BossFeed Briefing for July 24, 2017. Last Tuesday, Uber began to allow in-app tipping nationwide. Last Wednesday, the public got word of the death of Betty Dukes, the Walmart greeter who led a landmark class-action gender discrimination lawsuit against the giant retailer. And tomorrow, the U.S. Senate might or might not vote on one or another bill which could or could not repeal Obamacare with or without replacing it.
Three things to know this week:
Fast food striker and Working Washington leader Crystal Thompson wrote in The Stranger about her lived experience fighting for $15/hour, and then getting it in her paycheck. Her income is up, her chain is expanding, and she’s thinking about going back to school and maybe even taking a vacation someday.
85% of gig economy workers applying for loans make $500 or less per month from these jobs, according to one new survey. More than half take in less than $100/month, and of course most have other jobs too.
President Trump’s two nominees to serve on the National Labor Relations Board are likely to be confirmed by the Senate and sworn into office shortly. They are then expected to reverse several key workers' rights decisions, including a goundbreaking ruling that franchisors could be held responsible for working conditions at their chains.
Two things to ask:
And what percent of them think $15/hour is too much? The average CEO of a public company in the Northwest was paid $3.6 million last year. Seventy-six percent of CEOs and their board members believe that’s “the correct level" of pay.
Can you imagine anything that would take more strength? It was really hard and scary and apparently nightmare-inducing when the CEO of Box turned down a $600 million offer for his company. At one point some people were critical and there was a long meeting or two and it was all very difficult and once the company even had take out some loans.
And one thing that’s worth a closer look:
More than 5,000 agricultural workers died on the job in the U.S. from 2003 - 2011, and according to OSHA there’s been a “dramatic spike” in fatalities since then. Audrey Dutton's compelling look at farmworker health & safety conditions, originally written for the Idaho Statesman, looks at why agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries out there, with hazards including heavy equipment, heat stroke, chemical exposure, and even manure lagoons, which present a particularly gruesome risk of drowning. Growing concerns about immigration enforcement are an added hazard compounding the other risks, as are rules which forbid federal heath & safety inspections of farms with 10 or fewer employees, even in the event somebody dies on the job.
Read this far?
Consider yourself briefed, boss.
The BossFeed Briefing is our weekly look at the world of work, wages, and inequality.