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New York Governor Sending National Guard Into Subways To Combat Crime 

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New York governor Kathy Hochul has announced that she will be sending the national guard into New York City’s subway system in order to combat surges of crime. The move has been met with disagreement from some city residents and police reform activists. 

Hochul stated on Wednesday that 750 national guard patrolmen as well as 250 state police and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officers will also be deployed to patrol the stations, as well as conducting bag checks. 

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“These brazen heinous attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated,” she stated according to the New York TImes. 

New York City residents and police reform activists have spoken out against the new measure from the NY Governor. 

The founder of the Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP), Robert Gangi, spoke to the Guardian and stated that an increased police presence in the NYC subways would work to further criminalize Black and brown commuters. 

“This is overkill. This is a waste of resources,” he stated. 

The Guardian also reported some residents social media posts who were against Hochul’s motion for the national guard to be in the subways. 

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One user posted a photo of his commute and stated: “Seriously I take the subway every day with my kid and it’s fine and safe, Does this look like we need bag checkers or national guard?”

“Seems a bit insane to deploy the national guard to check folks’ bags on the subway. Just random bag checks for public transit customers minding their own business?” wrote another user on X.

The announcement was made citing high-profile crimes in recent weeks, such as a 64-year-old man being pushed onto the tracks at Penn Station, and an MTA employee being cut while working an early morning shift. 

The New York Times reported, however, that the data regarding whether or not subway crime is increasing is unclear. The same can be said when it comes to the data showing that an increased police presence in subway systems is actually needed. 

There’s already a record number of New York City Police officers patrolling the subway systems. 

According to reports from Gothamist, there are approximately 3,500 NYPD officers overseeing the subways, and New York City has spent a record-breaking $155 million in overtime pay for subway patrol officers in 2023.

wall

Great Wall Of China Damaged By Workers Using Excavator 

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Two individuals have been arrested in northern China after they allegedly damaged a section of the Great Wall using an excavator to create a huge gap in the ancient structure, local police said in an online statement. 

A 38-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman, who were construction workers, were supposedly trying to create a shortcut in order to save time going around the world. The police stated that the structure was “severely damaged.”

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“It had been one of the existing complete border walls and beacon towers with important protection and research value,” the county police department said.

China’s northwest Youyu County police responded to reports on August 24th of a gap that had been dug into the structure known as the 32nd Great Wall, a section that’s been standing since the Ming Dynasty. 

“Excavators were used to excavate the original gap of the ancient Great Wall into a large gap, so that the excavator could pass through the gap, which caused irreversible damage to the integrity of the Ming Great Wall and the safety of cultural relics,” the police statement said. 

The authorities detained the two suspects pending further investigation. The oldest portions of the Great Wall were created more than 2,000 years ago.

The structure is also listed as an UNESCO World Heritage site and is known as one of the greatest creations of ancient human engineering. 

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About 30% of China’s Great Wall has disappeared in recent years due to climate challenges and “reckless human activities,” including stealing bricks to build houses. This damage has eroded the already old structure, causing long term damage. 

The investigation regarding the two construction workers is currently underway, ideally, this news will deter future individuals and groups from messing with the Great Wall and maintain its beauty that makes it such a historical landmark in our world’s story. 

To avoid damage to the Great Wall, in recent years authorities have implemented multiple measures to deter individuals from damaging the structure. 

For example, in April 2020 the Badaling Great Wall tourism site near the capital city of Beijing implemented new regulations that allows them to blacklist tourists and give them administrative penalties depending on their specific infraction. 

In May 2021, two foreign tourists were banned from the Great Wall after ignoring a “no crossing sign” on an undeveloped section of the monument and climbing onto the restricted area, according to reports. In August, another tourist was detained and fined for using a hairpin to carve on the wall.

girl

Visual Effects Artists Speak Out Against Marvel Mistreatment 

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Media outlets have reported first-hand accounts of individuals who have worked for Marvel’s visual effects department, stating that the company constantly had high demands and would overwork employees for little money to create the movie magic we’re all used to when we turn on a Marvel film. 

Dhruv Govil, a visual effects artist who worked on a handful of Marvel films, tweeted: “Working on Marvel shows is what pushed me to leave the VFX industry. They’re a horrible client, and I’ve seen way too many colleagues break down after being overworked while Marvel tightens the purse strings.”  

“The issue is Marvel is too big, and can demand whatever they want. It’s a toxic relationship.” 

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An anonymous visual effects artist told New York Magazine’s Vulture site:  “When I worked on one movie, it was almost six months of overtime every day. I was working seven days a week, averaging 64 hours a week on a good week. Marvel genuinely works its workers really hard. I’ve had co-workers sit next to me, break down and start crying. I’ve had people having anxiety attacks on the phone.”

Joe Pavlo, an Emmy award-winning visual effects artist who worked on Guardians Of The Galaxy stated that working for the company was a “crazy mess.” 

“The visual effects industry is filled with terrific people with lots of goodwill who really care but, at the end of the day, there’s nothing in place when their backs are up against the wall and Disney is making crazy demands,” Pavlo told The Guardian. 

“All the goodwill in the world just evaporates when everything gets changed and they decide they’re replacing that character with a different actor or changing the entire environment – they’re now in a pizza restaurant instead of a cornfield. It can be that extreme at the very last minute,” Pavlo continued. 

“It can be characterized as bullying but filtered through multiple layers of management and supervisor and hierarchy. It’s not like the executive from Disney is grabbing someone and swearing at them or something like that. It’s more like an atmosphere where everybody feels like this is the most desperately important thing and, if we don’t do it, we’re all f*cked.”

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“The average artist doesn’t even have any contact with the clients. It’s really just the people at the producer and the supervisor level and then they pass it on to their crew. So you could say, oh, the supervisor’s a real bully, but actually it’s a knock-on effect and then the people who are the team leaders, once they can’t handle it, end up being bullies,” Pavlo exclaimed. 

“Bullying is a huge problem in our industry because everybody’s so desperate sometimes. It seems like there’s such a high level of stress and pressure on these jobs to complete on time, to change everything at the drop of a hat.”

Pavlo is also the chair of the animation and visual effects branch for Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theater Union (BECTU). 

“Disney-Marvel is very famous for wanting multiple versions running parallel so that they can decide what they want. A strong union would be able to reel that in a bit.

“If you imagine you get the art department to design a set, you wouldn’t get them to tear down the set and rebuild a completely different set 35 times. Because it’s digital, people don’t see it as the same thing but it is: it involves work and creativity and long hours. It doesn’t create itself,” Pavlo explained, adding that the recent union organizing efforts from Amazon and Starbucks workers have offered a “possible blueprint” for how VFX artists can follow suit. 

“Disney is going to have to utilize their visual effects teams more and they need to be compensated for their contribution and working conditions. Ultimately they’re going to get to that point but it takes one person like that article from Vulture to say, hey, it’s time for somebody to step in and protect this side of it, as have all of the other departments been protected as well.”

Americans Are Resigning From Their Jobs At Record Rates

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It’s been recorded that around 4.4 million American workers have handed in their resignation during the month of September alone. Certain states are experiencing major spikes in job resignations, so much so that it’s being referred to as “The Great Resignation.” 

The increase in resignation is due to a multitude of pandemic and economic factors. Many parents are dealing with the dual demands of childcare and working full time, so many of them are opting to resign and apply for unemployment so they have enough time in the day to take care of themselves and their families. 

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Some employees are able to find better paying jobs as well, as many companies are reacting to this spike in unemployment by offering raised wages and attractive benefit packages. 

Beyond the pandemic, some states are experiencing a shortage in labor due to aging employees, low workforce participation rates, and other long-term issues that have existed long before the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“A lot of states with elevated quits are states with higher-than-average COVID cases, but a lot of it is due to labor market tightness. Idaho has an extremely aging population — a lot of the tightness in Idaho is that it’s an older workforce. They also have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, so that means it’s a very good environment if you are a worker” looking for a new job,”  said Liz Wilke, chief economist at Gusto, which provides payroll and other services to small businesses. 

New Hampshire and Indiana are seeing an increase in resignation for similar reasons. Employees are leveraging their benefits and salaries to find more lucrative jobs. Typical hourly earnings increased by 4.9% in October due to these leveraging tactics as well. 

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The top 10 states with the highest resignation rates for the month of September are Hawaii (7.1%), Montana (4.8%), Nevada (4.5%), Alaska (4.3%), Colorado (4.3%), Indiana (4.3%), Idaho (4.1%), Oregon (3.9%), Louisiana (3.8%), and New Hampshire (3.8%).

According to Oxford Economics, for every job opening created in September there were only .74 unemployed people available to take the position, marking the lowest ratio on record. Economists are still confident, however, that America’s workforce will be able to rebuild itself in 2022. 

“One reason for optimism about the labor force re-entry of prime-age workers is that nearly all workers who left the labor force during the pandemic intend to re-enter in the next 12 months, suggesting that most prime-age exiters still view their exits as temporary,” Goldman Sachs analysts noted.

“Workers have ongoing concerns about workplace safety given the ongoing pandemic. It may take some time for some people to feel comfortable returning to work,” they also noted.

President Biden’s Vaccine Mandate For 100 Million Workers Officially Being Enforced

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Back in September President Biden announced that he would be working on creating multiple vaccine mandates to get more Americans vaccinated. On Thursday, the administration started the process by releasing mandates for over 100 million workers. 

The first rule has been issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and covers mandates for companies with 100 or more employees; it’s estimated this rule will apply to 84 million workers. Companies need to ensure their employees are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by January 4th, or they will need to provide a negative test in order to come into work every week. 

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OSHA’s rule also requires employers to pay their employees for the time it takes for them to get vaccinated, and recover from any potential side effects that arise. 

Employers also won’t be required to pay for weekly testing for their unvaccinated employees, or even provide the testing in the first place. This is in an attempt to get more employees to actually receive their vaccines as opposed to remaining at higher risk for exposure. 

Unvaccinated workers will also be required to wear face coverings at all times; this rule will be enforced starting December 6th. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are requiring around 17 million health care workers to be vaccinated by January 4th. However, healthcare workers won’t be given the option to decline being vaccinated to opt for weekly testing. 

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Some employers are worried that the deadlines OSHA provided won’t give some of them enough time to gather the information required to find out who’s already vaccinated and who’s not. However, the Biden Administration asserted their authority in issuing these mandates due to OSHA’s responsibility to provide safe and healthy working conditions for all employees. 

“A virus that has killed more than 745,000 Americans, with more than 70,000 new cases per day currently, is clearly a health hazard that poses a grave danger to workers,” said a senior administration official.

Companies will mainly be responsible for enforcing the OSHA rule, as there’s only a couple thousand state and federal OSHA inspectors nationwide. It’s expected that OSHA inspectors will more likely be responding to employee complaints regarding their employers or fellow workers who aren’t abiding by the mandates. 

Employers that violate the rule can face fines up to $13,000 per violation, and depending on how severe the violation is that fine could multiply by ten.

Nice Restaurant

US Restaurant Workers Demanding Livable Wages Amid Reopenings 

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America’s restaurant industry has opened up for business, however, a majority of staffers in these eateries are still coping with the hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic, its economic impact, and the responsibility of enforcing health and safety protocols on angry customers for small wages. 

Restaurants all throughout the country have been struggling to find enough workers who are willing to fill open positions for minimum payment. Many industry workers throughout the nation blame the labor shortages on poor pay, unsafe working conditions, disrespect from customers, and concerns over the pandemic in general. 

Iesha Franceis is an employee at a Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers chain in Durham, North Carolina, who recently spoke to the Guardian about why she believes restaurants throughout the nation are struggling.  

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“I currently make $11.40 an hour, employees are still struggling and employers are still not caring, and it’s their own fault these corporations are experiencing worker shortages. We are all still not making livable wages and these companies are still trying to penny pinch any way that they can.”

The leisure and hospitality industry currently has 1.7 million fewer jobs available when compared to before the pandemic. For the food industry, jobs declined by 42,000 in the month of August 2021, and overall has experienced a surge of workers quitting all throughout 2021. 

Francis herself led multiple walkouts at her restaurant over Covid-19 safety concerns and poor working conditions throughout the entire pandemic. This is a common form of protest that many industry workers have turned to in order to show their employers that they should be valued for being an essential worker during a global health crisis, and being paid like they’re working a summer job in high school is not going to cut it anymore. 

Franceis explained “many employees left through the pandemic while operating hours are still reduced, which has left me and my co-workers to deal with increased workloads and work extra hours to try to compensate for staffing shortages.

“Pay me what I’m worth. Because if I can sacrifice myself for your business to keep your wheels turning, then it’s time that you sacrifice yourself to keep my wheels turning. It’s off of our backs that their lives are so easy.”

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A spokesperson for Freddy’s said in an email: “Freddy’s has an uncompromising commitment to safety and expects each of our franchisees to provide a safe working environment for their employees, including following proper cleaning and sanitation protocols. Additionally, as an independent franchisee, the local owner in Durham is solely responsible for setting their employees’ hourly pay and salaries.”

Lily Nicholson is a server at a restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee who discussed the constant harassment and issues workers are facing from customers who refuse to abide by mask mandates and Covid-19 safety protocols. Leading to a much bigger discussion over why low-paid employees are having to deal with verbal abuse from customers when they’re the ones working during a pandemic to provide services. 

“It’s such a precarious scenario. We’ve been the worker who has been deputized into enforcing this rule at the door that you’re supposed to have a mask on, so at the door you already have an altercation,” said Nicholson.

Many fast food employees also had no paid sick leave throughout the entire pandemic, so if they did happen to catch Covid, they were losing money everyday they had to stay home, and in some cases, employees were fired for not showing up. 

Essential workers in every industry are growing tired of not being as valued as the nation has made it seem to be throughout the past two years. Individuals are literally putting their lives on the line to clock into work and make the bare minimum so they can continue to scrap by. Time will tell how much longer the food industry, and others, will be able to last without a proper source of labor. 

Travel Industry Is Bracing For A Slower Recovery Than Expected In 2021

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The tourism industry has been one of the most heavily impacted sectors of the US economy, and while 2021 was initially looking hopeful in terms of recovery, experts aren’t as convinced now. 

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Walmart Raises Wages For Over 400,000 US Workers 

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Walmart has announced that they would be raising the wages for 425,000 of its 1.5 million US workers, and will be investing $14 billion in speeding up distribution networks to help workers better cope with the demands of the Covid-19 pandemic. As the nation’s largest retailer, Walmart has been at the forefront of providing supplies for Americans as they continue to navigate this global health crisis. 

Walmart reported a relatively mixed performance for their fourth quarter. The pandemic has obviously caused all businesses to struggle one way or another with keeping up with the demands, and with the sales of Walmart’s Japan and UK divisions, the retailer was relying on American sales to make up for the losses. 

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Online sales have surged by 69% this past quarter, which has been the slowest growth since the beginning of the pandemic for the retailer. Walmart has been pushing throughout the entire pandemic to increase its convenient delivery services, however, the millions of Americans who are needing to stay home for their own safety have thrown a wrench in their plans. 

The company has had to spend a decent amount of money to accommodate shoppers who have grown accustomed to online shopping for all of their needs and wants. They announced that this year they would be building warehouses at stores where self-driving robots could gather groceries to be picked up or delivered to customers. 

“Change in retail accelerated in 2020. The capabilities we’ve built in previous years put us ahead, and we’re going to stay ahead. Our business is strong, and we’re making it even stronger with targeted investments to accelerate growth,” said CEO Doug McMillon.

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Walmart announced this Thursday that it would be raising its average hourly wage to more than $15 an hour, and those raises would be concentrated in online and stocking roles. Starting on March 13th, depending on the store, workers in those sectors will begin earning between $13 to $19 an hour. 

Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs claimed that “Walmart Inc. lost $2.09 billion, or 74 cents per share, compared with last year’s $4.14 billion profit during the fourth quarter, or $1.45 per share. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.39, which was well short of the $1.51 that Wall Street expected. Rolled into those numbers is a $1.1 billion hit from costs related to the pandemic, this translates to a drain of about 37 cents per share in earnings, along with the one-time charges from Japan and the U.K..”

Walmart began wage increases at the end of last year to help them cope with the busy holiday season. The retailer is also projected to become one of the biggest distributors of the Covid-19 vaccine as the US begins to lean more heavily on pharmacies for vaccine administration. Walmart has over 5,000 pharmacies within their US locations.

Money

Billionaires Add $1 Trillion To Their Net Worth As Millions Of Their Workers Struggle For Survival 

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Throughout the timeline of the pandemic alone, billionaires in the US have collectively increased their net worth by more than $1 trillion. Many of these billionaire’s US workers, on the other hand, have been struggling to deal with unsafe working conditions that leave them susceptible to potential infection, and without hazard pay or any increase in compensation for working in a pandemic, many have been struggling for survival. 

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO and founder, added more than $70 billion to his new worth during the coronavirus pandemic, bringing his total net worth up to $185 billion. Workers at Amazon and Amazon-owned grocery chain Whole Foods have spent a majority of the pandemic protesting against the unsafe working conditions they’re being forced to work in, and the endless pressures from management to keep up with the overwhelming demand. 

Several workers who have participated or led protests at Amazon over working conditions specifically have alleged that they were fired as a result of their efforts to receive basic level safety. Profits and stockholder shares for the company have increased by billions of dollars throughout 2020, however, Amazon only provided a small fraction of those extra earnings in hazard pay and bonuses for workers on the frontline actually risking their lives everyday to further fill Bezos’ pockets. 

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In fact, Amazon ended all hazard pay back in June 2020, and instead has provided workers with sporadic one-time bonuses. On average workers have seen about a 99 cent increase in their paycheck during the pandemic, for comparison, Bezos earns about $11.7 million every single hour. 

“It’s infuriating that we live in fear every day because of minimal efforts to protect us, while executives take in tons of money while sitting safely at home.”

An anonymous employee working for Amazon recently spoke with the media about the conditions, and chose to keep their identity a secret out of fear that they would be left unemployed and with no source of income. “What they considered hazard pay was just for show. We couldn’t see a difference unless we were willing to work almost 60 hours a week. Several of us had no choice because we’re the breadwinners of our family.”

Jessica Oneto was a Whole Foods employee in California who quit in October 2020 partially due to the working conditions management was forcing upon its employees throughout the pandemic. 

“They gave us hazard pay for maybe a couple months. It was only $2 and they literally took it away as the pandemic got worse. One of the biggest companies couldn’t afford to keep it up?”

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Elon Musk, owner of Tesla Motors, earned an additional $140 billion throughout the pandemic, making him the wealthiest person in the world with a total net worth of $195 billion. Workers for Tesla have been subject to multiple factory Covid outbreaks, and unsafe conditions brought on by Musk himself, who defied local shutdown orders by reopening his plants and resuming factory production. 

Musk even went as far as to threaten his employees if they didn’t also defy the state lockdown orders by sending out an email that implied they would lose unemployment benefits if they didn’t show up to work and risk infection. At least two workers were fired for not showing up due to the fact that they were immunocompromised and worried about getting sick. 

“While people in cubicles stay home to work, we can’t do that and we don’t get any hazard pay/ Nothing has changed. Musk can afford to do so much more and he doesn’t. I find it sickening to see how much Elon Musk’s wealth has grown while we take all the risks. All we get is a ‘thank you so much’ email,” said a Tesla employee at the Fremont plant who also asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. 

Another Fremont employee cited ongoing mistreatment toward Black workers at Tesla specifically: “Musk has not once addressed this issue in his workplace or supported Black Lives Matter. No hazard pay or bonus. They gave all regular workers their regular raise, but being that I’m maxed out at my position I didn’t get anything.”

As the old saying goes the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, and this global health crisis has truly exemplified that. The only positive that workers have seen come out of these obscene billionaire wealth increases is how much more it’s being discussed now. The power of social media has created a large conversation over how America specifically runs, and why it allows this handful of white men to hoard so much wealth while millions of Americans are on the brink of complete homelessness.

Disney

Disney To Lay Off 32,000 Workers As Theme Parks Continue To Struggle During Pandemic 

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The Walt Disney Corporation announced this week that they would be increasing the number of employee layoffs projected for the beginning of 2021 by 4,000. Most of these layoffs are occurring within the theme parks themselves, as most parks throughout the nation are greatly struggling to keep up with the economic loss the Covid-19 pandemic has brought on. 

This increase in layoffs brings Disney’s projected total of employment layoffs to 32,000. The company filed with the SEC this week revealing the extended layoff plans, which will largely take place in Disney Parks, Experiences, and Product sectors. Back in September the entertainment giant announced it would be reducing its workforce by 28,000 employees due to the pandemic. 

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Overall Disney has estimated that the net economic impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on its “full-year segment operating income” was approximately $7.4 billion in losses. The Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products sector accounts for $6.9 billion of those losses as well due to a complete lack in revenue and profit. 

Downtown Disney in California recently reopened some of its shopping and dining facilities, with a slew of Covid-19 restrictions, as a means of making up for some of the loss, however, it’s not nearly enough to make back the billions. 

On October 3rd Disney had approximately 203,000 employees throughout the nation; around 155,000 of those workers were in the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products sectors. The global workforce was made up of around 80% full-time employees and 20% part-time, meaning a lot of these individuals’ livelihoods have been completely uprooted and destroyed from this pandemic. 

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Disney’s merchandise licensing business has also taken a hit amid the pandemic due to a multitude of studio entertainment delays. Theatrical releases of certain films have been cancelled and thus the marketing sectors for those films, shows, and characters have been thrown off their projected schedules as well. This has led to stock piles upon stockpiles of merchandise just sitting in warehouses; like many businesses have seen happen with their product throughout this pandemic. 

Advertising sales at the companies media networks have struggled as well, and direct-to-consumer and international segments are also unable to operate to their fullest extent due to a lack of business. Since March 2020, like most entertainment companies have seen, there has been a significant decline in production and availability of content for Disney. 

Production of most film and television content has been suspended indefinitely until the pandemic is brought under greater control in the US. Disney has claimed that some film and television productions have resumed operations with dozens of restrictions and health and safety measures in place.