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Tesla cancels dealership opening event amid protests

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Protestors around the country have targeted Tesla showrooms, privately-owned Tesla vehicles and charging stations in retaliation to Elon Musk’s government involvement.

Tesla canceled a grand opening event for its latest New Hampshire dealership scheduled on Thursday, March 13, ahead of a planned protest outside the new location.

The local protest is the latest in a nationwide and international-reaching movement known as”Tesla Takedown,” aimed at hindering co-founder Elon Musk’s business in retaliation to his actions as Trump-appointed leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The movement ranges from picketing outside Tesla showrooms, vandalizing charging stations and other physical properties to divesting in the car company altogether.

The TeslaTakedown page on ActionNetwork encourages the public to “sell your Teslas, dump your stock (and) join the picket lines.” Despite the grand opening cancellation, demonstrators gathered outside the Portsmouth, N.H., Tesla dealership throughout the day, at one point being asked to move from the store’s entrance by police.

“We are out in mad force right now because we are not going to let them take away our democracy,” protestor Diane Kolifrath told Yahoo News. 

Actions taken against Tesla have turned criminal, with an uptick in reports of people vandalizing the cars and opening fire outside dealerships in recent months. No injuries have been reported.

The targeted attacks are in protest of Musk’s government involvement—which is responsible for mass federal worker layoffs this year—rather than his car company. In Washington, D.C., protestors gathered outside the U.S. Treasury Building for a “Nobody Elected Elon” rally in February. But those far from the nation’s capital have decided to target his business instead.

Experts say this conflation stems from how indiscernible Musk and Tesla are from each other and how Tesla property is a physical manifestation of something closely identifiable to the billionaire.

“Tesla is an easy target,” Randy Blazak, a sociologist who studies political violence, told CBS. “They’re rolling down our streets. They have dealerships in our neighborhoods.”

New York’s Human Rights Laws in Workplace Applied to Nonresidents for the First Time

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Nafeesa Syeed, a South Asian-American journalist, won her discrimination case against her former employer, Bloomberg —— making New York’s human rights law effective for nonresidents for the first time. 

On March 14, 2024, Judge Madeline Singas in Albany, overseeing the New York State Court of Appeals, ruled in favor of Syeed, who claimed being discriminated against when applying for a U.N. reporter job at the financial news publication’s New York bureau in 2018. 

As a former Bloomberg national security reporter at its Washington office from 2014 to 2018, Syeed has been an award-winning multimedia journalist with about two decades of journalism experience. She got her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and master’s degree from SOAS University of London. She had also published at least two scoops and three documentaries that are prized in competitive newsrooms like Bloomberg by the time she applied for the U.N. reporter job. 

In the lawsuit, which she filed in 2020, two years after quitting her job at the publication, she alleged that Bloomberg “denied her promotion, set her compensation, and created a hostile work environment.” As she could no longer get a promotion in Washington, Syeed applied for various positions at Bloomberg’s New York bureau but failed to get any job. 

After she “inquired multiple times” about the U.N. reporter job, Syeed’s managing editor in Washington, D.C. told her that Bloomberg decided not to “convert the U.N. job to a ‘diversity slot'” and the position was filled by a man who had less practical experience than Syeed. 

Prior to the ruling, the “impact requirement” of New York’s anti-discrimination laws, the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), and the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) only applied to residents of the New York State. For the “impact requirement,” the plaintiffs must prove that the discriminatory conduct had an “impact” within New York. This means that nonresidents who were applying for jobs in New York could not prove that employment discrimination had an impact within New York and were not protected by these laws. 

In this landmark decision of Syeed v. Bloomberg, the New York State Court ruled that “the plaintiff could satisfy the impact requirement without living or working in New York City or State at the time of the discriminatory acts.” This ruling expands the scope of New York’s anti-discrimination laws and has far-reaching implications for human rights lawsuits across the country. It allows people with no previous or present geographical connections with New York to file lawsuits against their prospective employers during the hiring process. 

The Future of Fashion Looks Young and Degree-less

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Fashion business jobs are making room in their workforce as young gens stray away from higher education and traditional career moves. 

 

Economic anxiety and crippling debt is rising amongst all ages, but Gen Z in particular is taking it personally. Increasing reports share that young people are opting for jobs that don’t require degrees because they don’t think they need them. Fashion business analysts luckily agree. 

 

As far as getting into a fashion design career, Indeed shared a number of ways people can navigate through retail innovations and experience, all of which do not include any form of school. The list suggests tips such as building a personal brand online, networking, and brushing up on the latest news and technology. While going to school hypothetically fast tracks those recommendations, it is arguably doable for anyone regardless of their academic background.

[Read more…] about The Future of Fashion Looks Young and Degree-less

Will Rage Applying Make or Break Gen Z’s Job Market?

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A new trend among Gen Z workers called “rage applying” isn’t new to society but has become very common amidst the current economy and job market. 

The concept of the buzzword term is employees applying to various roles, some having low interest or little experience in, at a rapid pace out of frustration with their current job due to being underpaid, overworked, inadequate benefits, or all of the above. The goal is to find a new job with better benefits as soon as possible and get revenge on their soon-to-be former bosses.  

The trend has been partially popular on TikTok, primarily among Generation Z, as many take their horror stories to the social media app, some getting millions of views on their videos. 

Chelsea McLin, a coordinator at a nonprofit organization, told CNBC Make It that she was “fed up” with her current role and decided to “rage apply” to other jobs, where she sometimes makes four to five applications a day. 

“I got mad at work, and I rage applied to 15 jobs,” McLin said in a TikTok video that garnered more than 2.3 million views. “I was just overwhelmed and stressed all the time. I was like, ‘I don’t like the person I am right now. I want to move before I actually hate this job,'” McLin told CNBC Make IT.

As the main objective is to find a better job, employees also want to show their old bosses how better off they are working elsewhere. This could cause havoc when attempting to find a new role as an employee may end up in the same predicament they were in previously. 

Career coach Jasmine Escalera told HuffPost those following this trend should be mindful of their energy when applying to these new roles, as it could make or break the future of their careers.

“If you do not take the time to reflect on what you really want out of your next opportunity and do your research on potential new employers, you could end up in the same loop of toxic, unfulfilling jobs,” Escalera told HuffPost.

Meta’s New Layoff Plan Causes Chaos

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A tech giant Meta Platform Inc. revealed a plan to kick off inefficient middle managers, but not enough clear instructions brought the company chaos. 

Meta asked its managers to convert into individual contractors or to leave the company, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the issue. Individual contributors usually aren’t in charge of others, instead focus on tasks like coding, designing and research. 

Higher managers are sharing the directive with subordinates in the coming weeks, aside from their regular performance reviews.  [Read more…] about Meta’s New Layoff Plan Causes Chaos

A #MeToo win: Senate ends forced arbitration and makes it easier for sexual assault victims to come forward

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FILE – A marcher carries a sign with the popular Twitter hashtag #MeToo used by people speaking out against sexual harassment as she takes part in a Women’s March in Seattle, Jan. 20, 2018. Congress on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, gave final approval to legislation guaranteeing that people who experience sexual harassment at work can seek recourse in the courts, a milestone for the #MeToo movement that prompted a national reckoning on the way sexual misconduct claims are handled in the U.S. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

After five years of the #MeToo movement, the U.S. Senate approved a legislation that makes it easier for victims of sexual assault and harassment in the workplace to come forward.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault Act, approved February 10, prohibits companies from forcing employees to resign their rights to go to an open court and sign a confidential arbitration agreement instead. The legislation also allows victims to join class action lawsuits over sexual and harassment claims.

President Joe Biden showed support for the bill, and the measure will take effect as soon as he signs it. However, the bill is not retroactive, meaning that any case settled before the change will not be affected.

Advocates for sexual assault victims say that the forced arbitration hurts accountability and prevents such allegations from becoming public, as reported by Yahoo. The measure limits the legal options for employees such as not allowing the chance to appeal, and often are very costly for them.

Experts estimate that over 60 million Americans are under this clause in their contracts.

The legislation was inspired by the #MeToo movement. In 2017, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand along with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham started the bill when thousands of women across different industries started to come forward with sexual assault allegations.

A few companies responded at the time. Wells Fargo became the first major financial institution to end its forced arbitration policy for employee sexual harassment claims, as reported by the New York Times. The big techs also joined in: Airbnb, Microsoft, Google and Facebook removed their clause after internal pressures.

However, the practice is still popular with big companies. Cases closed on forced arbitration jumped 17% in 2020 over 2019, according to a report from the American Association for Justice.

Critics say there is still work to be done to protect the victims. The approved bill only address sexual harassment and sexual assault cases and doesn’t cover other employment disputes, such as those based on discrimination and wages violations. The forced arbitration clause is used in various employment and consumer contracts.

A few lawmakers tried to propose a broader law, but they were pushed back by Republicans and business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Defenders say the forced arbitration helps avoid the costs and the long process of litigation.

Low-wage workers and sectors disproportionately made up of Black and women workers are more commonly under forced arbitration contracts, according to Reuters. While the two main arbitrator providers in the U.S. are for-profit enterprises, 77% of their arbitrators are male, and 88% are white, according to the American Association for Justice.

Workers with a formal education are more likely to benefit from the legislation, said Patti Perez, a sexual harassment prevention expert, to CNN. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t think this is a valuable piece of legislation. I just think that it is a little pie-in-the-sky to think that it’s gonna solve all of those problems” related to power dynamics in the workplace.

Employees can now turn part of their earnings into bitcoin with NYDIG’s Bitcoin Savings Plan

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(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

 

Amid high-profile partnerships, flashy commercials and influencer promotions, Bitcoin has exploded into mainstream conversation. Now, it could be entering your workplace.
[Read more…] about Employees can now turn part of their earnings into bitcoin with NYDIG’s Bitcoin Savings Plan