Day: September 13, 2023

Death toll continues to rise after Libyan floods; Morocco’s residents say the recent earthquake has shown the resilience and spirit of the people; North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that he supports Russia’s “sacred war” against Western imperialism.

With just more than 24 hours before a strike deadline, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said Wednesday that offers from the companies aren’t enough and the union is getting ready to strike.

In an online address to union members, Fain said General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have raised their initial wage offers but have rejected some of the union’s other demands.

“We do not yet have offers on the table that reflect the sacrifices and contributions our members have made to these companies,” he said. “To win we’re likely going to have to take action. We are preparing to strike these companies in a way they’ve never seen before.”

The union is threatening to strike after contracts with companies that haven’t reached an agreement by 11:59 p.m. Thursday. But the strikes would be focused on a small number of factories per company. It would be the first time in the union’s 80-plus-year history that it struck all three companies at the same time.

Talks continued Wednesday with the companies, but it appeared that both sides are still far apart.

Automakers contend that they need to make huge investments to develop and build electric vehicles while still building and engineering internal combustion vehicles. They say an expensive labor agreement could saddle them with costs that would force them to raise prices above their non-union foreign competitors. And they say they have made fair proposals to the union.

“If there is a strike, it’s not because Ford didn’t make a great offer. We have, and that’s what we can control,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley.

Fain said the final decision on which plants to strike won’t be made until Thursday night and will be announced at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

The union president said it is still possible that all 146,000 UAW members could walk out, but the union will begin by striking at a limited number of plants.

“If the companies continue to bargain in bad faith or continue to stall or continue to give us insulting offers, then our strike is going to continue to grow,” Fain said. He said the targeted strikes, with the threat of escalation, “will keep the companies guessing.”

The union will not extend contracts, so those who stay at work will do so with an expired agreement. Fain said he understands sentiment behind an all-out strike, which is still possible. But he said the targeted-strike strategy is more flexible and effective.

If there’s no deal by the end of Thursday, union officials will not bargain on Friday and instead will join workers on picket lines, he said.

The UAW started out demanding 40% raises over the life of a four-year contract, or 46% when compounded annually. Initial offers from the companies fell far short of those figures.

The UAW later lowered its demand to around 36%. In addition to general wage increases, the union is seeking restoration of cost-of-living pay raises, an end to varying tiers of wages for factory jobs, a 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay, the restoration of traditional defined-benefit pensions for new hires who now receive only 401(k)-style retirement plans, pension increases for retirees and other items.

Wednesday, Fain said the companies upped their wage offers, but he still called them inadequate. Ford offered 20% over 4-½ years, while GM was at 18% for four years and Stellantis was at 17.5%. The raises barely make up for what he described as minimal raises of the past. In a 2019 agreement the union got 6% pay raises over four years with lump sums in some years as well as profit sharing checks.

Top pay for an assembly plant worker is now $32 per hour.

All three companies’ offers on cost-of-living adjustments were deficient, he said, providing little or no protection against inflation, or annual lump sums that many workers won’t get.

The companies rejected pay raises for retirees who haven’t received one in over a decade, Fain said, and they’re seeking concessions in annual profit-sharing checks, which often are more than $10,000.

In a statement, Stellantis said it gave the union a third wage-and-benefit offer and is waiting for a response.

“Our focus remains on bargaining in good faith to have a tentative agreement on the table before tomorrow’s deadline,” Tobin Williams, the company’s head of human resources in North America, said in a statement. “The future for our represented employees and their families deserves nothing less.”

GM said in a statement that it continues to bargain in good faith, making “additional strong offers.”

The company reported progress including guaranteed annual wage increases and investment, investing in U.S. factories and shortening the number of years for employees to make top wages.

Farley, the Ford CEO, said in a statement that his company has made four “increasingly generous” offers since Aug. 29. “We still have not received any genuine counteroffer,” he said.

Farley said Ford has raised its wage offer, eliminated wage tiers and shortened from eight years to four years the time it would take hourly workers to reach top scale, and added more time off.

Thomas Kochan, a professor of work and employment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said both sides are going to have to make big compromises quickly in order to settle the disputes before the Thursday deadline.

“It’ll go down to the wire, and there won’t be an agreement until the final moment, if there is one at all,” he said.

The union, he said, knows its initial proposals weren’t realistic for any of the companies, but the companies know they’re going to have to make a very expensive settlement, including addressing tiered wages for people doing the same jobs.

With Fain in charge of the union, the negotiations have been the most public in U.S. history, he said, putting pressure on both sides to reach an agreement.

Cavalcante was captured in Pennsylvania on Wednesday after weeks on the run.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explains why if aliens were visiting Earth, we wouldn’t need congressional hearings to know about it.

(NewsNation) — The White House issued a memo Wednesday urging the media to “ramp up its scrutiny” of House Republicans after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

NewsNation political editor Chris Stirewalt says the media can handle some reproof from the president.

“Republicans aren’t the only ones that benefit from making the press the enemy. Democrats have done it before. And voters don’t hold us in particularly high esteem. So taking a swipe at the press probably is good politics,” said Stirewalt.

Stirewalt joined NewsNation’s “The Hill” to discuss the White House’s reaction to the impeachment investigation opened into President Joe Biden, saying the Democrats will ultimately benefit.

“If I were a Democrat, I would want as much attention on the Republicans and this impeachment as possible. I think this is great for the experience with impeachments in recent political history, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and I assume with Joe Biden,” Stirewalt said.

He added, “It’s helpful to the incumbent being impeached; it makes the other side look bad.”

Two Russian military vessels reportedly badly damaged in Ukrainian missile attack on Black Sea fleet base in Crimea

• See all our Russia-Ukraine coverage

Ukraine has struck Russian naval targets and port infrastructure in the Crimean city of Sevastopol in what appeared to be the biggest attack yet on the home of the Russian navy’s Black Sea fleet. A large vessel and a submarine struck in the pre-dawn attack were so badly damaged as to be likely beyond repair, Ukrainian military intelligence official Andriy Yusov said. Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine attacked a Black Sea shipyard with 10 cruise missiles and three uncrewed speedboats, wounding 24 people.

Kim Jong-un invited Vladimir Putin to his country during their meeting in Russia and Putin accepted, Pyongyang’s state media KCNA reported on Thursday. The invitation came after the North Korean leader offered the Russian president his support for Russia’s “sacred fight” against the west during talks at a space base in Russia’s far east. The talks also touched on possible Russian help with North Korea’s space program.

The US state department said the Biden administration “won’t hesitate” to impose additional sanctions on Russia and North Korea if they establish further new arms deals.

Romania has found new fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian army near its border, officials say. Romanian specialist teams were deployed to the eastern county of Tulcea, where the fragments were spread over an area of “several dozen metres”, the defence ministry said. Preliminary analyses of the first two drone fragments had shown they did not explode in Romania, a Nato member, and were not carrying explosives.

The US ambassador to Russia has visited jailed US citizen Paul Whelan and reiterated Washington’s support to bring him back to the US, the state department said on Wednesday. Whelan, a former marine, was arrested in 2018 in Russia, convicted in 2020 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

A Russian-installed court in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region jailed two Ukrainian soldiers for 29 years each, Russia’s investigative committee has said, after it accused them of killing three civilians. Moscow has repeatedly sentenced captured Ukrainian soldiers to long jail terms, in court proceedings that Kyiv does not recognise on Russian-occupied territory.

Russia’s defence minister said his forces were maintaining “active defence” in the face of Ukraine’s counteroffensive and that Moscow had no choice but to win. Sergei Shoigu said the autumn campaign was now under way and acknowledged to Rossiya-1 state TV that the situation on the front was difficult in places.

More than 100 port infrastructure facilities have been damaged in Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports since 18 July, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister has said. Oleksandr Kubrakov also said Ukrainian grain exports had fallen by almost 3m tonnes a month since 18 July, a day after Russia quit the UN- backed Black Sea grain export deal.

The European Commission president has said a major series of policy reviews will launched to ensure the 27-nation bloc can still function properly as it invites in new members in coming years. Ursula von der Leyen said the EU must prepare to grow to more than 30 members. Ukraine, Moldova and countries in the western Balkans are among those in line.

Continue reading…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to his country during their talks in Russia on Wednesday, Pyongyang’s state media KCNA reported on Thursday, adding Putin accepted the invitation.

Kim told Putin the meeting in Russia’s Far East brought bilateral ties to a new level, and expressed his willingness to foster stable, future-oriented relations for the next 100 years, KCNA said.

Both sides agreed to further strengthen strategic and tactical cooperation in the face of the “military threats, provocations and tyranny of imperialists,” it said.

Kim was briefed on technical details about Russian space vehicles during his visit to a cosmodrome, but there was no mention of any arms supplies, trade of weapons or technical assistance over weapons programmes.

U.S. and South Korean officials have expressed concern that Kim could provide weapons and ammunition to Russia, which has expended vast stocks in more than 18 months of war in Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied such intentions.

On Wednesday, Putin gave numerous hints that military cooperation was discussed but disclosed few details. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu attended the talks. The Kremlin said sensitive discussions between neighbours were a private matter.

Related Galleries:

Clashes intensified Wednesday in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, leaving at least five people dead and more than a dozen wounded, Lebanese state media and security officials said. Scores of civilians have been forced to flee to safer areas.

The latest deaths bring to 11 the number of people killed since the fighting erupted again in Ein el-Hilweh camp near the southern port city of Sidon on Sept. 7, despite multiple cease-fire agreements.

Stray bullets hit residential areas outside the camp, including several that struck a fire engine as firefighters were battling a blaze near an army post, the state-run National News Agency said. The blaze was not related to the camp fighting.

The fighting broke out last week after nearly a month of calm in Ein el-Hilweh between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah group and members of militant Islamic factions.

Fatah and other allied factions had intended to crack down on suspects accused of killing a senior Fatah military official in the camp in late July.

NNA reported that among the five killed on Wednesday were three Fatah members. It said 15 people were also wounded in the clashes.

A top official with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Moussa Abu Marzouk, arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to push for an end to clashes with no success.

Ein el-Hilweh is home to some 55,000 people according to the United Nations and is notorious for its lawlessness and violence.

Lebanon is home to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Many live in the 12 refugee camps that are scattered around the small Mediterranean country. Ein el-Hilweh was established in 1948 to house Palestinians who were displaced when Israel was established.

A federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. 

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states suing to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The judge’s ruling was ultimately expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, sending the program’s fate before the high court for a third time. 

Hanen barred the government from approving any new applications but left the program intact for existing recipients during the expected appeals. Hanen said his order did not require the federal government to take any actions against DACA recipients. 

The states have argued the Obama administration didn’t have the authority to create the program in 2012 because it circumvented Congress. 

In 2021, Hanen declared the program illegal, ruling it had not been subject to public notice and comment periods required under the federal Administrative Procedures Act. 

The Biden administration tried to satisfy Hanen’s concerns with a new version of DACA that took effect in October 2022 and was subject to public comments as part of a formal rule-making process. 

But Hanen, who was appointed by then-President George W. Bush in 2002, ruled the updated version of DACA was still illegal. He had previously said DACA was unconstitutional and it would be up to Congress to enact legislation shielding people under the program, often known as “Dreamers.” 

Hanen also had previously ruled the states had standing to file their lawsuit because they had been harmed by the program. 

The states have claimed they incur hundreds of millions of dollars in health care, education and other costs when immigrants are allowed to remain in the country illegally. The states that sued are Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas and Mississippi. 

Those defending the program — the federal government, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the state of New Jersey — had argued the states failed to present evidence that any of the costs they allege they have incurred have been tied to DACA recipients. They also argued Congress has given the Department of Homeland Security the legal authority to set immigration enforcement policies. 

Despite previously declaring the DACA program illegal, Hanen had left the program intact for those already benefiting from it. But he had ruled there could be no new applicants while appeals were pending. 

There were 578,680 people enrolled in DACA at the end of March, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

The program has faced a roller coaster of court challenges over the years. 

In 2016, the Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 over an expanded DACA and a version of the program for parents of DACA recipients. In 2020, the high court ruled 5-4 that the Trump administration had improperly ended DACA, which allowed it to stay in place. 

In 2022, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld Hanen’s earlier ruling declaring DACA illegal but sent the case back to him to review changes made to the program by the Biden administration. 

President Joe Biden and advocacy groups have called on Congress to pass permanent protections for “Dreamers.” Congress has failed multiple times to pass proposals called the DREAM Act to protect DACA recipients.

War can bring out the best in people, but it also sadly takes away many of the best among us. Around one-third of the more than six hundred member companies at the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (AmCham Ukraine) have seen employees killed during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Almost half of all member companies have experienced some form of damage to plants or facilities as a result of the invasion.

These figures reflect the tragic toll of the war on the Ukrainian people. Thousands of lives have been lost, and millions of Ukrainians have been forced from their homes. The scale of the destruction caused by Russia’s invasion has also been staggering and already runs to hundreds of billions of dollars in material damage. This total continues to rise on a daily basis.

Despite these horrors, the mood on the ground in Ukraine remains remarkably resilient. While lionhearted Ukrainians defend their country on the battlefield, companies work hard in the business arena to safeguard Ukraine’s economy and pave the way for future recovery. The Ukrainian business environment remains strikingly dynamic and innovative; for example, since the start of the full-scale invasion, AmCham Ukraine has welcomed 88 new member companies.

Businesses throughout Ukraine have adapted impressively to the many security, logistical, and economic challenges of the war. They continue to pay taxes, create jobs, invest, rebuild communities, support humanitarian efforts, and deliver essential services in exceptionally difficult and unpredictable circumstances. Looking ahead, they are ready to show the whole world what they are really capable of once peace returns to the country.

Subscribe to UkraineAlert

AmCham Ukraine has conducted nine surveys since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion to gauge the mood within the Ukrainian business community. Many of the survey findings have been consistent throughout the entire wartime period, and have reflected the courage and confidence that have sustained Ukrainian businesses amid the physical hardships and mental trauma of the invasion.

As the war passed the eighteen month mark in late August, 84% of AmCham Ukraine member companies were operational. Many confirmed that they already had upbeat plans in place for Ukraine’s recovery and rebuilding, with 74% planning to create jobs within the framework of existing projects and 63% looking to invest in new projects or facilities. Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority of member companies (92%) expressed their confidence in Ukrainian victory.

As Russia continues to bomb residential buildings, schools, hospitals, and Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, the safety and security of employees and clients remains the number one priority for all businesses operating in today’s Ukraine. Other pressing war-related issues include de-mining, the conscription of employees, the ongoing Russian naval blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, transport queues at Ukraine’s land borders with the country’s EU neighbors, war risk insurance, cyber security, and much more. Nevertheless, clear indications of durability and innovation can be seen throughout the Ukrainian business community, with the Ukrainian economy expected to experience modest growth in 2023 following an inevitably sharp decline during the first year of the invasion.

My message to the international business community is unambiguous: It is risky to invest in Ukraine right now, but it’s riskier not to invest. There are countless examples of companies throughout the Ukrainian economy that successfully operate in-between air raid sirens; meanwhile, many multinationals have resumed operations in Ukraine’s regions and are building shelters or other infrastructure to address the specific security challenges created by the Russian invasion. It’s a risk-and-reward model in action.

I am convinced that now is the right moment to begin looking at Ukraine as a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity. The biggest national recovery project in Europe since World War II is already underway and will gain considerable further momentum in the months and years ahead. Those who join this process during the early stages will benefit from a range of advantages.

Ukraine is a vast country with a large population, bountiful resources, and an excellent workforce. It is ideally located on the border of the European Union, with EU accession on track. Today’s Ukraine is an increasingly self-confident country that has turned away from Russia and is advancing toward greater Euro-Atlantic integration. Over the past eighteen months, Ukraine’s resilient response to Russia’s criminal invasion has captured the imagination of the watching world; Ukrainians are now more determined than ever to build the kind of future their nation deserves. This will create opportunities that no ambitious investors or international businesses should miss.

Andy Hunder is President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.

Further reading

The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

The post Now is the time for businesses to look at Ukraine appeared first on Atlantic Council.