GoKawiil
Tech News
With Democrats set to control the House, early signals point to labor and workplace issues—such as minimum wage increases and the gender pay gap—becoming legislative priorities. However, such measures face steep obstacles, including the Senate filibuster and the threat of a presidential veto from Trump.
Employees at Guai Guai's Zhongli, Taiwan snack factory, operating since 1968, voted 94% in favor of a strike after the company announced it would relocate to Hsinchu. Workers can keep jobs by relocating or commuting and were offered a 5% raise, but the union says this merely matches Taiwan's mandated minimum wage increase, and they want a share of the NT$5.6 billion (US$176.1 million) the company received selling the Zhongli site to ASE for redevelopment.
New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection reached a settlement requiring DoorDash to pay $131.5 million after an investigation into late, missing, or miscalculated payments to delivery workers. More than 260,000 workers will share over $115 million, with the remainder covering civil penalties and disputed pay for time Dashers spent online awaiting deliveries.
Amazon has raised the minimum hourly wage for its frontline warehouse staff by $1, bringing starting pay to $20 an hour just as the company enters its busiest shopping period. The change affects hundreds of thousands of workers across its fulfillment network.
Amazon is boosting minimum starting pay for its core U.S. operations staff, including delivery drivers and fulfillment center workers, to $20 per hour, pushing average hourly pay to nearly $24. The company is also adding perks like access to a low-cost banking service called Day 1 Financial, a credit union membership, and discounts on Whole Foods purchases both in-store and online.
A growing number of US restaurants are eliminating tipping and replacing it with fixed hourly pay or built-in service charges. Workers say tips only cover the hours spent serving customers, leaving unpaid or minimum-wage time for prep and closing duties before and after service.