple iPhone maker Foxconn sets up multiple semiconductor factories and assembly plants throughout India.

Adding enforceable chapters would only slow down negotiations, said an Indian government official. “If you put in too much of these things into a trade deal, then it delays the process.” The U.K. and India are already “bound by” their international commitments on labor and climate, they added.

The deal “is dire for working people because trade unions were excluded from the trade talks,” said the TUC’s Crawford. Nearly three years ago, ministers pitched the idea of involving unions in 11 influential Trade Advisory Groups (TAGs) that gave input on ongoing trade negotiations.

Businesses, unions and NGOs have all been concerned after Britain’s trade chief Kemi Badenoch closed the key forums in February to carry out a required review of their activities. International Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston received officials’ recommendations to restructure the groups in mid-August. A final decision is expected before the end of the year.

With 40-50 people on the U.K. government’s current briefing calls about the India trade deal there’s little businesses or unions can do to feed into negotiations. Officials can “only really be in transmit mode,” said a business representative familiar with the briefings.

“What this means in real terms is that decisions are being made about the future of people’s livelihoods, people’s health, and the environment we all depend on without any input from those who will be impacted,” said Hannah Conway, trade and agriculture policy advisor at the NGO Transform Trade.

“It’s crucial,” she said, “that the government addresses its democratic deficit on trade policy by undertaking meaningful consultation with civil society and businesses.”

“It’s high time the government rethinks its approach,” said the TUC’s Crawford, “and includes unions in trade talks — that’s how you get trade deals that work for working people.”

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Graham Lanktree

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September 27, 2023
Hollywood writers strike declared over after boards approve new contract with studios

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LOS ANGELES — Leaders of the screenwriters union declared their nearly five-month-old strike over Tuesday after board members approved a contract agreement with studios, bringing Hollywood at least partly back from a historic halt in production.

The governing boards of the eastern and western branches of the Writers Guild of America and their joint negotiating committee all voted to accept the deal, two days after the tentative agreement was reached with a coalition of Hollywood’s biggest studios, streaming services and production companies. After the vote they declared that the strike would be over and writers would be free to start on scripts at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

Late-night talk shows — the first to go dark when writers walked out on May 2 — are likely the first shows that will resume. Scripted shows will take longer to return, with actors still on strike and no negotiations yet on the horizon.

The writers still have to vote to ratify the contract themselves in early October, but lifting the strike will allow them to work during that process, the guild told members in an email.

After Tuesday’s board votes, the contracts were released for the first time to the writers, who had not yet been given any details on the deal, which their leaders called “exceptional.”

The three-year agreement includes significant wins in the main areas writers had fought for — compensation, length of employment, size of staffs and control of artificial intelligence — matching or nearly equaling what they had sought at the outset of the strike.

The union had sought minimum increases in pay and future residual earnings from shows of between 5% and 6%, depending on the position of the writer. The studios had wanted between 2% and 4%. The compromise deal was a raise of between 3.5% and 5%.

The guild also negotiated new residual payments based on the popularity of streaming shows, where writers will get bonuses for being a part of the most popular shows on Netflix
NFLX,
-1.44%,
Max and other services, a proposal studios initially rejected. Many writers on picket lines had complained that they weren’t properly paid for helping create heavily watched properties.

The writers also got the requirement they sought that shows intended to run at least 13 episodes will have at least six writers on staff, with the numbers shifting based on the number of episodes. They did not get their desire for guaranteed staffs of six on shows that had not yet been ordered to series, settling instead for a guaranteed three.

Writers also got a guarantee that staffs on shows in initial development will be employed for at least 10 weeks, and that staffs on shows that go to air will be employed for three weeks per episode.

On artificial intelligence, the writers got the regulation and control of the emerging technology they had sought. Under the contract, raw, AI-generated storylines will not be regarded as “literary material” — a term in their contracts for scripts and other story forms a screenwriter produces. This means they won’t be competing with computers for screen credits. Nor will AI-generated stories be considered “source” material, their contractual language for the novels, video games or other works that writers may adapt into scripts.

Writers have the right under the deal to use AI in their process if the company they are working for agrees and other conditions are met. But companies cannot require a writer to use AI.

Still-striking members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists returned to the picket lines earlier Tuesday for the first time since the writers struck their tentative deal, and they were animated by a new spirit of optimism.

“For a hot second, I really thought that this was going to go on until next year,” said Marissa Cuevas, an actor who has appeared on the TV series “Kung Fu” and “The Big Bang Theory.” “Knowing that at least one of us has gotten a good deal gives a lot of hope that we will also get a good deal.”

Writers’ picket lines had been suspended, but they were encouraged to walk in solidarity with actors, and many were on the lines Tuesday, including “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner, who picketed alongside friend and “ER” actor Noah Wyle as he has throughout the strikes.

“We would never have had the leverage we had if SAG had not gone out,” Weiner said. “They were very brave to do it.”

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios in negotiations, chose to deal with the longer-striking writers first, and leaders of SAG-AFTRA said they had received no overtures on resuming talks. That’s likely to change soon.

Actors also voted to authorize their leadership to potentially expand their walkout to include the lucrative videogame market, a step that could put new pressure on Hollywood studios to make a deal with the performers who provide voices and stunts for games.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists announced the move late Monday, saying that 98% of its members voted to go on strike against videogame companies if ongoing negotiations are not successful. The announcement came ahead of more talks planned for Tuesday.

Acting in videogames can include a variety of roles, from voice performances to motion capture work as well as stunts. Video game actors went on strike in 2016 in a work stoppage that lasted nearly a year.

Some of the same issues are at play in the video game negotiations as in the broader actors strike that has shut down Hollywood for months, including wages, safety measures and protections on the use of artificial intelligence. The companies involved include gaming giants Activision Blizzard
ATVI,
-0.05%,
Electronic Arts
EA,
-1.13%,
Epic Games, Take 2 Productions
TTWO,
-0.99%
as well as Disney
DIS,
-1.19%
and Warner Bros.′
WBD,
+0.28%
videogame divisions.

“It’s time for the videogame companies to stop playing games and get serious about reaching an agreement on this contract,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement.

Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for videogame producers, said they are “continuing to negotiate in good faith” and have reached tentative agreements on more than half of the proposals on the table.

So far this year, U.S. consumers have spent $34.9 billion on videogames, consoles and accessories, according to market research group Circana.

The threat of a videogame strike emerged as Hollywood writers were on the verge of getting back to work after months on the picket lines.

The alliance of studios, streaming services and producers has chosen to negotiate only with the writers so far, and has made no overtures yet toward restarting talks with SAG-AFTRA. That will presumably change soon.

SAG-AFTRA leaders have said they will look closely at the writers’ agreement, which includes many of the same issues, but it will not effect their demands.

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September 26, 2023
Retailers talk a lot about rising theft. But a retail industry report finds a key metric for it hasn’t increased that much.

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Retail executives over the past year have talked a lot about “shrink” — or the losses they take due to theft, fraud or employee error — amid a flood of headlines about sometimes violent organized thefts at stores. But results from a retail-industry survey released Tuesday found the metric rose only modestly last year.

The report from the National Retail Federation, a retail industry group, found that the average shrink rate in 2022 crept higher to 1.6% from 1.4% in the prior year, when calculated as a share of sales. The figure from 2022 is in line with those seen in 2020 and 2019.

Still, the losses amounted to billions of dollars — $112.1 billion, up from $93.9 billion in 2021 — according to the report. And the report said that retailers were increasingly concerned about the violence of those crimes.

“Far beyond the financial impact of these crimes, the violence and concerns over safety continue to be the priority for all retailers, regardless of size or category,” David Johnston, the NRF’s vice president for asset protection and retail operations, said in a statement.

The NRF, working with the Loss Prevention Research Council — a research group founded by some of the nation’s biggest retailers — surveyed people in the industry who work in loss-prevention and asset protection. The report contained responses or information from 177 retail brands. The survey was distributed in May, June and July.

The report was published the same day that Target Corp.
TGT,
-2.48%
said it would close nine stores across four states next month, citing theft and dangers to employees.

“In this case, we cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance,” Target said in a statement.

The chain joins other retailers sounding the alarm about retail theft and closing stores, amid what executives have described as a spike in organized retail theft, or theft with the intent of reselling the goods. However, executives’ takes on earnings calls have differed slightly, and retailers are contending with other issues — like the fallout from inflation — that have hit financials.

Also see: Costco CFO says inventory ‘in good shape,’ thefts have not ‘dramatically’ increased as earnings top estimates

The fight over theft has played out, perhaps predictably, on partisan lines, with some blaming what they say are lax crime policies in large cities. But other analysts point to changes in the flow of foot traffic through population centers since the pandemic, and say the data is often too squishy and subjective to make any hard calls about the state of crime — and whether it’s rising or falling, particularly at retailers — in a particular area.

More than two-thirds of the retailers surveyed by the NRF “said they were seeing even more violence and aggression” from organized retail theft compared with a year ago. Twenty-eight percent reported being “forced” to close a specific store location, the report said, while 45% said they cut operating hours, and 30% said they reduced or changed an in-store product selection as a result of retail crime.

“The types of products shoplifters are targeting may not be based solely on price point,” the National Retail Federation said.

“Products can range from high-price, high-fashion items to everyday products that have a fast resale capability,” the group said. “While ORC groups have traditionally targeted specific items or types of goods, that list has expanded to new categories like outerwear, batteries, energy drinks, designer footwear and kitchen accessories.”

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September 26, 2023
President Joe Biden Visits Auto Workers Picket Line In Michigan

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President Joe Biden visited the United Auto Workers union picket line outside a General Motors parts distribution center in Belleville, Michigan, on Tuesday, making him the first sitting president to join a picket line.

“Stick with it, because you deserve the significant raise you need and other benefits,” he said through a megaphone to a few dozen UAW members.

UAW President Shawn Fain, who accompanied him on the visit, thanked the president for his solidarity.

This is a developing story. Please return for updates.

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September 26, 2023
Intel’s Big Chip-Making Push in Germany Hits Bottleneck

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Intel’s Big Chip-Making Push in Germany Hits Bottleneck

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September 25, 2023
Ford pauses work on $3.5 billion EV battery plant in Michigan

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Ford Motor Co. said late Monday it has halted work on a $3.5 billion battery factory in Michigan, just days after the carmaker made concessions to its striking workers.

“We’re pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the [Marshall, Mich.] project until we’re confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant,” a Ford
F,
+1.21%
spokesperson said. “We haven’t made any final decision about the planned investment there.”

Ford said in February it was investing $3.5 billion to build the facility in Marshall, about 100 miles west of Detroit. The plant, which Ford called BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, is part of Ford’s “commitment to American manufacturing,” the company said then.

The plant was expected to employ about 2,500 workers at the start of production, scheduled for 2026. The $3.5 billion investment is part of Ford’s commitment to invest more than $50 billion in electric vehicles globally through that year.

Employees in some parts of a Michigan Ford plant making Broncos and Rangers have been on strike since Sept. 14, part of a first wave of United Auto Workers’ labor action also hitting one plant each of General Motors Co.
GM,
+1.47%
and Stellantis NV
STLA,
-0.57%
after the union’s contract expired without progress in the negotiations.

Read more: UAW strike: 5 things to know

The UAW on Friday expanded the strike to 38 GM and Stellantis distribution centers across 20 states, but didn’t extend the labor action at Ford because it said it had won some concessions for the automaker, such as a return of cost-of-living adjustments.

Ford was showing the UAW that it was “serious about reaching a deal,” union leadership said at the time.

The strike comes at a time the legacy automakers are stretched thin to make investments in EVs, with batteries an especially critical — and pricey — components.

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September 25, 2023
Alcoa’s stock rocked after unexpected CEO transition

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Shares of Alcoa Corp. slumped to a multiyear low Monday as the aluminum company said that Roy Harvey had been replaced as chief executive officer after seven years in the role.

The company named William Oplinger as president and CEO, effective Sunday. Oplinger had served as Alcoa’s chief operations officer since February and before that as chief financial officer since November 2016.

Alcoa’s stock
AA,
-5.20%
dropped 5.1% in morning trading. That put it on track for the lowest close since March 1, 2021. It has tumbled 18% over the past three months and plunged 40.8% year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX
has rallied 12.8% this year.

“In our opinion, investors have expressed concern around cash flow and the company’s medium to long-term outlook,” B. Riley analyst Lucas Pipes wrote in a note to clients. “While the timing of the transition is somewhat unexpected, we believe Mr. Oplinger is the most well-positioned candidate for the CEO role.”

Harvey had been CEO since the company completed its separation from Arconic Inc. in November 2016. Arconic was acquired by Apollo Global Management Inc.
APO,
+1.55%
in a deal that was completed in August 2023.

“The transition of the president and CEO roles reflects the company’s succession planning process,” Alcoa said in a statement.

“Our board believes Bill’s extensive experience with Alcoa makes him well-positioned to carry the company forward,” said Steven Williams, Alcoa’s board chair.

B. Riley’s Pipes said that as Alcoa has faced challenging aluminum markets in recent quarters, and given the troubles associated with approvals of mine plans in Australia, he believes the change in leadership reflects the company’s desire to reposition its asset base for stronger cash-flow generation.

“While Mr. Harvey has successfully transformed Alcoa in recent years, particularly as [Alcoa] has aggressively deleveraged, we believe the transition will be viewed favorably by investors,” Pipes wrote.

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September 25, 2023
Biden To Join UAW Strike in Michigan as Trump Demands Union Endorsement

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President Joe Biden will be traveling to Michigan next week to meet with striking United Automobile Workers, he said on Friday afternoon.

“Tuesday, I’ll go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create,” the president wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The visit would likely make Biden the first sitting president to join a picket line in at least a century, The Washington Post reported. “This president takes seriously his role as the most pro-union president in history,” Seth Harris, a former top labor policy advisor to Biden, told The New York Times. “Sometimes that means breaking precedent.”

The announcement came as the UAW expanded its work stoppage to 38 more locations nationwide. Auto workers have been striking at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis plants since September 15.

UAW president Shaun Fain publicly invited Biden to the picket line earlier Friday morning. “We invite and encourage everyone who supports our cause to join us on the picket lines, from our friends and family all the way to the president of the United States,” Fain said in a speech streamed online.

Unlike several other unions, Fain has declined to endorse the president’s re-election campaign, even as Biden has made soliciting support from labor a centerpiece of his 2024 bid. Last week, Fain told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that a UAW endorsement needs “to be earned” and that the union expects “actions, not words.” Fain reiterated the message after offering the invitation on Friday. “We’re going to make endorsements with people that are there for us, and that’s shown through your actions, not through words,” he said.

The UAW and the Biden administration have been at odds this year over the White House’s investment in electric vehicle production, which requires fewer workers. When Biden announced a $9.2 billion loan to Ford in June, Fain accused him of “facilitating this corporate greed with taxpayer money” and failing to ensure that EV jobs are well-paid and unionized.

Biden will visit one day before former president Donald Trump gives a primetime speech in Detroit instead of appearing at the second GOP debate. The former president has refused to pick sides in the labor dispute, and has said that Fain is “not doing a good job in representing his union.” But he has repeatedly argued that Biden’s electric car investments are hurting auto workers.

“Crooked Joe sold them down the river with his ridiculous all Electric Car Hoax,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday night in response to Biden’s announced visit. “This wasn’t Biden’s idea, he can’t put two sentences together. It was the idea of the Radical Left Fascists, Marxists, & Communists who control him and who, in so doing, are DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY! Within 3 years, all of these cars will be made in China.”

Trump added that if “UAW ‘leadership’ doesn’t ENDORSE me, and if I don’t win the Election, the Autoworkers are ‘toast.’”

After Trump announced his Detroit speech last week, Fain told CNN that “every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers.”

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September 23, 2023
UAW expands strike to 38 GM and Stellantis auto-parts distribution centers in 20 states

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The United Auto Workers on Friday expanded its strike to 38 General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV auto-parts distribution centers in 20 states, hobbling the two carmakers’ repair networks.

UAW President Shawn Fain said that the union has made “some real progress” in negotiations with Ford Motor Co.
F,
+1.89%,
which agreed to cost-of-living increases, some job protections and other concessions, and it won’t be striking at additional Ford plants.

“Ford is showing us they are serious about reaching a deal,” Fain said.

Nearly 13,000 UAW members have been on strike since last Friday at a Missouri GM plant making GMC Canyons and Colorados, an Ohio Stellantis plant making Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators, and portions of a Michigan Ford plant making Broncos and Rangers.

Joining them are 3,475 workers at 18 GM fulfillment centers and 2,150 workers at 20 Stellantis centers across the U.S. The workers at the auto-parts distribution centers started to walk off at noon Eastern on Friday.

GM said that the strike’s “escalation” was “unnecessary.”

“We have contingency plans for various scenarios and are prepared to do what is best for our business, our customers, and our dealers,” the company said in a statement Friday. “We will continue to bargain in good faith with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.”

Don’t miss: Tesla may be the winner of the Big Three labor woes

Stellantis said later Friday that it made a “very competitive offer” on Thursday that included a pay raise of 21% over the four-year life of the contract for some of its full-time hourly workers and a “significant product allocation that allows for workforce stability through the end of the contract.”

“And yet, we still have not received a response to that offer. We look forward to the UAW leadership’s productive engagement so that we can bargain in good faith to reach an agreement that will protect the competitiveness of our company and our ability to continue providing good jobs,” said Stellantis, which was formed in 2021 with the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s Groupe PSA and is headquartered in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, Wall Street seemed encouraged by the progress with Ford negotiations.

That was “encouraging,” suggesting that the Big Three could “perhaps reach a labor agreement sooner than some have been expecting,” measured in days and weeks and not months, Citi analyst Itay Michaeli said in a note Friday. The new strikes at auto-parts distribution facilities would likely immediately impact “a relatively smaller yet high-margin revenue stream” for GM, Michaeli said.

A potential parts shortage could add pressure on the carmakers to reach an agreement sooner, he said. Compared with the possibility of strike at full-size truck plants, at the heart of the automakers’ profits, however, “today’s update seems somewhat more encouraging.”

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called the UAW action “an aggressive move that essentially goes at the hearts and lungs of auto operations for GM and Stellantis.”

A settlement with Ford is likely over the coming week, Ives said. “The UAW and GM/Stellantis now have crossed the invisible line and the UAW strike is about to get a lot nastier.”

Since the strike began, the union and the automakers have said they are engaging in constant talks as they try to reach a compromise on a new national contract.

The union is demanding wage increases, an end to tiers, the restoration of pensions and cost-of-living adjustments and other concessions. Although both the union and companies have claimed progress during talks, GM President Mark Reuss said in a recent opinion piece in the Detroit Free Press that the UAW’s demands are “untenable.” That’s in line with Ford President Jim Farley’s characterization of the union’s wage proposal as “unsustainable” for the company before the strike deadline.

Fain mentioned Reuss’s “untenable” comment in his update Friday via webcast. GM and Stellantis “are going to need some serious pushing” to meet union demands, he said.

See: 5 things to know about the UAW strike

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September 22, 2023
A 96-year-old federal judge is fighting to keep her job

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As Americans debate whether President Joe Biden, at 80, is too old to run for a second term, here comes the story of a 96-year-old federal appeals court judge fighting to keep her job.

Pauline Newman, a judge based in Washington, D.C., was suspended from her job earlier this week under an order from the Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit.

The order praised Newman for serving “with distinction” over her nearly 40-year tenure and for being “a highly valued and respected colleague,” especially in regards to her work relating to the U.S. patent system. But it also pointed to “evidence of memory loss, confusion, and lack of comprehension” in the judge’s work.

“Unfortunately, earlier this year mounting evidence raised increasing doubts about whether Judge Newman is still fit to perform the duties of her office,” the order said.

Newman, who was appointed to the job in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, has refused “multiple requests to discuss the matter,” according to the order. It was also noted that the judge “was responsible for extensive delays in resolving cases and appeared unable to complete her opinions in a timely fashion” despite a reduced workload.

According to ABC News, Newman has “pushed back against allegations” and has said that she wants to resolve the matter in a cooperative way. ABC News also reported that Newman’s attorney, Greg Dolin, plans to fight the issue and will file a petition for review with the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability.

MarketWatch reached out to Dolin for comment but didn’t receive an immediate response.

Newman is not the oldest person to have served as a federal judge. That honor goes to Wesley E. Brown, who was still on the bench a month before his death in 2012 at the age of 104.

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September 22, 2023
UAW expands strike to 38 GM and Stellantis auto-parts distribution centers in 20 states

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The United Auto Workers on Friday expanded its strike to 38 General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV auto-parts distribution centers in 20 states, hobbling the two carmakers’ repair networks.

UAW President Shawn Fain said that the union has made “some real progress” in negotiations with Ford Motor Co.
F,
+1.89%,
which agreed to cost-of-living increases, some job protections and other concessions, and it won’t be striking at additional Ford plants.

“Ford is showing us they are serious about reaching a deal,” Fain said.

Nearly 13,000 UAW members have been on strike since last Friday at a Missouri GM plant making GMC Canyons and Colorados, an Ohio Stellantis plant making Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators, and portions of a Michigan Ford plant making Broncos and Rangers.

Joining them are 3,475 workers at 18 GM fulfillment centers and 2,150 workers at 20 Stellantis centers across the U.S. The workers at the auto-parts distribution centers started to walk off at noon Eastern on Friday.

GM said that the strike’s “escalation” was “unnecessary.”

“We have contingency plans for various scenarios and are prepared to do what is best for our business, our customers, and our dealers,” the company said in a statement Friday. “We will continue to bargain in good faith with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.”

Don’t miss: Tesla may be the winner of the Big Three labor woes

Stellantis said later Friday that it made a “very competitive offer” on Thursday that included a pay raise of 21% over the four-year life of the contract for some of its full-time hourly workers and a “significant product allocation that allows for workforce stability through the end of the contract.”

“And yet, we still have not received a response to that offer. We look forward to the UAW leadership’s productive engagement so that we can bargain in good faith to reach an agreement that will protect the competitiveness of our company and our ability to continue providing good jobs,” said Stellantis, which was formed in 2021 with the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s Groupe PSA and is headquartered in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, Wall Street seemed encouraged by the progress with Ford negotiations.

That was “encouraging,” suggesting that the Big Three could “perhaps reach a labor agreement sooner than some have been expecting,” measured in days and weeks and not months, Citi analyst Itay Michaeli said in a note Friday. The new strikes at auto-parts distribution facilities would likely immediately impact “a relatively smaller yet high-margin revenue stream” for GM, Michaeli said.

A potential parts shortage could add pressure on the carmakers to reach an agreement sooner, he said. Compared with the possibility of strike at full-size truck plants, at the heart of the automakers’ profits, however, “today’s update seems somewhat more encouraging.”

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called the UAW action “an aggressive move that essentially goes at the hearts and lungs of auto operations for GM and Stellantis.”

A settlement with Ford is likely over the coming week, Ives said. “The UAW and GM/Stellantis now have crossed the invisible line and the UAW strike is about to get a lot nastier.”

Since the strike began, the union and the automakers have said they are engaging in constant talks as they try to reach a compromise on a new national contract.

The union is demanding wage increases, an end to tiers, the restoration of pensions and cost-of-living adjustments and other concessions. Although both the union and companies have claimed progress during talks, GM President Mark Reuss said in a recent opinion piece in the Detroit Free Press that the UAW’s demands are “untenable.” That’s in line with Ford President Jim Farley’s characterization of the union’s wage proposal as “unsustainable” for the company before the strike deadline.

Fain mentioned Reuss’s “untenable” comment in his update Friday via webcast. GM and Stellantis “are going to need some serious pushing” to meet union demands, he said.

See: 5 things to know about the UAW strike

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September 22, 2023
Hollywood writers reportedly near deal with studios to end strike

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Hollywood writers and studios are reportedly near an agreement to end one of the months-long strikes that have brought production of TV shows and movies to a halt.

Citing sources close to the negotiations, CNBC reported Wednesday night that the two sides were close to a deal following a face-to-face meeting earlier in the day. The sides are reportedly optimistic that an agreement can be finalized Thursday. However, the report also said the strike could drag on through the end of the year if a deal is not reached.

Separately,…

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September 20, 2023