Labor/Economics

[ap215]

US consumer confidence slips to six-month low; worries over job availability rising

WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence eased to a six-month low in October amid worries about the availability of jobs in the near-term, offering more ammunition for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again on Wednesday.

The Conference Board survey on Tuesday also confirmed what economists describe as a K-shaped economy, with confidence declining among consumers making an annual income of less than $75,000, but consumers earning more than $200,000 a year more upbeat. Economists argue that high-income households are keeping the economy afloat through robust consumer spending.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-con ... 025-10-28/

[ZoWie]

That's the problem with the TV investment pundits. They get excited every time a stock index sets a new high, which is pretty much daily at present, given the boom in "data centers." They seem to forget that everything is getting awfully expensive. Perhaps inflation is only for the little people, like the owner of a cosmetics company once said about taxes after not paying hers.

[Motor City]

Authorities and merchants vowing to strain out a nat after swallowing a camel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2wmMEYoJk0

Police, merchants worried about desperation with no SNAP benefits

Michigan residents relying on SNAP benefits may face challenges as the federal government shutdown continues.

Approximately 1.4 million Michiganders depend on SNAP for food assistance. Concerns are growing over the potential desperation people might face without this monthly support.

The Midland Police Department plans to increase their presence at large retail and grocery stores. This move comes as the holidays approach and financial assistance becomes uncertain.

"We could see an uptick in things like retail fraud and assaults because people can become desperate when they can't feed themselves," Police Chief Nicole Ford said.......

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bXbEA6ZI7Ro

Why It's Dangerous When Both Political Parties Agree, with Marianne Williamson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJZ5--P5H2g

Marianne Williamson - Desperate People do Desperate Things

[ZoWie]

What interests me is how the people who stand to lose the most are usually also core Republicans.

[ap215]

Pot picketers at W. Manchester Twp. dispensary settle strike with new contract

Employees at Green Thumb Industries’ Rise dispensary in York have ended a 45-day strike by ratifying their first union contract, according to a news release, marking what labor leaders say is the longest successful work stoppage in the U.S. cannabis industry.

The agreement, negotiated by Teamsters Local 776, includes paid holidays, bereavement leave, annual wage increases, and a structured disciplinary process. Union officials say the deal could influence labor standards across the growing cannabis sector.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pot ... 34710.html

[ap215]

ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 42,000 Jobs in October; Annual Pay was Up 4.5%

ROSELAND, N.J., Nov. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Private sector employment increased by 42,000 jobs in October and pay was up 4.5 percent year-over-year according to the October ADP National Employment Report® produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab

The ADP National Employment Report is an independent measure of the labor market based on the anonymized weekly payroll data of more than 26 million private-sector employees in the United States. ADP's Pay Insights captures over 15 million individual pay change observations each month. Together, the jobs report and pay insights use ADP's fine-grained data to provide a representative and high-frequency picture of the private-sector labor market.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-release ... 05577.html

[ap215]

Layoff announcements surged last month: The worst October in 22 years

Washington — Company announcements of layoffs in the United States surged in October as AI continued to disrupt the labor market.

Announced job cuts last month climbed by more than 153,000, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas released Thursday, up 175% from the same month a year earlier and the highest October increase since 2003. Layoff announcements surpassed more than a million in first 10 months of this year, an increase of 65% compared to the same period last year.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/economy/ ... challenger

[ap215]

Trump Economy: October Monthly Job Cuts Exploded To A 22-Year High

Unsurprisingly, the guy who said he's delivering an "economic miracle" and who falsely bragged about Walmart's Thanksgiving Day dinner costs, now has something new to his resume: Job destroyer.

So far this year, nearly 1.1 million job cuts have occurred —the most since 2020 —according to the research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

https://crooksandliars.com/2025/11/trum ... y-job-cuts

[ap215]

Consumer sentiment nears lowest level ever as worries build over shutdown

Worries over the government shutdown surged in the early part of November, pushing consumer sentiment to its lowest in more than three years and just off its worst level ever, according to a University of Michigan survey released Friday.

The university’s monthly Index of Consumer Sentiment posted a reading of 50.3 for the month, indicating a decline of 6.2% on the month and about 30% from a year ago. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 53.0 after October’s 53.6. Sentiment was last this low in June 2022 as inflation hovered around its highest level in 40 years. November’s reading was the second lowest going back to at least 1978.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/07/consume ... tdown.html

[ZoWie]

We dodged a bullet. One day later and I'd still be in New York. As it was, our flight was changed, the airplane was changed and I lost my reserved seat, and our gate was in a different terminal from where our baggage was.

I don't hold this country's government in very high regard right now.

[ap215]

Minneapolis educators, school district announce tentative contract deal, averting strike

The union representing educators in Minneapolis Public Schools has reached a tentative contract agreement with the district, averting a strike that had been scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The Minneapolis Federation of Educators and the school district announced the tentative deal late Saturday.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/11/0 ... ert-strike

[ap215]

Post-Gazette Strikers Win Three-Year Strike

On Monday, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to repeal more than five years of worker rights violations and to compensate the workers who were impacted by those violations. The order, which enforces a September 2024 ruling from the National Labor Relations Board, reflects the longstanding demands of Post-Gazette workers. They have been on strike since October 2022. The Post-Gazette must now comply with the Court’s order. Strikers look forward to ending the strike and returning to work.

“Ever since Post-Gazette management ripped apart our contract in 2020, our union of journalists has been standing and fighting the lawless union-busting that we’ve been subjected to every step of the way,” said Andrew Goldstein, striking education reporter and Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh president. “When we walked out on strike in October 2022 it wasn’t just for us and our rights as workers, we were fighting for fair treatment for the future journalists in Pittsburgh and beyond. Today’s victory vindicates our fight and shows that NewsGuild workers will never back down no matter how long it takes.”

https://newsguild.org/post-gazette-stri ... ar-strike/

[Motor City]

‘What happened, how long was he there?’: Allen Park postal worker’s family left in dark after death

The family of an Allen Park postal worker whose body was found stuck in a machine at the facility said they still haven’t had their questions answered.

Nicholas John Acker, 36, of Trenton, was found dead Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the USPS Detroit Network Distribution Center in Allen Park.

Officials said Acker had been dead for 6-8 hours before they arrived, and his family said they’re still being left in the dark.

“That’s the problem: We don’t even know for sure,” his fiancée, Stephanie Jaszcz, said. “We’ve had a couple different stories with that, and then the examiner, with the autopsy is going to take 4-6 months. We’re living a nightmare.”

Jaszcz said she was waiting for three hours at the facility for someone to show up after Acker didn’t return home from his shift.

Now, she wants to know what happened to him.

“We want to know what happened and how long he was there,” Jaszcz said. “That’s what we want to know. We want to know how he even ended up there and why doesn’t anybody know where he was at?”

Jaszcz said all she knows is that Acker was in a machine, but nobody seems to know how he got there, when he got there, or how long he was there for.

She said Acker had mentioned concerns about the way the facility was run, and current employees have expressed similar feelings to Local 4. We reached out to USPS for comment about these allegations, but have not yet heard back.

She said Acker had worked at the facility for about a year as a mechanic......

Worker killed at Allen Park postal facility was engaged, spent 9 years in Air Force

Airforce Veteran was stuck in mail handling machine, officials say

[Motor City]

Lawmakers demanding answers after Allen Park postal worker found dead inside machine

Lawmakers are demanding answers after a worker was found dead in a machine at a postal facility in Allen Park on Saturday.

Nicholas John Acker, 36, of Trenton, was found stuck in a machine Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, and had been dead for hours before firefighters arrived, according to authorities......

....Representatives Debbie Dingell and Rashida Tlaib announced on Nov. 13 that they sent a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner demanding answers regarding Acker’s death.

Dear Postmaster General Steiner:

[Motor City]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw7vRvoe8M4

Live w/ striking Starbucks baristas!

[ap215]

Delayed September Jobs Report Expected to Show Continued Weak Growth

Economists predict that the September jobs report, scheduled to be released Thursday, will show a continued soft job market, with only a slight uptick in hiring after a weak reading in August.

Nonfarm payrolls are predicted to have expanded by 50,000 in September, up from 22,000 in August, according to consensus estimates from FactSet. By contrast, the US economy was adding roughly 100,000 jobs per month at the start of the year.

https://www.morningstar.com/economy/del ... eak-growth

[ap215]

Teamsters-Backed Delivery Protection Act Secures Supermajority in New York City Council

Union Calls for Hearing on Bill to Hold Amazon Accountable for Worker Abuse

(NEW YORK) – The Teamsters and their allies have reached a major milestone for working people as the Delivery Protection Act secured a bipartisan, veto-proof supermajority of sponsors in the New York City Council. This legislation would hold Amazon accountable for its exploitative labor practices and make the e-commerce giant responsible for the safety of its drivers and city streets.

“Amazon’s dangerous business model is built on corporate greed. The best way to stop Amazon from undercutting employers who actually follow the law and respect workers is to pass the Delivery Protection Act.,” said Thomas Gesualdi, President of Teamsters Joint Council 16. “That’s why Teamsters are demanding city council leadership schedule a hearing on this bill immediately.”

https://teamster.org/2025/11/teamsters- ... y-council/

[ap215]

Delayed September report shows U.S. added 119,000 jobs, more than expected; unemployment rate at 4.4%

The U.S. economy added substantially more jobs than expected in September, according to a long-awaited report Thursday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 119,000 in the month, up from the 4,000 jobs lost in August following a downward revision. The Dow Jones consensus estimate for September was 50,000. The July total also was revised down to 72,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the prior release.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/20/jobs-re ... -2025.html

[ZoWie]

Upward revision? Downward revision?

Sounds to me like memos are flying all over DC regarding the need for better numbers in the press. I don't believe any of it. There's a whole book on how to lie with statistics.

[Motor City]

Federal Reserve releases new guidance for bank oversight in move praised by industry

Under the Fed’s new rules, banks can only be tested for material risks to their businesses or balance sheets, such as bad loans or unsound business practices. Banks will also able to self-certify on certain risk and supervision issues. These changes have been among the top priority for the banking industry since President Trump was elected into office......

....Under the new framework, the Fed will also defer to other major bank regulators, including the OCC and state-level regulators, when it comes to who should supervise and examine these institutions.

Bowman has also moved to reduce the Fed's regulatory staffing by about 30%, mostly through attrition, a step Barr also criticized Tuesday.

The cuts “will impair supervisors’ ability to act with the speed, force, and agility appropriate to the risks facing individual banks and the financial system,” Barr said. “Such a drastically reduced staff will slow response time for the public and the banks themselves, limit supervisory findings and enforcement actions, and erode supervisors’ ability to be forward-looking.”

[ZoWie]

We have to stop this total capitulation to greedy corporations with only their bottom line as motivation for their actions. If we don't, this will become a dead planet. It's that stark. Fix it or lose it.

[Motor City]

We have to stop this total capitulation to greedy corporations with only their bottom line as motivation for their actions. If we don't, this will become a dead planet. It's that stark. Fix it or lose it.

Yea its really lopsided and delusional system that is robbing the country and the world of its peace and prosperity.


This is pretty good article

The Reckoning We Keep Pretending Won’t Come

This country isn’t wandering toward trouble. It’s being marched into it by a ruthless intoxication, people who traded stewardship for appetite and decided the rest of us were too distracted or too tired to stop them.

We’re running on the fading glow of an idea once strong enough to .....

[ap215]

US manufacturing slows in November as high prices curb demand

WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. factory activity slowed to a four-month low in November as higher prices because of tariffs on imports restrained demand, leading to a piling up of unsold goods that could hinder growth in the overall economy.

Relief for manufacturers is unlikely to come soon as the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers separately showed on Friday a sharp drop in buying conditions for long-lasting manufactured goods. The University of Michigan noted that "consumers remain frustrated about the persistence of high prices and weakening incomes."

https://www.reuters.com/business/us-fac ... 025-11-21/

[Motor City]

Officer acquitted in death of Ta'Kiya Young, a pregnant Black mother accused of shoplifting

....“It's also heartbreaking because what it does is it normalizes the behavior like that Connor Grubb exhibited that day, and that is not normal,” Walton said. “If you look at these recent police killings in Columbus, you have officers who have an irrational fear with no weapons involved or folks doing very minimal behavior that they escalate into a murder.”.....



......Grubb and Moynihan had approached Young’s parked car about a report that she was suspected of stealing alcohol from a Kroger store in the Columbus suburb. She partially lowered her window and protested as both officers cursed at her and yelled at her to get out. Bodycam video showed Grubb had his left hand on the car's hood while pointing his gun at her with his right. Young could be heard asking them, “Are you going to shoot me?”

Then, she put on a turn signal and her car rolled slowly forward toward Grubb, who fired a single bullet into her chest, the recording showed.......

[ap215]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalists planning to return to work, ending 3-year strike

Striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalists are set to return to work Monday morning, ending what had become the country's longest active strike.

Members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh voted last week to end the walkout after, they say, they won all their 2022 strike demands through the courts. The strike had lasted three years.

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news ... rike-ends/