CA economy, labor, workplace reporter @LATimes. Alum of Wash Post, Time Mag, Reuters, OC Register. RTs are not endorsements. Also @MargotRoosevelt@journa.host
Oct 3, 2022 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
Old age inequality.
Steven Johnson, 61, spent 19 yrs as a minimum wage worker at a moving firm. And a decade as a waiter & cook.
<<In 1979, I was 7 months pregnant & extremely happy to have my 2d child. At an appointment, the ultrasound technician suddenly turned the screen away & picked up the phone to call the radiologist. 1/7 latimes.com/opinion/story/…
I was sent to the head of obstetrics, who informed me that I was carrying a child with “no head.” 2/7 latimes.com/opinion/story/…
Feb 11, 2022 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
California sues Tesla over horrific racist harassment of Black workers by managers & other employees at its main factory.
With @russ1mitchell latimes.com/business/story…
Black workers at Tesla’s CA plant were called the N-word daily, along with slurs such as “Monkey toes,” “banana boy,” “hood rats” & “mayate,” a Spanish word for dung beetle. According to CA’s lawsuit. latimes.com/business/story…
Jun 3, 2021 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
ICYMI new UCLA research shows CA’s Covid lockdowns, mask mandates & social distancing protected its economy far better than looser policies did in states such as TX, FL & IN.
Overall, U.S. GDP shrank 3.5% last year, vs 2.8% for CA.
latimes.com/business/story…
As vaccinations spread, US & CA “are about to have one of the best years of economic growth that we’ve had since World War II,” said Leo Feler, senior @UCLAForecast economist.
CA, excoriated by conservatives for its strict COVID lockdowns, mask mandates & social distancing, has had a more robust economic recovery than TX & FL, states with looser rules. latimes.com/business/story…
Generally, states that cracked down on COVID with severe restrictions on business & social activity have bounced back best, UCLA economists found. Overall, U.S. GDP shrank 3.5% last year, vs 2.8% for CA. latimes.com/business/story…
May 10, 2021 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
ICYMI…It’s still the "shecession."
And a catastrophe for gender equality.
Economists say it will take 18 months longer for women to bounce back from unemployment than it will for men. 1/7 latimes.com/business/story…
Unlike last recession when male-heavy sectors--think construction & manufacturing--suffered most, COVID whacked women’s service occupations--think hairdressing, housekeeping, childcare.
In CA,12% of women have lost jobs, vs 10.4% of men. 2/7 latimes.com/business/story…
May 9, 2021 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
It’s the 2d Covid Mother’s Day. I can’t stop thinking about Alejandra, Brittany, Violeta and Jamie, the mothers I wrote about here.
What they’ve been through.
What they’re still going through. 1/8 latimes.com/business/story…
Alejandra Siciliano, a hotel maid, was terrified to work during the pandemic.
She’s diabetic.
Guests didn’t wear masks.
But now the LAX hotel’s shut down for good & she owes $4k in rent.
“I don’t know how I can survive,” she says. 2/8 latimes.com/business/story…
May 8, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Enough with the reopening happy talk.
“I don't know how I can survive.” Women have been hit hardest by COVID's economic toll latimes.com/business/story…
A Covid catastrophe for gender equality:
Economists predict it will take 18 months longer for women to bounce back from unemployment nationwide than it will for men. latimes.com/business/story…
Jun 24, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
UCLA forecast: California is unlikely to recover its pre-coronavirus prosperity over the next 3 years, as its recovery resembles a slow ‘Nike swoosh’ latimes.com/business/story…
What recovery? In the US, GDP will plunge this quarter — at a 42% annual rate — and then gradually rise, not returning to its late-2019 peak until early 2023, a new UCA forecast predicts. latimes.com/business/story…
May 1, 2020 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
Coronavirus’ economic fallout: “It sounds corny, but we’re moving towards a worker rebellion,” says a labor leader who represents 800,000. #COVID__19latimes.com/business/story…
Will anger and fear over failures to protect workers against COVID-19 boost the labor movement? Nationally, just 11.6 % of workers are represented by unions latimes.com/business/story…
Feb 14, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
CA enacted one of the toughest labor laws in the nation. Outcry ensued. But here’s how many businesses are now complying with AB 5. latimes.com/business/story…
Uber, Lyft, Doordash & other giant tech platforms are fiercely resisting AB 5, CA’s new labor law on independent contracting. Here’s how many smaller businesses are finding ways to comply. latimes.com/business/story…
Feb 6, 2020 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Alden Global Capital has eliminated the jobs of scores of reporters and editors, decimating journalism in cities across the US: Denver, Boston, San Jose, Orange County CA. Next up: Chicago, Baltimore, and the New York Daily News. Via @joepompeo vanityfair.com/news/2020/02/h…
Heath Freeman’s Alden Global Capital: “grim reaper of American newspapers... In Northern CA, the editorial staff of 16 newspapers had reportedly been slashed from 1,000 to 150. In Orange County, apparently just 4 reporters were covering 34 cities. vanityfair.com/news/2020/02/h…
