Posts tagged labor costs
Commentary: Kamala Harris Is Bad News for Gig Workers
August 8, 2024 // Though framed as an overdue deliverance for besieged workers, AB 5 was a gift to labor bosses who dreamed of organizing California gig workers, especially ride-share drivers, and who lusted after the potential dues they could rake in. It was also one of the most-detested laws passed in California in memory. There was no grassroots movement behind AB 5, no uprising among freelancers. It was a top-down scheme fueled by union agitation and then, like so many other lousy public policies hatched in California, unleashed across the country. AB 5’s impact was immediate — and ugly. Workers’ opportunities were narrowed. Many lost their incomes. Businesses faced higher labor costs, and entrepreneurs felt the chill of the dead hand of activist policy-making. The promise of the gig economy, expected to expand globally by roughly 123 percent over the next five years, turned bleak in California. With their businesses in the balance, Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash generously funded a ballot initiative, Proposition 22, that would classify “drivers for app-based transportation (rideshare) and delivery companies as ‘independent contractors,’ not ‘employees.’” Voters approved it overwhelmingly. App-based drivers favored Prop. 22 — four out of five said they were “happy” that it passed, 76 percent said it “benefits me personally,” and 75 percent recommended that lawmakers pass “similar laws in other states so drivers across the country can benefit.”
Fury as one of America’s oldest companies slashes jobs in the Midwest as it shifts work to Mexico: ‘It’s greed’
June 30, 2024 // The layoffs come after 10,000 unionized John Deere workers went on strike for five weeks in October 2021. The strikes were among the most prominent during 'Striketober', where thousands of workers from Nabisco, Kellogg's, McDonald's and others walked out for weeks or even months to protest low pay in the wake soaring company profits.
The astonishing number of fast food jobs lost – and restaurants shut – because of California’s new $20-an-hour minimum wage
June 11, 2024 // When the Democrat governor signed the law in 2023, Newsom said the state was getting 'one step closer to fairer wages, safer and healthier working conditions, and better training by giving hardworking fast food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table.' But Republican critics claimed the wage hike would simply mean workers are replaced with self-checkouts and 'robot cooks.' Harsh Ghai, a Burger King franchisee with 140 restaurants on the West Coast announced in April how he planned to have digital kiosks installed in all his locations in two months.
Record UAW Contracts = Record UAW Layoffs
June 10, 2024 // Mapped out, the numbers are staggering. Thousands of employees missed paychecks or were forced to find new jobs across five states as automakers cut shifts and pared back production. A 25 percent pay raise sounds good in theory, but if Ford cuts a third of its 150 Lighting shifts at the Rouge to cover that expense, then the auto workers affected may be worse off than they were before the new contract. Although no automaker has escaped unscathed, the blow has fallen hardest on UAW members at Stellantis. Since the UAW and Stellantis came to the new contract agreement, over 1,300 UAW members at the company have permanently lost their jobs, alongside thousands more temporarily laid off as the company tries to control rising labor costs.
Thousands of hotel workers to rally in 18 cities ahead of contract negotiations
May 1, 2024 // Unionized hotel workers demanding significant pay raises will rally on May Day in 18 U.S. and Canadian cities, as talks are beginning with operators Marriott International (MAR.O), opens new tab, Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT.N), opens new tab and Hyatt Hotels Corp (H.N) , opens new tab. Talks will cover about 40,000 workers who look to secure new contracts for the first time since the pandemic. Workers want to reverse pandemic-era staffing and service cuts, as well as duplicate the big pay hikes that organized workers across the nation have been winning in the recent years.
A major Burger King franchisee in California says he can’t roll out order kiosks fast enough due to the state’s new $20 fast-food minimum wage
April 19, 2024 // "We can't move fast enough on this," Harsh Ghai told Business Insider in an interview in early April. "We have kiosks in probably about 25% of our restaurants today," he said. "However, the other 75% are going to have kiosks in the next probably 30 to 60 days." Ghai said he owns 180 fast-food restaurants in California, including about 140 Burger King locations and numerous Taco Bell and Popeyes restaurants. Ghai said that he was the largest Burger King franchisee on the West Coast, though BI was unable to independently verify this. "We are installing kiosks in every single restaurant," he said.
CALIFORNIA: Dave’s Hot Chicken tests kiosks, bigger drinks in face of $20 CA wage
April 3, 2024 // “We didn’t see the ability to pull labor out of the restaurant, but we did see some positive impact on sales,” Bitticks said. Dave’s labor deployment at the cash register — the position most likely to be replaced by kiosks — is already fairly small. The brand still needs workers present to assist customers with kiosks, in the same way grocery stores deploy workers to oversee the self-checkout process, he said. Tickets placed at kiosks are about 7% to 8% higher than orders placed with an employee, Bitticks said. This increase is driven by greater orders of the brands’ entrees, and possibly by guests trying new items they notice on their own, rather than trying items based on conscious upselling. Dave’s managers report customers across age demographics are using the kiosks, Bitticks said, rather than just younger diners.
SEIU, allies say $20 fast food wage should have minimal impact on employment
April 3, 2024 // “Our fight was never just about the raise, but having the power to improve our industry,” said Angelica Hernandez, a Los Angeles McDonald’s worker and member of the Fast Food Council created by AB 1228. Hernandez, speaking through an interpreter at a press event hosted by the Service Employees International Union and the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal American think tank, said employers are retaliating against supporters of AB 1228.
Here’s what might happen after California raises fast-food wages to $20, from higher burger and pizza prices to better wages for retail workers
March 7, 2024 // Tower said he expected fast-food chains to focus on their value deals in California to attract customers amid higher menu prices. Zackfia said she thought digital order kiosks, which restaurants are rolling out to save on labor costs and improve order accuracy, would spread "even more quickly" in California.
Opinion: Protect workers by preventing union neutrality agreements
February 21, 2024 // A neutrality agreement is a contract between a union and an employer that typically forbids employers from communicating with employees about the unionization effort or the union behind it. This includes not discussing with workers the viability of any promises the union makes, the accuracy of information provided by the union, or details about the union’s record. Employers that sign neutrality agreements are even precluded from answering employees’ basic questions about how the bargaining process works. So in short, these deceptively named neutrality agreements are anything but. Employers are not actually asked to be neutral, but instead to leave employees in the dark about the choice they face.