BossFeed Briefing for July 5, 2022. Last Tuesday was the 53rd anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York City. Last Thursday, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that severely restricts the federal government’s ability to combat climate change. Last Friday marked 47 years since Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers began their thousand-mile march across California. Today BossFeed returns from a brief hiatus. This Saturday is the first night of Eid al-Adha.
Three things to know this week:
Some concessions workers at the Seattle Mariners’ T-Mobile Park are sounding the alarm about wage theft and tip theft. These workers are hired through Instawork, a gig staffing and temping company.
A Seattle domestic worker is getting back $71,610 as part of a wage theft settlement. It was the result of a landmark investigation of violations of the Seattle Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.
An appeals court judge upheld the JumpStart tax on the highest salaries at the biggest companies in Seattle. Two judges have now ruled the tax is legal, and more than 66% of Seattle voters support it.
Two things to ask:
Can gig companies have it both ways? A group of Uber and Lyft drivers filed an antitrust class action lawsuit against the companies. Uber and Lyft pay drivers as independent contractors, but limit which rides drivers can accept without penalty and don’t allow them to set the prices customers pay.
Maybe they should “reimagine” this move? Starbucks abruptly transferred nearly two dozen baristas out of high-profile locations in downtown Seattle—just weeks before workers planned to hold union elections. A company spokesperson says there’s nothing to see here: the stores are simply being rebranded as “Heritage Markets” to showcase the company’s “historic past, present, and its re-imagined future.”
And one thing that's worth a closer look:
Landlords have raised rent by 15% nationwide—but politicians are ignoring those skyrocketing housing costs as they discuss how to fight inflation, writes Alexander Sammon in The American Prospect. The latest Consumer Price Index report shows that the cost of housing accounts for a stunning 40% of overall inflation, making it a primary driver of the problem. Sammon argues that Democrats need to enact rent control and provide cash assistance for the hundred million renters across the country. When there’s a hurricane and people need to rebuild, it’s illegal for Home Depot to jack up the price of lumber — so why is it that when there’s a housing affordability crisis, landlords are apparently allowed to price-gouge all they want?
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!