Saturday Night Live skit gets the fact-check treatment
Retail giant, Amazon, got the full ‘Saturday Night Live’ treatment last week, with a three-minute skit showing an overworked but ‘happy’ Amazon employee bravely working past midnight to get orders packed for its recent Prime Day. “These packages ain’t gonna delivery themselves,” said a wide-eyed and frazzled- looking ‘Monica’ played by Ego Nwodim. In the sketch, she said she worked so hard in the run-up to the two-day sale period that she had to make up a whole new day of the week – ‘Fluesday…[But] ’ve got a good job….’ She continued: “I love the people, I love the drones…” When asked if she had any work-life balance, she said she orders off Amazon so products can be sent to her own address – just so she can ‘swing by my house and see my kids’. In one part of the sketch, Monica fell asleep with her eyes open, and he was asked if Amazon was overworking her. She replied, with a worried look: “Oh, oh, do you really think so?” But while poking fun at the company’s much-talked about excessive work demands, an article in GeekWire took to Amazon’s defense, to ‘fact-check’ the sketch, and point out that the company does (actually), provide excellent benefits from day one [Monica was asked if there are benefits – her reply: “Oh, yeah, of course. Got to, yeah. They gave me this vest.”]. The article also said that the company had massively improved its warehouse safety, and had recently boosted its hourly pay.
Apple accused of restricting employee use of Slack and social media
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed a complaint against tech company, Apple, alleging that it has restricted employees’ rights to discuss workplace concerns on platforms like Slack and social media. The filing comes after it was recently revealed that Apple has allegedly required staff to sign “illegal confidentiality agreements” and implement misconduct and social media policies. Around its use of Slack, it is reported that Apple has prevented employees from creating new channels without manager approval and directing workplace concerns to management or a “People Support” group. According to the NLRB these actions interfere with employees’ ability to organize and advocate for better working conditions. Former Apple employee Janneke Parrish claims she was fired in 2021 after advocating for remote work, pay equity, and other workplace reforms on Slack and public social media. The NLRB complaint argues that Parrish’s dismissal was unlawful and that Apple’s restrictions create an impression of employee surveillance. Parrish’s attorney, Laurie Burgess, criticized Apple’s actions, saying, “We look forward to holding Apple accountable at trial for implementing facially unlawful rules and terminating employees for engaging in the core protected activity of calling out gender discrimination and other civil rights violations.” If Apple does not settle with the NLRB, the case will proceed to an administrative hearing scheduled for February.
Employers want more help integrating Digital Credentials
Employers say they need more help with how they can integrate learning and employment records, including digital credentials and skills profiles, into their recruitment process. This is according to new research from UpSkill America, which finds that while digital credentials are seen to have potential, employers want more clarity around interpreting and validating what these credentials indicate about a person’s knowledge and skills. According to the research, employers say they are not clear how these credentials indicate specific knowledge and skill levels or how they validate specific competencies and job preparation. They add that there is also a lack of uniformity among digital credentials and skills profiles – something which makes it hard for employers to evaluate their value, credibility and how they align with actual jobs. One study participant described them as “complex web of mess,” while another said employers need a “magic decoder ring” to know how to interpret these records. “The employers we interviewed said they struggle with the broad variety of digital credentials available and don’t know how to equate a specific credential to a specific skill set and then to a specific job,” said Haley Glover, senior director at UpSkill America, and author of the report. “There are significant opportunities for learning and employment record developers to build and adapt their tools and platforms to meet employers’ needs.”
Survey suggests employers will get pickier about healthcare coverage
Employers will opt for quality of healthcare provision for staff rather than quantity, according to the results of new research, which suggests that employers will increasingly start to make choices about what their healthcare benefits will cover as costs rise. Non-profit company, Business Group on Health, finds that with healthcare costs expected to rise by 8% next year – the largest growth rate for a decade – employers will be forced to react by being more selective about the type of care that staff can receive. In an interview with Associated Press, Business Group on Health’s CEO Ellen Kelsay said employers will need to starting looking for more curated, designed networks with perhaps fewer providers in them. Kelsay added that employers will need to be more focused on the quality of services provided to their workforce, and that they might try to take steps to manage particularly expensive treatments – such as those for obesity and diabetes.
Labor secretary flies in to mediate in Boeing strike
Acting US Labor Secretary, Julie Su, has personally intervened in an attempt to loosen the deadlock between Boeing executives and striking staff that is having a crippling impact on the business. Her meeting with leaders came after the airline maker announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs in order to try and turn the business around. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said its lead negotiator, Jon Holden, had updated Su on the current talks, “stressing the union’s commitment to a negotiated contract that values our members’ skills and dedication.” Approximately 33,000 workers have been on strike since September 13, seeking a 40% wage increase spread over four years. But Boeing will next month send out 60-day notices to thousands of workers including many in its commercial aviation division, meaning those staff will leave the company in mid-January. A second phase of notices, if needed, could be rolled out in December. Brian Bryant, the IAM’s international president, called the job cut plan “corporate greed at its worst.” He added: “Boeing just turned its back on 17,000 of its own workers – the same people who carried Boeing through crisis after crisis, year after year,” he said in a statement. Boeing will reportedly refrain from asking for voluntary departures to limit severance cash and avoid an exodus of skills, sources said, adding the company will rely solely on involuntary layoffs.
Migrants ‘aren’t taking jobs’ finds data – despite what Trump says
As the last few weeks of the battle for the Whitehouse intensifies, rhetoric about migrants ‘taking jobs from Black and Hispanic people’ is being challenged. Presidential hopeful, Donald Trump, has promised the largest deportation of migrants if he is elected, in-part because he says they steal jobs. But government data shows immigrant labor contributes to economic growth and actually provides promotional opportunities for native-born workers. Furthermore, it is argued a mass deportation event would cost US taxpayers up to a trillion dollars and could cause the cost of living, including food and housing, to skyrocket. Janiyah Thomas, the director of Team Trump Black Media, told The Associated Press that Democrats: “continue to prioritize the interests of illegal immigrants over our own Black Americans who were born in this country.” But the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey data shows that as of 2023, native-born Black workers are most predominantly employed in management and financial operations, sales and office support roles, while native-born Latino workers are most often employed in management, office support, sales and service occupations. Foreign-born, noncitizen Black workers are most often represented in transportation and health care support roles, and foreign-born, noncitizen Hispanic workers are most often represented in construction, building and grounds cleaning.
Fair pay campaigner, Lilly Ledbetter dies
Equal pay advocate, Lilly Ledbetter – the woman who’s lawsuit against her employer led to the 2009 Fair Pay Act – has died in Alabama at the age of 86. Ledbetter worked as a manager at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant, but learned that she earned less than her male colleagues who did the same job. Ledbetter filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer in 1998 after discovering that her annual salary was $6,500 less than the lowest-paid male supervisor. The case reached the US Supreme Court, but it ruled in 2007 that she had filed her lawsuit too late. That meant she never received the $3.8m in back-pay and damages slated for her. But the lawsuit attracted significant attention. “Lilly Ledbetter never set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She just wanted to be paid the same as a man for her hard work,” wrote Barack Obama, who in 2009 signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. More recently, Ledbetter wrote an opinion piece in The Times during the height of the #MeToo movement, in which she detailed the sexual harassment she faced at Goodyear. “Sexual harassment isn’t about sex, just like pay discrimination isn’t just about pay,” she wrote. “Both are about power. They are clear evidence that too many workplaces value women less.” Despite her efforts though, data shows women in America still only earn 83% of what men do.