The Fruits of Labor

Airlines face possible fees for canceled flights ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

June 20, 2022

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Good morning.

A former Google employee claims that a "cult-like religious sect" infiltrated a business unit at the tech giant, and is suing because he alleges he was fired for complaining about its influence. A cult-like environment at a tech company? Who would ever believe that?

Morning Brief

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National Parks are being devastated by droughts and floods.

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The US is contemplating fining airlines for the pileup of flight delays this year.

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For the first time, workers at an Apple store in the US voted to unionize.

Tourism

Extreme Weather is Throwing a Wrench in Outdoor Summer Plans

School's out, and summer is in full swing. That means it's time for fun in the sun — and possibly a cooling dip in the nearest lake, river, ocean, or pool.

But not if the weather has anything to say about it. Lake Mead, the popular reservoir for boating and swimming at Hoover Dam, is being drained by a brutal drought. Meanwhile, 750 miles north, devastating flash floods are wrecking roadways and hiking trails in Yellowstone National Park.

The Water Tables Have Turned

The crown jewel of America's national parks system, Yellowstone receives 4 million annual visitors, but no one has set foot inside the park's 2.2 million acres since last week. An unprecedented five inches of rain starting on June 12 and another five inches of snowmelt toppled structures, ripped paved roads from the ground, and forced about 100 travelers to be airlifted to safety. Park Superintendent Cam Sholly said he believes the park, established in 1872, has never before been forced to entirely shut down due to flooding.

If only that water could flow to the southwest, where drought has emptied Lake Mead to just 28% of its water capacity. Scientists say it's the region's worst drought in 1,000 years — and each foot of lost water level correlates with 20 feet of newly exposed shoreline. Both parks are dealing with economic fallout:

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While total repairs could take up to 2 years, Yellowstone will begin allowing limited entrance to its south loop on June 22, the National Park Service (NPS) announced on Saturday. In surrounding "gateway" towns like Cooke City and Gardiner, Montana — where Yellowstone tourism supports roughly 7,000 jobs and generates roughly $642 million for the local economy, according to a 2019 NPS report — several large hotels have already laid off staff or temporarily closed down, per a Washington Post report.

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There's a four-hour wait time to use the only open boat launch ramp at Lake Mead, because the others don't extend far enough to reach the receded waterline. Parts of California, Arizona, and Nevada draw on water from the reservoir, and last week the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that oversees water resource management, recommended emergency reductions at a Senate hearing.

Not Much Better: Meanwhile, a summer trip to Europe brings its own ecological dangers. Monthly heat records have been broken in Switzerland, Germany, Spain, and France, with some areas reaching 110 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend and sparking serious concerns of wildfires. Be careful out there.

Airlines

US Threatens Airlines With Punishment for Excessive Flight Delays

(Unattended luggage at San Francisco International Airport's baggage claim; Photo by Kenneth Lu)

Thousands more US flights were delayed or canceled this weekend, to the dismay of travelers everywhere. Such days of mass cancellations are now as common as days that end in y.

The latest frustrating pileup of flight delays has the US government hanging the threat of fines over the airline companies, who were handed billions of taxpayer dollars to prevent it from happening.

The $54 Billion Handout

Over 2.4 million passengers passed through US airports on Friday, but unfortunately travelers booked on 1,400 flights had their trips canceled. That's after 2,800 flights were axed Memorial Day weekend. Through June 13, airlines canceled 3% of 4 million commercial US flights, while 20% were delayed, up from 2% and 17% in the same period in 2019.

But it wasn't supposed to be this way. Passenger airline companies were handed $54 billion in US taxpayer money to cover payroll costs during the pandemic, with only $14 billion to be repaid. In exchange, airlines were supposed to keep employees on the job. To get around this, they encouraged staff to take buyouts, resign, or retire early, shedding 42,000 full-time workers in the process, according to Transportation Department data. They're now so understaffed the government is entertaining fines over the resulting inconvenience:

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg held a virtual meeting with airline CEOs last week, who reportedly said they were taking steps to ward off more delays. On Saturday, he told the Associated Press his agency could issue fines if conditions don't improve this summer. Fines, however, tend to be small — last year, Air Canada (which had $4.9 billion in operating revenues) had to pay a $2 million for not refunding passengers quickly enough.

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In the US, an airline has to provide passengers with a refund if their flight is significantly delayed and they choose not to go — but in Europe, passengers are entitled to increasingly pricey compensation (up to €600 per person) for delays, whether they go or not.

Part of the Problem: The Federal Aviation Administration, part of Buttigieg's department, has been guilty of contributing to flight delays in travel-friendly Florida, where it has promised to boost staffing. After he met with airline CEOs, Buttigieg's flight from New York to Washington, D.C. was canceled and he ended up driving back — if the cancellations keep coming, he may pass that karma on to the airlines.

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Labor

Apple Workers at Maryland Store Become Company's First to Join a Union

If you listen closely this morning, you can hear the sound of Apple executives ordering an extra shot of espresso in their morning Starbucks.

Apple employees at a Baltimore-area store voted to unionize Saturday, marking the first of the company's 270 US stores to join a growing labor organizing trend.

Statistical Advantage

The wave of retail unionizations in the US this year is bigger than just the headline-grabbing drives at Starbucks and Amazon. The number of union representation petitions in the first half of fiscal 2022, from October to the end of March, rose 57%, according to the National Labor Relations Board. And a close look at labor market statistics tells the story of workers' sudden bargaining power.

Employers advertised 11.4 million jobs in April, almost two jobs for every unemployed person. Companies have also basically stopped firing people — a record low 1.25 million people lost their job in April. Meanwhile, 4.4 million people quit their jobs in April, just short of the record 4.5 million who quit in March. Even at Apple, with its $2.1 trillion market cap, workers have been emboldened:

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Apple reported a record $97 billion in revenue in its second fiscal quarter, a 9% increase from last year. Last month, the company boosted retail workers' starting salary to $22 an hour, from $20, and warned employees that unionization could hurt business.

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But, for the workers at Apple's Towson, Maryland store who voted 65-33 to unionize, compensation is a secondary concern. They want more power over hours worked, scheduling, and their store's safety protocols. "Compensation is important, considering the cost of living in general and inflation, but the bigger thing is having a say," Christie Pridgen, one of the organizers, told CNN.

The Big Apple Drive: Apple employees are already organizing at New York City's Grand Central Terminal store and a store in Louisville, Kentucky, where the company will hope it doesn't get cooked like a Southern cobbler. That recipe could also come into play if workers in Atlanta — who withdrew a vote bid last month, citing intimidation by Apple — opt to continue their union drive.

Extra Upside

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Bitcoin fell below the "psychologically important" threshold of $20,000 over the weekend.

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Meta is launching a digital clothing store where you will be able to buy Balenciaga, Prada, and Thom Browne for your digital avatar.

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