Tootfinder

How AI is pressuring Poland's economy, Europe's top location for global business services, as companies lay off staff in Krakow, the country's hub for BPO jobs (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-11-2…

Around 31,000 registered nurses and front-line healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are on strike,
demanding better wages, working hours, and proper staffing.
The strike began on Tuesday, Oct 14, and spans hundreds of medical centers and offices in California, Oregon, and Hawaii.
Calling in from the picket line in Portland, Oregon, Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) and Executive Secretary of the Oregon Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals (OFNHP) Nick …

31,000 healthcare workers are on strike at Kaiser Permanente—and more may be joining soon
The strike began on Tuesday, Oct. 14, and spans hundreds of medical centers and offices in California, Oregon, and Hawaii. Calling in from the picket line, we speak with striking Registered Nurse First Assistant Nick Eng.

It was frustrating to see all the “not a paid protester” signs today. These scabs are driving down wages for hardworking unionized paid protesters.

A Japanese minister pledges to improve working conditions for creators, blaming low wages and grueling working conditions on "passion exploitation" of creators (Megumi Fujikawa/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.

““We visited a dark factory producing some astronomical number of mobile phones,” recalls Greg Jackson, the boss of British energy supplier Octopus.
“The process was so heavily automated that there were no workers on the manufacturing side, just a small number who were there to ensure the plant was working.
“You get this sense of a change, where China’s competitiveness has gone from being about government subsidies and low wages to a tremendous number of highly skilled, educated engineers who are innovating like mad.””
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/10/12/why-western-executives-visit-china-coming-back-terrified/

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Monday introduced the
Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act
with the aim of raising taxes on companies that pay their executives more than 50 times their workers’ wages.
The legislation would impose penalties starting at 0.5 percentage points for companies with CEO-to-worker pay ratios between 50-to-1 and 100-to-1.
Firms where executives make more than 500 times their workers’ pay would be forced to pay the highest rate.

'Corporate Greed Is Out of Control': Tlaib-Sanders Bill Would Tax Companies for Excessive CEO Pay | Common Dreams
As Elon Musk nears trillionaire status, Bernie Sanders and Rashida Tlaib push for a bill to rein in excessive CEO pay. With CEOs making 600 times more than workers, it's time for corporations to pay their fair share.

"Class warfare through enshittification" is a good way of putting it. People hate it when you put capitalism criticism into your AI criticism but how dare you not to when they basically build infrastructures to discipline and deskill us all? Hagen Blix interviewed by Blood In The Machine
https:…

"AI is an attack from above on wages": An interview with cognitive scientist Hagen Blix
The author of 'Why We Fear AI' on why he sees generative AI as "class warfare through enshittification."

The Price of Disaster: Estimating the Impact of Hurricane Harvey on the Texas Construction Labor Market
Kartik Ganesh
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.11501 https://

The Price of Disaster: Estimating the Impact of Hurricane Harvey on the Texas Construction Labor Market
This paper estimates the effect of Hurricane Harvey on wages and employment in the construction labor industry across impacted counties in Texas. Based on data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) for the period 2016-2019, I adopted a difference-in-differences event study approach by comparing results in 41 FEMA-designated disaster counties with a set of unaffected southern control counties. I find that Hurricane Harvey had a large and long-lasting impact on labor market out…

When the Blues Hit Home: Why Family Values Require Family Wages | Atlanta Daily World
https://atlantadailyworld.com/2025/10/26/when-the-blues-hit-home-why-family-values-require-family-wages/

It is so weird to read this and realize that the #SutherlandInstitute is so wealthy and "conservative" that they'll never acknowledge the problem is late-stage capitalism and, of course, patriarchy.
We need to eliminate the tax incentives of investment properties to make housing more affordable. We need to increase wages and decrease wealth inequality. We need t…

Utah task force explores boosting well-being of men and boys
Why are American men struggling? What issues do American men and boys face? Utah studying mental health, work, education among men and boys

MAGA wages campaign to redefine "hate" after Kirk killing (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/04/adl-splc-charlie-kirk-maga-fbi
http://www.memeorandum.com/251004/p23#a251004p23

"Shih’s conclusions—biting critiques of the anti-trafficking industry—are twofold. First, many anti-trafficking groups rarely interact with the types of abuse victims that they say they do. Second, the rehabilitation-style work programs they operate can cause as much harm as they do good."

Performing Sin
Inside the world of anti-trafficking organizations, where former sex workers who attend Christian church services and weep in shame over their past behavior get reduced hours and higher wages.

Treatment effects at the margin: Everyone is marginal
Haotian Deng
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.21583 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.21583

Treatment effects at the margin: Everyone is marginal
This paper develops a framework for identifying treatment effects when a policy simultaneously alters both the incentive to participate and the outcome of interest -- such as hiring decisions and wages in response to employment subsidies; or working decisions and wages in response to job trainings. This framework was inspired by my PhD project on a Belgian reform that subsidised first-time hiring, inducing entry by marginal firms yet meanwhile changing the wages they pay. Standard methods addre…

> personally, I was interested in cognitive science, partly because I was like, “all this linguistic stuff has no application. It’s pure science. It won’t be turned into a tool against the working class or into a weapon or something.” And then this stuff happens. And I’m like, well, fuck, that was a miscalculation from my part.
from (substack) www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/ai-is-an-attack-from-above-on-wages

How could you award the #NobelPeacePrize to an autocrat like Darth #Trump, who renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War, wages war against his own people and threatens other countries with annexation (Canada, Panama and Greenland), and is on friendly terms with war criminals like

In a new ad campaign, TelevisaUnivision says Google plans to move Univision from YouTube TV's basic bundle to a Spanish-language package that costs extra (Sara Fischer/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/09/televisaunivision-youtube-carriage-contract

Scoop: TelevisaUnivision wages war with YouTube
TelevisaUnivision says YouTube's efforts make Google look "evil."

In Ukraine, Trump's "Peace Efforts" result in even more savage attacks on civilians by Russia.
Those who see supporting Ukraine as a waste of resources are cheering as innocent lives are ruined and ended prematurely.
Perhaps even more disgusting and shameful than the genocide Russia wages on Ukraine, is the indifference shown by so many people around the world.
Monsters and ghouls who insist they are decent humans.
Giorgio is a true journalist reporting…

Resisting Indifference: How Pokovsk Is Not the Gateway to Donbas
Live from Ukraine 🇺🇦

MAGA media
is flexing its ability to
shape the debate over antifa and violent crime in American cities,
-- empowered by allies in the White House
hungry for evidence of left-wing terrorism.
The Trump administration is using clips of violent street clashes
— paired with testimony from MAGA-aligned reporters on the ground
— to falsely depict Democratic-led cities as engulfed in chaos.

MAGA media wages asymmetric warfare on antifa
MAGA-aligned journalists frame their coverage as exposing the "truth" mainstream outlets ignore.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a bill that gives ride-hailing drivers in California the right to unionize while remaining classified as independent contractors (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/lyft-uber-rideshare-driver-union-cali…

California Uber and Lyft drivers get union rights
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill allowing 800,000 Uber and Lyft drivers in the state to join a union and bargain collectively for better wages and benefits. The legislation is a significant compromise in the yearslong battle between labor unions and tech companies over drivers’ rights. California is the second state to give rideshare drivers the right to unionize. In exchange, Newsom also agreed to sign a bill supported by Uber and Lyft to lower the companies’ insurance requir…

For most of my 30 year career in Information Technology in the USA, I've been concerned about H1B visa workers replacing me, or at least pushing wages down. So, you might think I'd be in favor of POTUS47's H1B visa changes.
Too few characters here to get into the full story, but the short answer is, no. Making it harder to hire H1B visas will long-term push more jobs overseas where they will be completely unattainable by myself.

Russia uses new range extender to deploy glide bombs against Ukrainian civilians.
Another day, another litany of war crimes and cruelty as Russia wages its genocide against the Ukrainian people.
Corporate media will downplay or distort what is happening in Ukraine, and they don't even bother to go see the truth - they just lie and support the evil.
Why? Go ask Trump - he knows, but doesn't dare say.
Meanwhile, Georgio reports from the trenches of democracy in …

Mud On Blood
Live from Ukraine 🇺🇦

The Trump administration proposes an H-1B visa process giving more weight to applications from employers who pay higher wages if visa demand exceeds the 85K cap (Ted Hesson/Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-

“The billionaire agenda,
the corruption we’re seeing,
is changing the way government is functioning.
It’s leading to real-time and impactful ramifications for regular people,”
said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen.
“The gutting of Medicaid,
all the firings we’ve seen of federal workers,
the ravaging of families through Ice raids.
It’s just all coming together to cause people to stand up and say,
‘we are the people of this c…

Labor Market Reforms, Flexibility, and Employment Transitions Across Formal and Informal Sectors
Selidji Caroline Tossou
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.03668 https://

Labor Market Reforms, Flexibility, and Employment Transitions Across Formal and Informal Sectors
In this paper, I investigate the 2017 labor market reform in Benin, which reduced firing costs and allowed firms to renew short-term contracts indefinitely. Using micro-data from the Harmonized Household Living Standards Surveys and a two-way fixed effect approach with nearby countries as the control group, I assess the reform's impact on employment, worker tenure, contract types, and wages. My empirical results reveal a 2.6 percentage point (24.5 percent) increase in formal sector employment a…

Constituents in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District showered Representative Ashley Hinson with
boos and jeers for supporting Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill.
The Republican lawmaker was excoriated during a town hall Wednesday in Worth County,
where Iowans urged Hinson to
“stop lying” after she baselessly claimed that the president’s key legislation had ushered in “higher wages” and an improved cost of living.
“Higher wages?” shouted one woman incredulously. “F…

“Stop Lying”: Voters Erupt at GOP Lawmaker’s Shocking Claim on Economy
Iowa State Representative Ashley Hinson’s comments were met with boos and jeers.

Hi, it’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 
If we do not assert ourselves and enshrine our rights
— and demand healthcare, and education, and dignity
— the alternative is barbarism,
which is what we are contending with now.
If we do not win unions, healthcare, wages, and ending endless war,
then we will condemn ourselves to barbarism.
𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽. 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.
𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯, 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 …

Donate to AOC.
Alexandria is fighting for progressive policies that can help create social, racial, and economic justice for all. That's why she's taking $0 from corporations and lobbyists and is relying on the grassroots to power her campaign.

Given the chance, I think her words could resonate in a Provincial election against both the David Eby #BCNDP and the Rustad #BCConservatives (and whatever other parties happen to pop into existence).
It was nice to see a leader actually genuinely congratulate and lift up her rivals in the contest. A rarity these days in too many party leadership races!
Key lines from her speech:
"take on this province's billionaires, largest corporations, and big oil... who take far more than they give.
"democracy is in retreat around the globe, but I am encouraged to see young people in BC fighting back.”
"the BC Green Party has solutions”
"the BC NDP.. are making decisions based on scarcity and fear”
"David Eby... rolling out the red carpet for Donald Trump's inner circle of oligarchs to buy and control even more of our province”.
"The NDP's big idea… to double down on raw resource exports.... no manufacturing, no innovation, no vision for a future beyond more foreign billionaires ripping and shipping our resources while families wait for the wealth to trickle down.”
“while workers wait for fair wages and homes we can afford, the BC NDP doubles down on MAGA backed fossil fuel projects, ignores the need to obtain consent, and refuses to care for our community members”
”The horrors that we are witnessing now are the death rattle of the old world.”
"it is up to us force a new world through”
"We can build a plan to take back the public wealth that has been looted with real taxation on the ultra wealthy”
"Build on our massive advantage of renewable energy… create thousands of jobs”
"will reclaim BC's economy for working people… together we can build a resilient thriving province that respects indigenous sovereignty and our planetary boundaries.”
“we are worthy of better, and worthy of hope. When we learn to believe that again, we can win.”
@…
#BCPoli #BCGreens #CanPoli #CdnPoli #RenewableEnergy