Posts tagged Artificial Intelligence
Writers At iHeartPodcast Network Ratify First Contract More Than 2 Years After Unionizing With WGA
June 27, 2024 // There will be no strike after all for the writers at iHeart Podcast Network. The 100-member bargaining unit of the Writers Guild of America East has “overwhelmingly” ratified its first deal with the network, the union announced on Monday. The ratification comes after more than two years of negotiations and an Unfair Labor Practice charge against the management at iHeart.
Thanks to AI, we’re in the golden age of freelancing
May 4, 2024 // Sixty-eight percent of the respondents in our survey said that generative AI makes them more likely to pursue an independent career working for multiple companies. Ninety-two percent said that generative AI tools increased their productivity. And 80% said that generative AI increases their earning potential. A smaller portion, 16%, said they had already raised their hourly rates. This, then, is the counter-narrative: Thanks to AI, the most highly-skilled freelance product builders are becoming super builders—boosting their productivity and earnings.
Mike Rowe calls Gen Z the next ‘toolbelt generation’ amid increasing vocational enrollment
April 22, 2024 // Rowe doubled down on the demand for electricians, pipe fitters and plumbers, among others, despite emerging technologies. "Look, plumbers are not going to be outsourced," he added. "Electricians, steam fitters, pipe fitters, the people my foundation tries to assist — they have a level of job security that the article in the Journal is referencing, and it's a big deal, because those jobs have always been here for the last 20 years, as long as I've been doing this, they've been open, and it's starting to tip where we're literally turning a tanker around with regard to perceptions."
Liz Shuler Wants AI to Reinvigorate the Labor Movement
April 2, 2024 // Fast forward a few years, and the world has evolved. Shuler is now the president of the AFL-CIO, having moved into the top spot in the summer of 2021, following the death of the organization’s longtime leader, Richard Trumka. Thanks to artificial intelligence, anxiety about technology’s impact on job security has only increased — not only among kitchen workers, but also white-collar professionals who long saw themselves as immune from disruption: writers, lawyers, health care professionals, marketers, financial analysts.
Going on strike: Why some unions have more leverage than others
February 25, 2024 //
Op-Ed: Labor Department stuck in 1930s with rule against independent contractors
January 23, 2024 // With a national rule, however, few of those escape options are possible. Freelancers are unlikely to flee the country, and there is no such thing as a national ballot measure. The department has only just finalized the rule, so revisions are unlikely unless there is a change in control of the executive or legislature this November. Independent contractors face an extremely uncertain future. The reason why the rule is likely to be such a problem is because it is based on a vision of what the workplace should look like from a century ago, when large corporations dominated. Large corporations made sense when it was harder to be nimble as a business. Nobel Prize winner Ronald Coase explained the reason we have corporations at all is because of the presence of what are called transaction costs. If I have a business idea that requires the services of someone else, I face those costs. If the business idea requires someone with advanced mathematical calculation skills I don’t have, I can either contract with someone who has those skills to do the work every time I need it, or I can hire them as an employee instead and have them always available.
Sports Illustrated Laying Off ‘Possibly All’ Of Its Unionized Staff
January 22, 2024 // atest Rambling Aside Mark Hamill Hits Ron DeSantis With A Made-Up Quote Of His Own Damning New Biden Ad Uses Nikki Haley To Show How 'Confused' Trump Is Jason Kelce Goes Full Party Mode In Absolutely Wild Celebration At Chiefs-Bills Game Sen. Tim Scott Announces Engagement, And Marjorie Taylor Greene Approves Attorney Says He Quit Trump's Legal Team Because 'I Had To Follow My Compass' Donald Trump Reacts To DeSantis Dropping Out, Makes Nickname Announcement Miami Herald Gives Ron DeSantis Ugly Truth About His Presidential Failure Valerie Bertinelli Says Food Network Ouster 'Really Hurt My Feelings' I Was Unexpectedly Widowed at 29. Then I Found Out About My Husband's Affairs. NBC's Kristen Welker Presses GOP Governor Over Head-Spinning Trump Take Trump Defends Mocking Nikki Haley's Birth Name: 'Wherever She May Come From' SUPPORT US Log In GO TO HOMEPAGE Support Us × Share Share Share Share Share Share Share Share Share Share Share MEDIA SPORTS SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Sports Illustrated Laying Off 'Possibly All' Of Its Unionized Staff The legacy magazine has long been the gold standard of sports journalism. Lydia O'Connor By Lydia O'Connor Jan 19, 2024, 05:16 PM EST 60 COMMENTS ERROR LOADING In a move that could spell the end of an iconic brand, Sports Illustrated’s corporate owner informed employees Friday that it’s laying off “a significant number, possibly all” of the magazine’s unionized staff, the union said. The magazine’s future is in the hands of Authentic Brands Group, its owner since 2019. Shortly after acquiring the magazine, ABG sold SI’s publishing rights to a company called the Arena Group, which missed a recent payment for those rights, according to the union. ABG responded by pulling the Arena Group’s publishing license, leading to Friday’s mass layoffs. “This is another difficult day in what has been a difficult four years for Sports Illustrated under Arena Group (previously The Maven) stewardship,” the union, which has about 80 members, said in a statement. “We are calling on ABG to ensure the continued publication of SI and allow it to serve our audience in the way it has for nearly 70 years.” Some employees were immediately terminated, while others will work through a 90-day notice period, the notice to staff obtained by The Washington Post said. When reached for comment about SI’s future, ABG did not address the layoffs but said it plans to maintain SI’s editorial presence. “Authentic is here to ensure that the brand of Sports Illustrated, which includes its editorial arm, continues to thrive as it has for the past nearly 70 years,” the company said in a statement. “We are confident that going forward the brand will continue to evolve and grow in a way that serves sports news readers, sports fans, and consumers.” The SI union also vowed to put pressure on its owner. “We have fought together as a union to maintain the standard of this storied publication that we love, and to make sure out workers are treated fairly for the value they bring to this company,” NFL editor and union chair Mitch Goldich said in a statement. “It is a fight we will continue.” SI launched in 1954 under Time Inc. and has long been seen as the gold standard of sports journalism, featuring in-depth, long-form articles and distinctive photo spreads. But the magazine has floundered in its attempts to serve online readers, and has been passed around to different owners in recent years. Time Inc. sold SI to the Meredith Corporation in 2018, which then sold it to ABG the following year. ABG has no background in journalism, and its monetization plans for SI included resorts, sports betting and “brain formula” nutrition supplements. In November, the magazine came under fire for accusations it was deceptively publishing artificial intelligence-generated content, even going so far as to include AI-generated author photos and bylines. SI isn’t the only media brand facing turmoil this week. On Friday, The Los Angeles Times union planned a walkout to protest looming widespread layoffs. Management is fighting to gut seniority protections in its contract with the union in an attempt to widen the pool of workers to lay off. It’s the newsroom’s first union work stoppage in the paper’s 143-year history. Earlier this week, Condé Nast announced it was folding legacy music outlet Pitchfork into the men’s magazine GQ. At least eight staffers were laid off as a result of the merger.
Philly workers got organized in 2023. Look back on this year’s strikes, walkouts, and union campaigns.
December 30, 2023 // As worker organizing activity heated up toward the end of 2022, with new unions and strikes grabbing headlines through the fall, labor leaders predicted 2023 would be an even bigger year for employees seizing on their leverage.
Commentary: The existential threat AI poses to the Screen Actors Guild
December 30, 2023 // Work is already drying up for those lower-end actors for other reasons. The move to streaming series has resulted in TV series having shorter seasons. SAG, in short, is likely to start losing members as work for extras and bit part players simply dries up and people drop out of the profession. On the flipside, this will mean Hollywood will have need of even more computer nerds – animation specialists, motion capture technicians, computer color and lighting specialists and so on. So, Hollywood will be employing more people in other areas. Given the technical skill levels required these may be better-paying jobs than the acting ones. But they almost certainly won’t be actors’ union members.
The 4-day workweek was a longshot. The UAW isn’t giving up
December 20, 2023 // And once the union and automakers started making progress toward the deal that would eventually end the strike, there was little discussion of a four-day week ever again. The union did win a record contract, with an immediate wage gain of at least 11%, an additional 14 percentage points of raises throughout the life of the contract, a return of cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) and improved retirement benefits, among other gains. Most hourly workers at GM, Ford and Stellantis will be paid at least $43 an hour by the time the recently ratified contract ends in April 2028. That comes to about $1,700 a week for a 40-hour week. And the COLA is likely to raise it further than that. And while a hypothetical pay structure for an alternate deal featuring a four-day work week may be unknowable, paying that weekly wage for a 32-hour week would increase the hourly wage by about 25%, on top of the just negotiated wage hikes.