It cannot be emphasized enough that on August 13, nearly three entire months after the House of Representatives passed a major coronavirus stimulus package, the Republican-controlled Senate went on recess until after Labor Day, having done exactly nothing to provide relief to millions people who’ve lost their jobs in the pandemic, or to state and local governments facing major budget shortfalls that could cost millions more jobs, or to schools being forced to deal with unprecedented challenges, or to the U.S. Postal Service, or to millions of people facing eviction.
Donald Trump owns much of the blame, of course, having called off negotiations with Democrats in part because he is trying to rig the elections by destroying the Postal Service. But Senate Republicans, and their leader Mitch McConnell in particular, could have done a hell of a lot more to pressure him on this. Fact is, they don’t care, and many Senate Republicans actively oppose any further aid even though to withhold aid threatens throwing the United States into a depression. People are already suffering and the suffering will get worse before the Senate is even back from recess.
● In a show of how totally founded on exploitation Uber’s business model is, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi threatened to shut down in California if it’s forced to follow a state superior court judge’s order and classify its drivers as employees. That would mean Uber was subject to labor laws like minimum wage, overtime, and reimbursements for minor little things like personal vehicle mileage.
● Has Amazon met its match in Swedish labor unions and labor protections?
● Brooke Jarvis, in The New York Times Magazine, takes a deep dive into the work and workers required to hand-pick 24 billion cherries in eight weeks.
● At least in Massachusetts, remote learning options might not involve local teachers, because the pandemic is one more opportunity for outsourcing and privatizing.
● The largest private-sector strike of the year is headed for victory, Jeremy Gantz writes. A strike of 4,300 workers isn’t big compared with, say, last year’s Stop & Shop strike, but during a pandemic, not bad.
● The return of the construction industry has brought a surge of immigrant worker deaths.
● We can reshore manufacturing jobs, but Trump hasn't done it. Go figure.
● McDonald's and Marriott franchises didn't pay COVID-19 sick leave. That's illegal.
● Wage theft is theft:
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