It’s Worker Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.
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Did you watch the debate last night? (Watching clips on social media counts!) Tell me your thoughts, and I’ll run them in Friday’s newsletter.
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Remember that famous line? The one that a Bill Clinton campaign strategist used to get him elected? “It’s the economy, stupid.“
“The economy,” of course, can mean many things. It can mean stock prices on Wall Street. It can mean Federal Reserve interest rates. It can mean the unemployment rate, or how many businesses are opening up.
It can also means things that actually matter to the vast majority of workers: gas prices, the cost of housing or a car payment, and grocery prices. And maybe it’s just me, but it seems like focusing on these things is going to matter to a lot more people.
While it’s clear the two major party nominees for president want to alleviate the higher prices we’re all seeing, they have very different ways of doing that.
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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris holds a bag of Doritos chips at Sheetz convenience store during a campaign stop, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024, in Coralpolis, Pa. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
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Vice President Kamala Harris, for example, is going after corporate price gouging that has been going on since the start of the COVID pandemic, as part of a slate of policy proposals she rolled out recently.
Some economists say corporate price gouging is totally not a thing, except that argument doesn’t really work because:
Price gouging isn’t the only thing working against us. Monopolization and collusion in some industries are also keeping prices high (here’s oil, here’s eggs, here’s rental prices).
Harris’s proposal targets corporate conduct, and would not set prices. Such a proposal would be a good start to reining in bad actors in our economy—and, if it works and she’s got a friendly Congress, it could lead to much more worker-friendly proposals. (I remain hopeful!)
Former President Donald Trump, on the other hand, thinks such a proposal amounts to “socialist price controls.” His vague proposal to help? That he’ll make prices “come down fast” (which economists say would be “extremely dangerous,” actually).
Trump also hopes you don’t think too hard about his tariff plan, because he clearly has not.
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Working class news you can use:
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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept.10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Trump repeats the same debunked lie: “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born,” one of the moderators of last night’s debate had to tell Trump after he said this last night.
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UNI faculty want fair pay: The last time University of Northern Iowa professor and instructor salaries kept up with similarly-sized colleges was 2016, according to United Faculty. Ahead of bargaining on a new contract (which expires next July), workers want that to change.
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Minimum wage raised, jobs lost? That’s been the prevailing “wisdom” from policymakers for decades. A new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research that analyzed studies going back to 1992 says that, actually, that isn’t true at all.
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Comment on the proposed OSHA heat standard: Extreme heat on the job kills around 2,000 workers per year. A new federal rule would require both outdoor and indoor employers to create a plan to control heat hazards; if you have thoughts on that, they’re taking comments now through Dec. 30.
- Homeless shelter in Sioux City closing before winter: The Warming Shelter relies on donations to keep running. But that money has dried up, and they plan to close their doors Oct. 1 as a result, leaving desperate folks with one less option.
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A new executive order to help government workers: President Joe Biden last week signed an executive order that would encourage labor standards for federal agencies, like voluntary union recognition and neutrality, prevailing wage standards, and more.
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Union education: The University of Iowa Labor Center is hosting “Safety and Health in the Workplace: Focus on Fatigue” from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at BioVentures Center in Coralville. Participants must register by Friday. Learn more here.
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Reddit is going nuts over an Iowa job posting requiring a bachelor’s degree and managerial experience for $15-$16 per hour. “That’s how much BBop’s pays,” the top commenter said.
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If not a union, what will companies accept? Maybe: employee ownership?
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Voting on a union: The National Labor Relations Board website was down as I was writing this. Hopefully it’ll be back up by next week.
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Iowa layoffs coming up in the next month:
– Wells Fargo in West Des Moines is laying off 24 workers by today, 12 workers by Sept. 23, three workers by Oct. 6, and 16 workers by Oct. 20.
– John Deere Waterloo Works is laying off 191 workers at its East Donald Street site, 89 workers at its Commercial Street site, and 65 workers at its West Ridgeway Avenue site, all by Sept. 20.
– Tyson Foods in Perry is still closing up shop: The remaining five workers will be laid off by Sept. 28.
– Wilson Trailer Company in Sioux City is laying off 58 workers by Sept. 28.
– Morning Sun Care Center in Morning Sun is closing and laying off 68 workers by Oct. 2. Read more here.
– Knutson Construction Services Midwest in Iowa City is closing and laying off 40 workers by Oct. 3. Read more here.
– Optimae LifeServices in Bloomfield is closing and laying off 30 workers by Oct. 3.
– Tata Consultancy Services in Hiawatha is closing and laying off 23 workers by Oct. 3. Read more here.
– Hampton Hydraulics in Hampton is closing and laying off 17 workers by Oct. 6. Read more here.
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