Labor/Economics

[Motor City]

The other side of the bridge issue in Detroit, The current privately owned bridge has long been the only international bridge crossing in Detroit.

Trump’s threat to block Gordie Howe bridge is pure oligarchy

President Donald Trump’s threat to block the opening of the publicly owned Gordie Howe International Bridge stands to benefit one politically connected billionaire family.

The Morouns, who own the rival Ambassador Bridge, have spent years and millions of dollars lobbying, funding campaigns, and backing a ballot measure to stop the publicly financed crossing from ever opening.

The new bridge, financed by Canada and jointly owned by Canada and Michigan, was set to open later this year.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN8WxmWFcBI

Transport Canada ordered Matty Moroun to make the Ambassador Bridge safer.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAnNp-yU_HU


Canadian inspectors to examine Ambassador Bridge after evidence of crumbling concrete

Its been quite the experience for Detroit and Canada fighting with the private owners over the years


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya6ANce9O2k

Michigan Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar says U.S. President Donald Trump is 'misinformed' about the 'economically very vital' Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ont. He said the bridge will open 'with or without Trump.'

It went over his head a bit when he told him the New York Times reported that Maroun met with Howard Lutnik the commerce secretary in the hours before trump made the bridge comment.

[ZoWie]

There's also a TV reality show that documents the heroic efforts made to keep traffic moving between Ontario and the US. They show that it gets pretty intense, especially in wind storms. This is not the kind of climate where one ignores bridge maintenance, unless they want another scene like the one in Baltimore.

[ap215]

Nurses, NYC health system reach tentative deal to end city's largest nursing strike

New York City's largest nursing strike in decades is poised to end after more than 4,000 nurses seeking better staffing and job security at NewYork-Presbyterian reached a tentative contract agreement with management early Friday.

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) said union negotiators and administrators at the last of three major hospital systems hit by the more than monthlong walkout approved a tentative deal but did not disclose details.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/ ... ngNewsVerp

[ap215]

Core wholesale prices rose 0.8% in January, much more than expected

Wholesale prices rose at a faster-than-expected pace in January, countering hopes that inflation was easing, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The core producer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.8%, more than the 0.6% gain in December and well ahead of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 0.3%.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/27/ppi-january-2026-.html

[ZoWie]

Yes, and 80% on some poll don't want a war in Iran. Trump promised inflation relief and a century of greatness, and instead installed a neo-feudal policy with poverty, goon squads, and perpetual war.

May you live in interesting times.

[ap215]

Labor secretary's top aides stepping down amid internal investigation

Two top aides to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer are resigning in the face of an internal watchdog’s investigation of alleged misconduct at the agency, according to three agency officials with knowledge of the matter.

DOL chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright are stepping down and are in the process of submitting letters of resignation. A DOL spokesperson confirmed their departures.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/0 ... e-00808561

[ap215]

Trump officially nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed chair to replace Jerome Powell

President Donald Trump on Wednesday officially nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Warsh, if confirmed by the Senate, would succeed Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, for a four-year term.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 32900.html

[ap215]

U.S. payrolls unexpectedly fell by 92,000 in February; unemployment rate rises to 4.4%

The U.S. economy lost jobs in February, a month marred by severe winter weather and a strike at a major health care provider, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000 for the month, compared to the estimate for 50,000 and below the downwardly revised January total of 126,000. February marked the third time in the past five months that payrolls declined, following a sharp revision showing a drop of 17,000 in December.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/06/februar ... eport.html

[ZoWie]

I suppose the major health care provider is Kaiser. They're still out.

I posted somewhere else, for the three or so people that ever saw it, that AI has ended every brainy college student's dream of majoring in computer science and getting offers even before graduation. The OFFICIAL CERTIFIED ACCEPTED high estimate has 75% of grunt programmers being laid off. The low estimate is 50%. That's a lot of people.

The punditocracy talks around drumpf's war, but the business experts don't. There is almost total agreement that rising oil prices will cause what one guy in an expensive suit called "headline inflation." People supposedly voted for trump because of inflation. Careful what you wish for. Your hero got dragged into a forever war in the middle east because he was too stupid to see through Netanyahu's never getting over WWII.

ICE is still attacking a primary source of cheap labor. Why do you think we winked at the "illegal" immigration issue for so many decades? They depressed wages. It's not a good way to keep costs down, but it's the way we had, and now it's gone. You think native Americans with college degrees stand around at Home Depot going, "Trabajo? Trabajo?" Think again. This will lead to labor shortages and more inflation. Careful what you wish for.

We never did get hip to climate change. Now every dire prediction is actually happening. The weather has gone bonkers worldwide. Ocean temperatures are changing dramatically. Right on schedule. Oops. Once again, guaranteed to cause shortages, crop failures, mass casualties, expensive disasters, and yes, inflation.

In fact, it's a very real fact that the only commodity not facing shortages is stupidity.

[ap215]

US weekly jobless claims point to stable labor market; Iran war poses a risk

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting labor market conditions remained stable even after the economy shed jobs in February, but the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran poses a downside risk.

For now, the low level of layoffs evident in the report from the Labor Department on Thursday should give the Federal Reserve room to keep interest rates unchanged for some time as the conflict in the Middle East drives up oil prices and threatens to fan domestic inflation, economists said. The war has raised gasoline prices by at least 20% since it started.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets ... ocialshare

[ZoWie]

Say, how's that price of eggs doing?

[ap215]

Fourth-quarter GDP revised down to just 0.7% growth; January core inflation was 3.1%

Economic growth was much slower than expected in the final three months of 2025 while core inflation rose to start 2026, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced across the sprawling U.S. economy, rose at a seasonally and inflation-adjusted annual rate of just 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/13/fourth- ... rcent.html

[ap215]

Dublin Teachers, District Reach Tentative Deal Ending Four-Day East Bay Strike

Dublin’s school district and teachers reached a tentative agreement late Thursday, ending the latest in a wave of school strikes across the Bay Area after four days.

More than 700 teachers across the East Bay district took to picket lines Monday, demanding smaller class sizes and increased compensation. The union said the new three-year deal will help retain educators and improve students’ classroom experiences.

https://www.kqed.org/news/12076394/dubl ... bay-strike

[ap215]

Wholesale prices rose 0.7% in February, much more than expected and up 3.4% annually

Wholesale prices rose sharply in February, providing another sign that inflation continues to percolate even aside from rising energy prices.

The producer price index, a measure of pipeline costs that producers receive for their products, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% on the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core PPI increased 0.5%.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/ppi-inf ... -2026.html

[ZoWie]

Huerta breaks Chavez sex scandal before NYT can run with it.

MSN:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/do ... r-AA1YUZ8C

Dolores Huerta issued a statement alleging past sexual abuse by labor leader César Chávez, following a New York Times investigation.

Huerta said she kept her experiences secret for decades to protect the farmworker movement she helped build.

The United Farm Workers and César Chávez Foundation say they will abstain from celebrations honoring Chávez amid the allegations.

[ZoWie]

New York Times is running with the story they were instrumental in breaking. Everything's paywalled and generally hard to access so basically I'll just have to note that observations of Cesar Chavez are being cancelled everywhere you look.

I wonder what aspect of power makes a certain sort of males feel that they have to use large numbers of other people as conquests.

[ap215]

NYU Faculty Union Reaches Agreement to End Strike

New York University reached a tentative agreement with the union representing approximately 950 non-tenure track faculty on raises, better job security and more, the union and the university announced Wednesday morning, putting an end to a strike that began on Monday as students returned to campus from spring break.

Striking faculty returned to work Wednesday having won “the highest minimum salaries of any unionized full-time, non-tenure track faculty in the country,” Brendan Hogan, a philosophy professor and spokesperson for Contract Faculty United-UAW, said in a statement.

https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/03/25/nyu- ... nd-strike/

[ap215]

OECD: Iran war erases global growth upgrade, fans inflation

PARIS, March 26 (Reuters) - The escalating conflict in the Middle East has knocked the global economy off a stronger growth path, the OECD warned on Thursday, as a near-halt in energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz threatens to push inflation sharply higher.

The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the global economy had been on course for stronger-than-expected growth before the war in Iran erupted, but that prospect has now all but disappeared.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets ... ocialshare

[ap215]

BMDA union members ratify new contract with BIW, ending strike

BATH, Maine — General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW), the Maine shipbuilder and the Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association (BMDA) have approved a new contract, after union members voted to ratify the agreement Saturday morning at Brunswick High School, according to a statement from the company.

"Members of BMDA on Saturday ratified the Tentative Agreement for the new four-year contract, which goes into effect immediately. We look forward to working together once again to deliver the Navy’s ships on time to protect our nation and our families. Training and implementation of the new elements of the contract begin this week," said a BIW spokesperson.

https://www.wmtw.com/article/bmda-union ... e/70873424

[ap215]

Private sector hiring totaled 62,000 in March, better than expected, ADP says

Private sector employment growth was a bit better than expected in March, but health care and construction continued to provide nearly all the momentum, payrolls processing company ADP reported Wednesday.

Job growth totaled 62,000 for the month, down just 4,000 from February’s upwardly revised level but above the Dow Jones consensus for 39,000. ADP’s report does not include government employees.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/01/private ... -says.html

[ap215]

Over 17,000 Teamsters Avert Nationwide Strike at First Student, Reach Tentative Agreement

(WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters First Student National Negotiating Committee (TFSNNC) has reached a strong tentative agreement with First Student, averting a nationwide strike that could have included thousands of school bus workers across 96 locals. The deal comes after members voted by an 88 percent margin to authorize a strike, sending a clear message to the company that they were prepared to take action to win a fair contract.

“First Student Teamsters were unified and prepared to take on this company nationwide. Our solidarity forced real movement at the bargaining table, and we delivered a contract in the 11th hour that honors the critical work our members do every day,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Teamsters set the standard for the entire school bus industry, and this agreement raises the bar for school bus transportation workers everywhere.”

https://teamster.org/2026/03/over-17000 ... agreement/

[ap215]

Retail sales rise 0.6% in February, but impact of Iran war threatens to derail spending

NEW YORK -- Shoppers increased their spending in February, particularly on cars and clothing, after pulling back at the start of the year due to severe winter storms.

Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.6% in February, from a revised 0.1% decline in January, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/retail ... -131611815

[ZoWie]

Stock market is down at the moment, but we'll see where it closes.

[Number6]

The Dow is down just over a 100 points. I thought it would be more considering it shot up over. 1,000 points when Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would be opened and now, last night his rambling speech said indicated he couldn’t reopen it. I guess that’s why I don’t have private jets, yachts, and mansions over the world.

[ZoWie]

You don't have private jets, yachts, and mansions all over the world because you weren't born to wealth and couldn't profit from the emergence of an economic system where nothing mattered except how much money you could throw around to the right people at the right times. You also probably don't have the kind of morbidly self-centered personality that profits in this situation, having chosen to bravely and honorably do something important for your country rather than buy it up and destroy it.