Protests in airports have been occurring all across America as pilots are fighting for better working conditions with quality of life issues taking center stage of their requests.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
US truck drivers are currently pushing for federal action to be taken to improve the conditions in which they’re working. Drivers are asking for higher ups to address their deteriorating working conditions, decreasing pay, and rampant fraud.
Caleb Fernandez is a part of the movement, and has been a long-distance truck driver since 2017. He stated to the media that he will often spend hours loading and/or unloading his truck’s cargo without getting paid for the full time.
“I think that I’ve got my schedule down and then just one customer can completely mess it up. Even if there’s an appointment, they just don’t show much that they care about wasting my time.”
“My whole week gets wrecked because of one customer that just didn’t care about the time. It’s a chaotic life,” he said.
May 1st of this year, 75 members of the Truckers Movement for Justice held a protest outside of the US Department of Transportation offices in Washington DC, demanding action be taken on things like wage theft, lack of overtime pay, and unpaid wait times for delivering cargo or taking on loads.
The group met with senior officials from the Department in 2021 as a part of President Joe Biden’s trucking action plan, and set initiatives that were meant to increase the supply of truck drivers. The group has claimed that they have yet to see any improvement on the three core demands made during the meeting.
“We’ve lost our patience. This has been going for years and has only gotten worse with the lack of federal action. We don’t need taskforces and studies,” said Fernandez, who is also the deputy secretary for Truckers Movement for Justice.
When we look at the stats and consider the impact of inflation on salary, truck drivers in the US in 1980 made about $110,000 annually, and today they make, on average, about $48,000. There are currently more than 2 million Americans working as truck drivers today.
Ray Randall also spoke on the hours he’s worked unpaid, and other working conditions that he was not compensated for in his 20 years working as a truck driver.
“Drivers should be paid detention time. We believe all drivers should be paid for all hours worked, because once you come on duty, you’re working. If you come to a shipper and have to wait, I’m working. Also, after 40 hours, companies pay employees overtime but drivers don’t get any overtime and we can put in 70-plus hours a week. We can be on duty 12 hours a day and we’re not getting paid for those 12 hours,” he explained.
William McKelvie, a truck driver for over 25 years, explained that “in addition to unpaid detention time, broker fraud and a lack of overtime pay, layover rates for overnight hauls have decreased in years, down from $500-$1,000 to $250 or less.”
“Drivers have a right to review freight bills, which provide the transaction information regarding loads to ensure all parties that no one is being ripped off. Many brokers will blackball or push drivers out for requesting to see freight bills, to avoid any pushback or criticism of how the costs are dispersed from shippers to brokers and what portion is paid out to drivers,” said McKelvie.
“This is something that corporations and others have used their strong arms and intimidation tactics to overrule and overpower the working men and women in the industry,” he said.
“The more of our time that they waste, the more it hurts us financially, economically, and the ability to go and get our proper rest and relax for the next load,” McKelvie said.
“From back in the day we went from working 50 hours a week to 60 hours a week, to now we are at 70 hours a week, and with the extended work, that doesn’t give us any time for any real-life quality,” he said.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Effective leadership is crucial in the ever-changing business world, and leadership consulting provides valuable guidance in developing the skills and mindset for success. Eileen Mendel, an experienced consultant and CEO of The Balanced Millionaire, empowers executives to build values-driven companies. Having forged her own way as an entrepreneur, her personal journey informs her work.
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.
On Wednesday morning, Sweetgreen stocks dropped by 10% after Chipotle Mexican Grill sued the company for trademark infringement over its new “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl.” The lawsuit comes less than a week after the menu item was announced.
Sweetgreen is well-known for providing healthy food at scale, and the company has recently been attempting to diversify beyond its signature salads. The bowl will only be available for a limited time.
In its complaint, Chipotle claims to have sent Sweetgreen a cease and desist notice asking the company to drop “Chipotle” from the item’s name. Sweetgreen did not respond.
Chipotle alleges that it also suggested Sweetgreen alter the name to something that uses “chipotle in lower-case, in a textual sentence, to accurately describe ingredients of its menu item,” like a “chicken bowl with chipotle.”
In a statement during the product’s release, Sweetgreen’s co-founder and chief concept officer Nicolas Jammet explained that diner suggestions prompted the addition to the menu.
“Our customers’ feedback plays a major role in the new menu items we introduce, and the Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl is our answer to heartier meal options that can be enjoyed any time of the day. Inspired by bold chipotle spices, this protein-heavy option balances a brand-new flavor profile for Sweetgreen with whole grains and better-for-you ingredients that our customers love.”
The lawsuit further claims that the new product’s advertisements feature the word “Chipotle” in a font very similar to the one used in Chipotle’s logo and occasionally uses a shade of red that resembles Chipotle’s trademarked Adobo Red. Chipotle also alleges that the two chains are competitors in the fast-casual dining industry.
Along with asking for an injunction against Sweetgreen using “Chipotle” in the bowl’s name, Chipotle is also asking the courts for the profits made by Sweetgreen off the menu items.
In a statement to CNBC, Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer, said that the lawsuit is a matter of protecting the company’s brand. The lawsuit states the item is “very similar and directly competitive.”
“We don’t typically comment on litigation, but we will say generally that we’re committed to protecting our valuable trademarks and intellectual property. Consistent with that, we will take appropriate actions whenever necessary to protect our rights and our brand.”
Shares of Sweetgreen have dropped 24% in 2023, reducing the company’s market value to $726 million and causing investors to worry about the company’s future.
However, despite general economic uncertainty, Chipotle has continued to enjoy robust business. During the same period, the fast food behemoth saw its stock value increase by 22% to $47 billion.
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.
April 1st marked the official deadline for verified Twitter users to pay for Twitter Blue in order to keep their blue check mark verification with their account.
Many celebrities and news organizations have vowed to not pay for Twitter Blue to maintain their verification. While many legacy verification accounts still have their check marks, the system has begun removing them from accounts without a subscription to the paid service.
LeBron James, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The White House are just a handful of verified accounts that have made public statements about their refusal to pay for the service; The New York Times has since lost its checkmark.
No one working for Twitter had planned for a mass deletion of verifications, so removing the legacy verifications may take a while, as employees need to remove each one manually.
In Twitter’s new “For You” section, the platform has updated the way it ranks content within the section. Developers have begun identifying certain accounts as Democrat or Republican as a means of teaching whether algorithm changes were affecting one group disproportionately over another.
Musk’s own Twitter account has its own special type of coding that many users have reported making it so his tweets are more widely viewed by users on the platform.
Apart from these changes, many users have also noticed that Twitter is making content with certain words harder to see, such as “trans” or “transgender,” with users reporting that when tweets containing those words are sent to a user via direct message, the message won’t preview the tweet in the new messages section.
This type of “shadow banning” for certain words are causing users to speak out against the changes, stating they’ve been put in place to limit just how much free speech users are actually allowed to have on the platform.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
TikTok told the media this week that US federal officers are demanding that the Chinese Owners of the app sell their stake in the social media app, or they risk facing a US ban of the app due to security concerns.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Elon Musk has been quietly purchasing properties in a small Texas neighborhood within the past few years with the ultimate goal of building his own village where his employees can live and work from.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Neal Mohan was recently announced to become the new CEO of YouTube, and has stated that the implementation of NFTs into the platform could enable “creators to build deeper relationships with their fans.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Modern advances in communication have resulted in unprecedented global connectivity. With the advent of the internet, the entire world has become a marketplace for the free flow of information and technology. The difficulty of such a feat is easy to overlook. Even as a young man, Kiyoshi Hamada was determined to develop and implement novel approaches to mass manufacturing and business.
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.
While inflation has begun to ease throughout the nation, car insurance prices are continuing to rise, as premiums are projected to go up throughout the year.
According to Bankrate’s annual True Cost of Auto Insurance Report, released this Monday, the average cost of full coverage auto insurance is about $2,014 a year in America.
Cat Deventer, Bankrate’s insurance analyst, told CNN that “car insurance rates are reactionary,” and currently feeling the lasting impact of high inflation rates from throughout the last two years; which also led to labor and auto part shortages.
These shortages, as a result, caused the cost of insurance claims on car repairs to increase, along with other related auto costs.
“If inflation keeps cooling we could see insurers file for rate decreases in future years.”
If you get into an accident, receive a speeding ticket, have a teenager as a driver under your policy, and credit score decreases are all factors that could lead to one having to pay an increased premium.
Where you live can also have a major impact on how much you pay for auto insurance. According to Deventer: “Each geographic area has different risks and costs of living, so the cost for car insurance varies across the nation.”
Bankrate reported that Orlando, Florida saw the biggest rise in premium costs throughout 2023 so far, with an increase of 23% to average a $3,078 annual cost.
Phoenix, Arizona experienced the second highest rise in cost with a 17% increase to $2,164. Philadelphia and New York City both experienced the biggest decrease in rates. Philadelphia costs decreased around 22% to a $1,872 average, while NYC had a 14% decrease to a $2,649 average.
“While you can’t control the effects of inflation or location on your premium, there are other things you can do to keep your costs to a minimum,” Deventer explained.
She recommended looking for as many discounts as your insurer offers and taking advantage of them. For instance, taking a defensive driving course can decrease one’s premiums in many areas.
“Or if the teenager on your policy goes away to boarding school or college and can’t drive your car, your insurer may offer a “student away” discount. And if they aren’t away, but attend school full-time and get good grades through age 24, that may save you a few bucks, too,” Deventer said.
“Every company uses a different algorithm to determine rates,” Deventor continued, so take the time to shop around for different providers in your area to receive the best possible coverage at the lowest price.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.