Terri Gerstein
@TerriGerstein
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Workers' rights lawyer. Sometimes writer. Director, @NYUWagner Labor Initiative. Fmr: @CLJEHarvard @EconomicPolicy @NewYorkStateAG. Mom of 2 ppl taller than me.
Brooklyn, NY
Joined November 2015
Every prominent person, no matter what field: “I tested positive. I have the mildest of symptoms and am working from home.” . Most every person I know who’s had Covid: “Oh my god I was sick as a dog, it was horrible and lasted for days and I still get winded months later.”.
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Can we agree that the official Covid numbers are totally unreliable? Most ppl getting Covid now are finding out thru home tests, not PCRs (I know several in the past few weeks). Most of these results are NOT recorded anywhere. For ex, I just called NYC to ask how one could. (1/4).
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@JonahDispatch @patriottakes If the spirit were “never again” wouldn’t you focus on the victims and not have a garden devoted to the perpetrators? I mean I think all the time about the horrors of the 20th century but I don’t require Hitler souvenirs to remember the Holocaust.
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@ElieNYC Here's the math problem that outraged both of our sons when they were in middle school. As a feminist raising two boys, I felt like my job was - if not almost done - going well.
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@but_im_kim_tran Sharing this article to place Zelensky in the more complex context in which he should be considered. The history of Jews in Eastern Europe is painful & difficult. His grandfather was from a family of 4 brothers; 3 were killed in the Holocaust.
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BREAKING: NY appellate division today issued a decision upholding a determination that @Uber drivers are employees - not independent contractors - and entitled to unemployment insurance. Great job by @NewYorkStateAG & Labor Bureau team! (1/5)
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Alternate headline: “As Sixth Covid Wave Hits, Many New Yorkers Continue Exercising Caution." This article is a great example of media pushing a "back to normal" narrative. I could've written the EXACT OPPOSITE story w/ complete accuracy. My version: (1/7)
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@DrLeanaWen That makes no sense. Even if some dean of public health somewhere eats in a restaurant once, why should that change generally applicable policies to protect the overall population? Your big “gotcha” is that sometimes leaders, even in public health, aren’t perfect?? Please.
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So if Starbucks employees voice concerns over safety, their store is at risk of closure? But if they stay mum in the face of serious safety issues, their store stays open? Pretty clear why so many workers are joining @SBWorkersUnited.
Howard Schultz says he plans to close more Starbucks stores as the company's employees voice concerns over safety
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@DrLeanaWen 1) lots of us doing full caution all the time bc we love our families & also care abt others we’re not related to .2) your point seems to be that bc some leaders aren’t 💯 consistent 100% of the time, that somehow this inconsistency invalidates what’s best for public health (1/2).
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@but_im_kim_tran I am not opening up here the question of whether Jews are white; not interested in that debate right now. My point is, he's not the son of the former governor (Cuomo) or former prime minister (Trudeau). For a Jew to be in his position should be understood in its own context.
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Want some forced birth with your venti latte? @Starbucks is leveraging Roe’s fall in support of its union busting. Says it’ll provide access to abortion travel to employees but can’t promise that to workers in stores unionized w @SBWorkersUnited. Shameful!!.
Starbucks combines its offer to help employee travel for abortions with union busting. Starbucks offers all employees enrolled in its health plan access to abortion travel & gender-affirming care, BUT SAYS it can't "promise" that for unionized stores.
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Florida has NO STATE LABOR DEPARTMENT. It's the third largest state & there's no state labor dept & the state AG office doesn't do workers' rights enforcement. Can you imagine the exploitation that must be going on there?!?
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Tomorrow 7/16 is Amazon “Prime day" in the US. There’s a strike in Europe over bad working conditions & calls for a consumer boycott on prime day. Not much media coverage in US, though. I just thought y’all would want to know. It’s one day. Don’t buy.
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Can you believe this?? A *coal mining* company argued that coal miners weren't employees bc it wasn't "in the business of coal mining at all. but is only engaged in letting out contracts to independent contractors." .Sound familiar? .The case Is from 1914. #futureofwork?.
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@nsgarnett So you think it’s ok for public officials to receive many gifts from interested parties and not disclose them? Or sell real estate above market to interested parties and not disclose it as required by law?.
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@Olas_Truth This is awful. I would love for someone to ask the doctor why they did that. Like what explanation would they possibly give. I wonder too if broader hospital records would show disproportionate non-indicated drug testing based on race. Also - sending healing thoughts.
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Re top secret documents from Mar-a-Lago: one son asked a Q that I haven’t seen much writing about: Trump would almost certainly have made copies of these documents, right? Any reason to think the docs recovered via search warrant are the only versions?.
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Here’s Starbucks CEO painting the unions as an “outside force.” So, baristas overwhelmingly choosing to form a union: are an “outside force,” but scores of lawyers from Littler Mendelson hired to defeat @SBWorkersUnited are…part of the family?.
EXCLUSIVE: In a leaked video call, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz begged managers to increase their union busting. The billionaire CEO blasted unionizing, hourly employees as “so-called workers” and “some outside force that’s going to dictate or disrupt who we are and what we do.”
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Upshot: when people say that spread of Covid infections is over or waning, there are not reliable numbers on which to base that kind of statement, bc the official numbers generally include no home tests & home testers can't even report infections if they try. (4/4).
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"Labor shouldn’t be seen as one more special interest group. It benefits all of us if the people doing essential work throughout our economy have good jobs, a collective voice & dignified treatment at work." Sharing my latest for #LaborDay2021
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@daniela127 Please rethink this. Sending Covid+ kids to school spreads Covid. I just learned of a family of 4 who all have Covid bc someone else had a kid w a Covid+ dad but didn’t test the kid bc they didn’t want the child to miss school and activities. Now 4 ppl are sick & prob many more.
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report a positive test and was told there's no way. The person was very nice and said, maybe call your primary care physician. This NYT article gives more info. There's a useful role for state/local govt to play here (2/4)
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This op-ed by @Uber CEO completely misstates the law. Our current employment system does *not* require workers to choose btwn flexibility & a safety net. This is BS. (In case it’s relevant: I’m a Harvard JD w 25+ years of enforcing workplace laws).
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Note to critics: This post isn’t part of a public health PhD dissertation. I get it: it’s anecdote, not data! I was just sharing an arch observation about voluminous high-profile cookie-cutter announcements of mild symptoms accompanied by diligent-yet-cheerful working from home.
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@SoBowsher @Phil_Lewis_ He can work but we have child labor laws to protect him from unusually dangerous jobs and from excessive hours that harm his education.
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@JonahDispatch I don’t know him and I don’t know you, but if I found out my good friend had, for example, hypothetically, statues of Pinochet & Pol Pot in his garden, along with paintings by Hitler on the wall, I wouldn’t be defending those landscape architecture or home decor selections.
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@metraux_julia @JayRishe @JetBlue FYI I wrote an op-ed directed to @JetBlue asking them to create some mask-mandatory flights for people who need/want them. Please share it. Ppl can also write to @JetBlue #MustMaskOptions
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LaborTwitter, here's my piece of advice for the day: Follow @JortsTheCat 🐱. Jorts is there for all of us fighting for workplace justice. I'm a dog person but I've become slightly obsessed with Jorts. It turns out I'm not the only one!♥️
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The minimum wage goes up. What goes down? Suicides, recidivism, job turnover, poverty rates.
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Which has not been everyone’s experience of this virus and is maybe not always the most credible or constructive messaging.
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@lilithinthe @Melissa_Lem I need to start doing this too. I’m sure I’ve many times spoken for free when others have been paid. How do you ask in a non-awkward way? I always feel uncomfortable asking about $ - prob a combo of being female & also being Jewish - don’t want ppl to think of me as money focused.
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.@amazon is suing WA to knock down its effective workplace safety laws (Unlike federal OSH Act, WA requires employers to abate/fix hazardous conditions quickly). Seeking to stay/delay abatement, Amazon claims that its failure to notify workers of the case is a technicality. (1/4).
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Amazon argues the @amazonlabor win should be thrown out bc union supporters interrupted mandatory anti-union meetings & “intentionally created hostile confrontations” limiting its right to communicate w/ workers. So. workers got too uppity?? 1/
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See? I could write the opposite of the story that was written & my version would be 100% accurate. The published article—"NYers Shrug It Off"—promotes a "this is done" narrative. It's "back to normal" advocacy disguised as reporting. Media should be better. @Poynter (7/7).
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@mikepompeo My husband and I talked about it (and prayed etc) and I’m not running for President In 2024 either! Twinsies!.
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When a 16-year-old boy dies in a poultry plant, it’s not an unforeseeable “accident. Employers aren’t allowed to hire kids in terribly dangerous workplaces for a reason. This child is younger than my sons. Rest in peace Duvan. You deserved so much better.
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Because state/local govt can create methods for ppl to report their positive at home tests. Federal govt could do this too! Look at this example from Albany County in NY (3/4)
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@ZekeEmanuel Human lives have value beyond their creativity, originality, and productivity. Wisdom, compassion, patience, kindness: these also have value; not to mention ppl have value simply for being human. Like not everyone under 75 is creative/original/productive & their lives matter.
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Breaking - Labor Committee chairs from 17 states & DC sent a letter yesterday to @Starbucks CEO in support of @SBWorkersUnited "We are writing to urge Starbucks to follow the letter & spirit of the law by allowing your employees free choice in joining a union." (1/3)
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@SteveRattner @Scotus I paid off my debt. Student loans were awful. We've been saving for years for college bc we don't want our kids to have debt. I would love for everyone's student loans to be cancelled tomorrow. Don't use me to justify policies harmful to struggling people.
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@MdBreathe (1) as many have noted, how did she know their immigration status? (2) even if they were undocumented, should her son’s broken arm have been triaged above potentially saving their lives? (3) this is why we need national health care for everyone (4) yikes not a good look for an MD.
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@ZekeEmanuel I’ve lost family members who were ultimately in a weakened state and yet my brain was complex enough to still remember them in their more vibrant state. And also to treasure the time I had with them when they were what you would consider “feeble.” Also, ineffectual for what?.
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Despite *zero* enforcement of subway mask mandates, generally half or more of riders still mask, essentially voluntarily. Meanwhile, subway ridership is still at 50-60% of pre-pandemic levels bc many cautious NYers are avoiding public transit. (2/7)
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@ElieNYC Yep crazy. So glad our sons both spotted it and objected. I alerted the school and they blocked that problem from the books going forward. (Not sure if they cut it out with scissors or Sharpie-d all over it, but they said they were getting rid of it).
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@MuellerSheWrote Class E felony has potential penalty of 1-5 years, not a lifetime but not nothing. (And if a person's in their late 70s, it could be much of the rest of their lifetime). Not to mention, hard to run for president or speak at fascist rallies under those circumstances.
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Seriously? Are we actually arguing about whether 14-year-olds should work in meatpacking plants?!? My latest in @nytimes about the recent surge in #ChildLabor violations & some ideas about how to stop them.
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Note to businesses: it’s not super helpful if you have a “Mask required” sign and then no one inside (customers or workers) are wearing masks. Right now at a pharmacy, no less. SMH.
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My version of the story would also have some person-on-the-street interviews with ordinary scrappy NYers saying New York-ish things like "It's not a big deal to wear a mask. What the f*** is wrong w/ people?" Or "My uncle died of Covid. This shit is real." (5/7).
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Where is OSHA??? @drdavidmichaels, former head of OSHA, talks with @jaketapper on @CNN about the failure to Trump's labor department to protect workers and about the health risk of states reopening now. #WhereisOSHA?
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Insightful piece by Andrew Strom comparing Seaworld's $7K fine for worker fatality with $5M Seaworld SEC settlement for misleading investors: "the contrast. pretty much sums up the contrast between how we view investors versus workers in this country."
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Just *once* I'd like to see the free expression/anti-cancel culture brigades speak out about workers who've been fired for joining/supporting a union It's a much bigger deal for a low-wage worker to lose a *job* than for a college student to hesitate briefly before speaking (1/x).
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I had to hear this myself. Yes, the mayor of a major US city asked whether every industry should have a minimum wage. As though that'd be a bad thing, to have min wage for all. (PS Minneapolis set a driver min wage only bc @Uber @lyft say employment laws don't apply to them) 1/2.
Minneapolis’s mayor on the supposedly dangerous precedent set by the ride share ordinance: “Are we now planning to set a minimum wage for every industry?”
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@DrLeanaWen The logic is bananas: you may not promote a policy unless you are 100% consistent yourself in following that policy. So. Environmental activists who want to reduce dependence on fossil fuels must never ride in a car? bc the hypocrisy will fuel public distrust in green policies?.
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@RepDonaldsPress Weird, after I paid off mine, I didn’t want *anyone* to have to struggle like that.
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Would you give a $60 million 'golden goodbye' to the departing head of @Starbucks ? Seems like an odd move ever & especially at this particular moment .
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Groups of ordinary New Yorkers have advocated for strong responses protecting the community. @MandateMasksNY is a grassroots group that's compiling a list of mask-required venues in the 5 boros & advocating a return to mask mandates. (3/7).
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NYC theater fans: here are three shows that are still requiring masks: The Minutes (Broadway), Little Shop of Horrors (off Broadway), Between the Lines (off Broadway). Anyone know of any others? @MandateMasksNY.
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@LiamWBZ @msyoungmd I really don’t understand why more doctors aren’t just doing what’s best for the patient. I realize this is easy for me to say (not a doc, don’t live in TX), but there’s some strong “just following orders” vibes.
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This wild graphic struck a nerve! Along w/ appreciating the humor/amazing women in the comments, sending love to women w/ health/disability issues (so these walks wd be real exercise). Not everyone can do a triathlon (I can't); that's ok & doesn't indicate a need for a hairbird.
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Want to know the details of @amazon agreements w/ 3rd party anti-union consultants fighting @amazonlabor @RWDSU? I downloaded & screenshot all the agreements I could find on DOL’s website. (I know it’s a Sunday. Some ppl knit. I do this). First one, from 2/23/22. A thread. 1/13
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@VPrasadMDMPH Many people pine for a new world, a new normal - where we wash hands after toileting, ban smoking in workplaces & restaurants, & remove fecal matter from our water systems. They dream: we will all get sick fewer times over our lives. It is science fiction, but worse, arrogant.
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Your timely reminder that the Trump administration passed a rule allowing pork processors to inspect themselves and that Trump's OSHA is doing almost nothing to enforce workplace safety/health laws right now. (Makes that hot dog a little less appetizing right?).
ALARMING—In South Dakota, workers at a Smithfield pork processing plant account for over half the state's Covid-19 cases. 240 of the plant's workers have tested positive. Smithfield has shut the plant, which accounts for 5% of the nation's pork production
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I'm not impressed by this @Starbucks CEO note after his Buffalo visit (which was part of fighting the @SBWorkersUnited campaign). Things he lists that the co has done are limited & can be taken back in 2 sec w/o a union contract. If ppl want a union they should have one (1/10).
Amid Starbucks union drive Howard Schultz pens ‘a message from Howard Schultz: From Buffalo with love’: ‘No partner has ever needed to have a representative seek to obtain things we all have as partners at Starbucks.’
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They met at a GM plant. On their wedding day, they joined the picket line.
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My version of the story would also have feel-good interviews w/ ppl enjoying NYC's parks, gardens, sidewalk cafes, beaches & outdoor summer movies, saying New York-ish things about how great it is to be *outdoors* in NYC in the summer so who needs to go inside unmasked? (6/7).
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Hold the 👏👏. @Uber @lyft & friends spent $220M to deprive CA workers of rights. Now they’re trying the same in MA. But if the companies treated workers as employees, this faux magnanimous gesture wouldn't be needed, bc an employer would indemnify employees (defend them in ct).
Lyft Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. pledged to pay legal fees for drivers who are sued under Texas’ new restrictive abortion law, which threatens to hold anyone who helps a woman obtain the procedure legally liable.
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TODAY: @Uber @DoorDash @Grubhub sued NYC to block a new law that setting min wages for food-delivery workers. The rule, hard-fought by @LosDeliveristas, creates a pay floor near the min wage). Delivery workers brave heat, smoke, floods, etc; they deserve better. (1/5).
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@BrooklynBCID has handed out masks to subway riders in a cleverly-named "Mask Transit" campaign. They also handed out flyers saying “You have a beautiful nose. Now cover it up!”(4/7).
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I bet some landlords are nervously calling their lawyers today. @ManhattanDA Alvin Bragg charged 6 real estate companies w/ false filings for defrauding NYC on taxes by not providing affordable housing, a clear condition for a tax benefit they got 1/x
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@tkpwaeub @JohnBrownsBody2 Responding to one small aspect of your post: I know people who have lied about testing beforehand. And others who think testing 3-4 days beforehand is sufficient. You really have to drill down about what testing means and to know that people are telling the truth.
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@Betzine @FaithFortune99 @but_im_kim_tran Yes, his identity is more complex than just some white dude. And also, he's nothing like Cuomo (NYer here w/ opinions on our former leader).
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@joegarofoli @sfchronicle @brianefallon @RoKhanna @SpeakerPelosi People were pressuring Justice Breyer to resign. It’s not sexist.
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Will @Starbucks bargain w/ @SBWorkersUnited or just pretend to? A Buffalo store unionized, but some employers drag their heels or worse in negotiating a first contract. Coffee drinkers shouldn’t let Starbucks get away with that. My op-ed in @TheProspect
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I could not love this story more. Everything about it. It's a ray of sunshine literally. The savings from solar panels on a high school led to raises for public school teachers. 🌞🌞🌞.
This one high school in Arkansas installed a ton of solar panels. The money generated turned the district budget from a $250,000 deficit to a $1.8 million surplus. And they're using that money to give teachers $2,000-$3,000 raises.
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@Praxeas @Delta We need #MustMask flight & train options for travelers who want to stay safe! #MustMask cars like the quiet car on Amtrak & special designated #MustMask flights for ppl who need this option in order to have access to travel.
Dear @JetBlue: Please fly some must-mask planes. We need #MustMaskOptions for immunocompromised travelers & more. There's a market for mask-required travel options & it'd allow #accessibility for all. I wrote an op-ed for my fave airline in @NYDailyNews
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This is the craziest thing about Uber & Lyft. They lose buckets of money & can’t seem to operate profitably *even* as they avoid following the basic workplace laws that every mom & pop has to follow. Like, you exploit workers & still can’t make a dime?.
Wall Street Journal on Uber/Lyft bailout request from CA Legislature for low-road business model. “Uber/ Lyft. would face a direct threat to their business model if it (#AB5) passes. The companies are unprofitable even w/ labor costs at current levels.”.
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My reason for sharing the post was bc of my shock at the bizarre & offensive graphics! I realize the exercise routines described might be good for many ppl, depending on their own situation & ppl of all ages should feel great about starting to exercise at whatever level.
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Amazon Prime “is basically a money laundering scheme. Amazon forces brands/sellers to bake the cost of Prime into their consumer price so it appears like Amazon offers free shipping when in reality the cost is incorporated into the consumer price.” Amazing read @matthewstoller.
Amazon Prime is a money laundering scheme to disguise economy-wide price gouging.
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@JonahDispatch I would advise my friend to find a new interior decorator and maybe a new landscape artist as well. Just a thought.
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@JayRishe @oni_blackstock @JetBlue This is so awful. I wrote an op-ed directed to @JetBlue asking them to create some mask-mandatory flights for people who need/want them. Please share it & also write to @JetBlue #MustMaskOptions
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"We are not unskilled laborers. We don't just pour coffee; we invest emotional labor into the stores. We maintain equipment, deal with ppl at their worst and best. " Lexi of @SBWorkersUnited.
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Wow. @ElieNYC knocks it out of the park on the need for the govt to figure out a coronavirus public health plan esp for low wage workers. He also includes my thoughts on what states/cities can do: pass paid sick leave! No need to wait for Congress
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The Texas House passed a bill to prevent cities from enacting a whole bunch of workplace laws including requiring construction employers to give their workers *water breaks* on hot days. (!!!) They're preempting cities from requiring WATER BREAKS.
BREAKING: The Texas House has approved a bill outlawing virtually all city and county worker protections. Under the bill, any local measures that go beyond state law—i.e., sick benefits, wage protections, even water breaks for construction workers—will be overturned and barred.
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I'm really mad that the words "meta" and "uber" have been permanently ruined. They were good words!.
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Non-competes for summer interns?!? My thoughts in the WSJ: the idea of noncompetes for interns is ludicrous. via @WSJ.
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Mark Pomerantz quit @ManhattanDA office in a huff over the Trump case. Now he’s on a book/TV tour, carping about his former boss. (Also my former boss. More on that later). Pomerantz may think he's the smartest guy in the room but his judgment is👎 (1/x)
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Thank a union member. They just might be saving democracy. My latest in @slate: research shows unions:.⬆️voter turnout.⬆️civic participation.⬆️non-oligarch elected officials.⬆️cross racial solidarity.Worried about creeping fascism? Support unions!(1/19).
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