BossFeed Briefing for January 11, 2021. Last Sunday was the 108th anniversary of the end to the 1913 textile strike in Little Falls, New York, led by immigrant women who won their demand for a shorter workday with no loss of pay. Last Monday, Amazon surpassed Boeing as Washington’s biggest employer. Last Tuesday, the state announced its new reopening guidelines for indoor dining, and several more WA restaurant owners announced their intent to risk workers' health by keeping dining rooms open in defiance of public health rules. Today is the first day of the 2021 Washington state legislative session. This Wednesday marks the final week of the Trump administration.
Three things to know this week:
At least 176 employees have contracted COVID-19 in a major outbreak at a Costco in Union Gap. The store is still open for business despite one the largest coronavirus outbreaks at a single workplace in Washington state so far during the pandemic.
The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is still using the city of Yakima’s airport to deport people. More than 1,400 people were deported from the airport in 2020, and the vast majority of people deported were seeking asylum.
A new report compiled for food bank Northwest Harvest found that 2.2 million people in WA—almost one-third of the state—don’t have enough money to afford food. In related news, eight billionaires in WA have amassed $138 billion in new wealth since March.
Two things to ask:
But what will pass? The incoming Biden administration is drafting another COVID relief bill, which reportedly would include $2,000 stimulus checks and the restoration of the expanded $600/week federal unemployment benefits. While Democrats will have narrow control of the Senate, at least one Democratic Senator—Joe Manchin of West Virginia—is not on board yet.
Could somebody send Mr. Bezos some flowers? Elon Musk surpassed Jeff Bezos as the wealthiest person in the world last week. Despite the setback, Bezos is making ends meet with what remains of his personal fortune—$185 billion.
And one thing that's worth a closer look:
More than 140,000 people lost work in December as jobless claims surged nationwide. The trend isn’t looking good here in Washington, either—the state’s weekly unemployment report shows new claims are up 54% over the prior week, for a total of nearly 30,000 initial claims. Amid this latest spike, Republican leaders in WA have forced the state to reinstate the “waiting week,” which means people filing new unemployment claims will have to go a week without any income. Money to pay benefits during the waiting week is currently 50% federally funded, so this change saves the state few dollars while costing tens of thousands of unemployed people millions of dollars a week.
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!