A New York Times Magazine profile details a new app designed by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs that targets the income volatility and anxiety faced by many Americans in the low-wage workforce. The company, called Even, developed an app to “smooth[] the irregular, up-and-down paychecks of hourly workers into the steady flow of a simulated salary. On good weeks, when users outearn their Even salary, the company banks the surplus into a separate, Even-managed savings account. On bad weeks, when users fall short, they still get their salary, thanks to past surpluses or to interest-free credit from Even.” While the app can’t help those without a bank account or at least some form of income, it hopes to ameliorate the unpredictability caused by flexible scheduling and stagnant wages, especially for workers covering multiple jobs to make ends meet. The article points out how rare it is for a Bay Area tech company to be focusing on problems faced primarily by low-earners.
Lydia DePillis reports in the Washington Post on a new poll finding that most Americans support the right of fast food workers to unionize. The poll shows that Americans’ opinions on labor unions in general have recovered from the dip during the Detroit auto bailout in 2008, with 48% of Americans now viewing unions favorably (compared with 39% unfavorably). It also found that 62% of Americans support the right of fast food workers to unionize—though that figure was lower than retail sales workers (68%), public school teachers (71%), and manufacturing workers (82%).
The living wage campaign is spreading to Capitol Hill, with a group of Senate Democrats calling on the Rules Committee to give preference to Senate office building contractors “that provide a living wage, fair healthcare and other benefits and that give employees a voice in their workplace.” According to the Washington Post, the letter comes over a year after President Obama raised the hourly minimum wage for federal contract employees to $10.10.
Daily News & Commentary
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May 5
Unemployment rates for Black women go up under Trump; NLRB argues Amazon lacks standing to challenge captive audience meeting rule; Teamsters use Wilcox's reinstatement orders to argue against injunction.
May 4
In today’s news and commentary, DOL pauses the 2024 gig worker rule, a coalition of unions, cities, and nonprofits sues to stop DOGE, and the Chicago Teachers Union reaches a remarkable deal. On May 1, the Department of Labor announced it would pause enforcement of the Biden Administration’s independent contractor classification rule. Under the January […]
May 2
Immigrant detainees win class certification; Missouri sick leave law in effect; OSHA unexpectedly continues Biden-Era Worker Heat Rule
May 1
SEIU 721 concludes a 48-hour unfair labor practice strike; NLRB Administrative Law Judge holds that Starbucks committed a series of unfair labor practices at a store in Philadelphia; AFSCME and UPTE members at the University of California are striking.
April 30
In today’s news and commentary, SEIU seeks union rights for rideshare drivers in California, New Jersey proposes applying the ABC Test, and Board officials push back on calls for layoffs. In California, Politico reports that an SEIU-backed bill that would allow rideshare drivers to join unions has passed out of committee, “clear[ing] its first hurdle.” […]
April 29
In today’s news and commentary, CFPB mass layoffs paused again, Mine Safety agency rejects union intervention, and postdoctoral researchers petition for union election. A temporary pause on mass firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been restored. After a trial court initially blocked the administration from mass firings, the appeals court modified that […]