On Monday, July 19, workers and social justice activists in more than 25 cities are teaming up to stage a mass walkout from their jobs in the fast food, home care, and travel industries.
Behind the walkout, dubbed the "Strike for Black Lives," is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which is making the case that racial and economic justice should be fought for, side-by-side.
"Essential workers across this country are united with the movement for Black lives because we need systemic change in how corporations behave in our economy and how Black people are treated throughout society," SEIU President Mary Kay Henry told Cheddar.
The union is taking aim at the fast food industry specifically, with calls for major chains to increase wages and better protect frontline workers from the coronavirus.
"We want companies like McDonald's to pay Black workers and brown workers a living wage, get the two-weeks paid sick [leave] that allows them to quarantine when they're exposed to the virus on the job, and to give them the personal protective equipment they need to protect themselves," she said.
She said she sees the walkout as a continuation of the protests that began in June after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
So far, the movement has yielded reforms at the school and municipal level, Henry said. Now she wants to see big corporations do their part.
"Our perspective is that it has created rapid change," the union president noted. "All those June protests led to amazing changes at the city and school levels, where police were expelled from schools. There's major changes going on about the investment in community services in Black neighborhoods in cities. That's an amazing shift in just 60 days. This strike, we do think, is another moment of escalation that unites the fights for economic justice and racial justice."
Henry also criticized the way that fast food companies have employed the language of Black Lives Matter without following it up with action to help its Black employees.
"I would love for McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King to come to their senses and stop paying for ads where they say 'Black lives matters' and show through how they pay their workers that Black lives matter," she said. "They need to sit down at a bargaining table and bargain nationally to raise wages, create good jobs, provide COVID testing and PPP, and do a national collective bargaining agreement like they do in nine other countries around the world."
The hope, she added, is that labor reforms at major fast food chains will catalyze union organizing in industries such as home care, ride-sharing, and travel.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
With a merger this big, creators, studios, and theaters all face uncertain futures. Here’s what experts are worried about and what good could come from it.
With disengagement rising and hybrid work shifting, 'Everybody Matters' author Bob Chapman explains why treating people well could define the future of work.
We sat down with Ali Furman, U.S. Consumer Markets Industry Leader at consulting firm PwC to ask what trends she garnered from the initial data this year.
