#DEFUNDTHEMILITARY

Defense Department cancels all border wall contracts using funds intended for military missions

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN 4/30/2021

The Defense Department is canceling all contracts for wall construction on the US-Mexico border that used funds originally intended for military missions and functions, the department announced Friday, a significant action after the Trump administration dipped into Pentagon funds to build additional border barriers.

© CNN

In one of his first actions in office, President Joe Biden ordered a pause on wall construction and called for a review of projects and funds. While that review is ongoing, the administration is taking steps to send back billions' worth of funds to the Pentagon, so that they can be used for their initial purpose.

"Consistent with the President's proclamation, the Department of Defense is proceeding with canceling all border barrier construction projects paid for with funds originally intended for other military missions and functions such as schools for military children, overseas military construction projects in partner nations, and the National Guard and Reserve equipment account," said Jamal Brown, deputy pentagon spokesman, in a statement.

"DoD has begun taking all necessary actions to cancel border barrier projects and to coordinate with interagency partners. Today's action reflects this Administration's continued commitment to defending our nation and supporting our service members and their families," Brown added.

Since 2019, more than 340 miles have been built in multiple locations along the border using Pentagon funds, according to US Customs and Border Protection.

The Department of Homeland Security also announced it will pick up some projects that had been ongoing and need to be addressed due to risks of flooding and soil erosion in Texas and California, saying in a statement: "As DHS continues to review the extensive problems created by the prior administration's border wall construction and develop its plans, the department will take the following initial steps consistent with the President's Proclamation to protect border communities."

An administration official said the projects will not involve expanding the border barrier.

Career officials at CBP were pushing the administration to finish some projects, particularly ones that involved the levee and others that were at risk of erosion, according to a Homeland Security official.

In 2019, then-President Donald Trump declared a national emergency that allowed his administration to dip into Pentagon funds for his signature border wall. The move received swift criticism from states, lawmakers and advocacy groups and became the subject of several lawsuits.

Those lawsuits have been put on hold since Biden came into office. Earlier this month, the Justice Department told the US District Court for the Northern District of California that the administration was still deciding on next steps for the US-Mexico border wall after the President called for a pause on construction.

AT&T shareholders vote against approving executive compensation

Reuters/Brendan McDermid FILE PHOTO: The company logo for Oracle Corp. is displayed on a screen on the floor at the NYSE in New York

(Reuters) -AT&T Inc shareholders on Friday voted against a measure to approve executive compensation, according to preliminary voting results from the company's annual meeting.

AT&T did not give a number for the opposing votes, but said preliminary results showed 49% were cast in favor of approving executive compensation.

The total compensation package for Jason Kilar, chief executive of AT&T's media unit WarnerMedia, was more than $52 million, more than double the $21 million for AT&T CEO John Stankey, according to the company's proxy statement.

"Given the dynamic markets in which we operate, the Board is laser-focused on attracting and retaining the talent necessary to deliver on our strategic objectives and create shareholder value,” William Kennard, chairman of AT&T’s board of directors, said in a statement following the annual meeting.

Kilar is a pioneer in the streaming video industry as the founding CEO of Hulu, now owned by Walt Disney Co.

He was recruited to take over AT&T's media properties last year to help turn it into a viable competitor to Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Disney and Comcast Corp's NBCUniversal in the global streaming video war.

In a statement following the annual meeting, AT&T said, "As we further engage with our owners on this important topic, the Board will carefully consider today’s advisory vote to ensure that our approach to compensation continues to reflect these principles.”

Historically shareholders have rarely voted against executive compensation but have done so more often recently as executive pay packages have ballooned.

In March, shareholders of Starbucks Corp voted against the executive pay plan in a non-binding resolution.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang; Editing by Richard Chang, Kenneth Li and Cynthia Osterman)

Exclusive: Credit Suisse investors call for tougher coal finance policy - letter

By Simon Jessop and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi

© Reuters/Shannon Stapleton FILE PHOTO:

 A leaf sits on top of a pile of coal in Youngstown, Ohio

LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse investors managing $2.5 trillion have called for the bank to take a tougher stance on coal financing, amid concern its current policies are too lax, a letter seen by Reuters showed.

The role of lenders in financing the activities of companies responsible for the major share of greenhouse gas emissions has increasingly been the focus of investors and policymakers, keen to accelerate climate action.

Thermal coal, used to generate electricity, has been a focal point as it is one of the heaviest-emitting fossil fuels and investors are eager to see it phased out. A similar investor group has already won a pledge to do so from HSBC and is urging Barclays to follow suit.

While backing Credit Suisse's pledge to align its financing with the Paris Agreement on climate and set science-based emissions-reduction targets within two years, the investors said they also wanted "firm" operational steps to curb coal lending.

Since shareholders cannot ask questions of the board at the company's virtual annual general meeting on Friday - which will be overshadowed by the bank's losses from investment fund Archegos - the investors, including one of Europe's biggest, Amundi, wrote to the board on Thursday laying out their demands.

Coordinated by responsible investment NGO ShareAction, the group also includes the Ethos Foundation, which advises 225 Swiss pension funds and public utility foundations and whose members hold between 3%-5% of the company's stock, as well as BMO Global Asset Management, Actiam and Folksam.

In the letter, the group said the expansion of the coal industry had "long been recognised as being incompatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement", which requires countries to get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Citing research from the Rainforest Action Network showing Credit Suisse to be Europe's third-biggest funder of coal power and Europe's largest backer of coal mining between 2016 and 2020, the letter said the bank was lagging peers on the issue.

Last July, the bank said it would stop funding or underwriting companies with a coal share of revenue greater than 25%, unless they had a "credible" strategy to diversify away from thermal coal.

"However, the bank does not disclose what it considers to be a 'credible transition strategy away from thermal coal extraction or coal power', as opposed to some of its European peers," the letter said.

In its 2020 sustainability report, the bank said its new restrictions had already seen it turn down some business, adding it had further decided against deals above and beyond those policies, including a bond issuance for a large thermal coal mining and power generation company, on the basis of sustainability.

It said it had also developed sector-specific energy transition frameworks for clients active in a number of fields, including coal mining.

Despite that, the investors said they wanted the bank to set a firm date by which it will have phased out lending to coal companies, in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommendations to do so in OECD countries by 2030 and the rest of the world by 2040.

A spokeswoman for Credit Suisse said in response to a request for comment, “We are in continued close contact with ShareAction about our energy policy and climate strategy, appreciate their constructive engagement and their recognition of the significant progress we have made”.

For Credit Suisse clients currently involved in the sector or using coal in some way, the investors called on the bank to help them develop, publish and implement coal phase-out plans in line with the IPCC recommendations no later than December 2023.

Lastly, the group said Credit Suisse should curb its general corporate financing, underwriting and advisory services to companies developing new coal mines and coal-fired power plants.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; additional reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

The Methodist Church sold its entire stake in Shell over climate concerns, report says

skiderlin@businessinsider.com (Sophie Kiderlin) 30/4/2021

© Dave Rushen/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a banner with the words Shell Out outside Shell Tower at Waterloo, London.

The Methodist Church has sold all of its stakes in oil and gas major Shell over its emissions policy, the Financial Times reported.
Shareholders are due to vote on Shell's energy transition plans in May.
Shell's Q1 2021 earnings exceeded analyst expectations, as strong energy prices drove up profit.

The Methodist Church has sold off its entire investment in energy company Shell, which was worth over £20 million ($27 million), as it is concerned about Shell's clean energy strategy, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Shell is aiming to adhere to the Paris Agreement and become a net-zero company by 2050 through reducing its carbon intensity step by step, lowering it first by 20% before 2030 and then by 45% by 2035. 'Carbon intensity' refers to the amount of emissions each unit of energy that Shell sells produces.

The company is increasing the amount of low-carbon energy sources such as hydrogen, or biofuels, in the products it sells and is planning to focus on producing more clean power. The company plans to capture, or offset, any unavoidable emissions created by its energy production. It also works with its customers to support them in lowering their own carbon footprint, according to Shell's website.

However, the Methodist Church does not believe these measures go far enough and Shell is not making a substantial enough effort to address climate change, the FT said.

Shareholders will be asked to vote on Shell's clean energy strategy at the company's annual general meeting in May, although the results won't be binding, the FT said.

In its first quarter earnings, Shell exceeded analyst expectations as earnings rose to $3.2 billion, rather than the expected $3.1 billion. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, when adjusted earnings were reported as $393 million, this reflects growth of 724%. Year-on-year, quarterly growth was around 11.5% - in the first quarter of 2021.

Shell said rising oil and LNG prices, chemicals and refining margins and lower depreciation were behind the quarterly pickup in growth, which was not affected by the Texan winter storm earlier this year. Shell said the storm caused losses of $200 million.
Read the original article on Business Insider

Supermodel Iman Reveals Her ‘Rate Was Different To White Girls’ At The Start Of Her Career

Sarah Curran 

ET 29/4/2021
11

© Photo: Jamie McCarthy/amfAR/Getty Images Iman

Iman is reflecting on the racism that she encountered after moving to the U.S. to begin her career as a model.


While appearing on the latest episode of Naomi Campbell's "No Filter" YouTube show, the 65-year-old supermodel discussed her first experiences of discrimination. BELOW

RELATED: Iman Says She’ll Never Marry Again After Husband David Bowie’s Death: ‘This Was My True Love’

Iman, who grew up in Somalia before moving to New York in 1975, recalled, “My first experience [of racism] was seeing the discrepancies in pay between white models and Black models. My rate was different to white girls – it was an unspoken rule.”

The runway star decided to go on strike for three months as a protest against the discrepancy.

She continued, “If I’m doing the same job as a Caucasian model, why am I being paid less? I thought that if I took [the lower wage] I’d be saying ‘I deserve less’.”

Iman also remembered the makeup issues that she faced on her first photoshoot.

RELATED: Iman Shares Tribute To Late Husband David Bowie On His Birthday

“I was at a Vogue shoot with a Caucasian model. When the makeup artist finished her makeup and it was my turn, he asked me: ‘Did you bring your own foundation?’” she said.

The makeup artist then proceeded to “mix and match” the colours that he had. “When I looked into the mirror I didn’t look brown any more, I looked grey,” Iman said.

Inspired by the incident, Iman later went on to launch her own million dollar cosmetics business in 1994.

Speaking about how Black models were pitted against one another at the beginning of her career, Iman shared, “What I witnessed in America when I arrived here in 1975 was how [the fashion industry] purposefully pitched Black models against each other. [The attitude was] you have to dethrone one to take the place of another, but we could see lots of top white models working at the same time.”

RELATED: David Bowie And Iman’s Daughter Lexi Jones Shares Epic Response To ‘Perverted And Vulgar’ Instagram Follower

On refusing to compete with fellow model Beverly Johnson, she added, “I’m not going to play that game … because there’s space for both of us."

ONTARIO

New resource centre for migrant farm workers opens in Simcoe


Migrant farm workers in Norfolk County have a new place to call their own.

The Centre for Migrant Worker Solidarity recently opened on Kent Street in Simcoe. Once gathering restrictions are eased, director Fanny Belcoski will welcome workers looking to connect to free Wi-Fi, get answers to legal and workplace safety questions, or just hang out together.

“The idea is to have a physical place where they can come for information, for support, for internet,” Belcoski said.

The centre is funded by Service Canada through a $163,000 grant administered by KAIROS Canada, a faith-based social justice organization.

Connie Sorio, migrant justice co-ordinator with KAIROS, said the Simcoe centre aims to keep workers safe from COVID-19 and informed of their rights.

“People brought to Canada from overseas to work here are often not aware of or are unable to access available services or advocate for themselves if their rights are violated, especially during the pandemic,” Sorio said.

“We want to mobilize community organizations and individuals to welcome these workers — not just by saying ‘we welcome you,’ but by providing the supports and services workers need.”

Norfolk needed a new centre for migrant workers after a gathering place run by the United Food and Commercial Workers union closed in 2017.

“When the centre closed, workers were without a home,” said Belcoski, who co-ordinated the previous centre and put off retirement to take on this new project.

“We find that having an office gives us a presence and some visibility. The centre is a place where workers can come and gather,” added Rev. Peter Ciallella, a Catholic priest who provides support to migrant workers out of his parish, Blessed Sacrament in Burford.

Among the centre’s first projects is to assemble and distribute 5,000 “welcome bags” to workers quarantining at area farms or hotels. Inside each bag are handy items such as face masks and hand sanitizer, soap and toothpaste, a towel and socks, and packages of cookies and granola bars.

“This is a way to say, ‘Thank you for coming to Canada and for the work you do,’” Belcoski said.

There is also contact information for the new centre in case workers need help while in quarantine. Already this season, Ciallella conducted a prayer service over the phone for a worker whose mother died in Mexico not long after he landed in Canada.

Before the latest lockdown, local elementary school classes made cards welcoming farm workers to Norfolk and thanking them for their essential work. One of the colourful cards is in each bag.

“The workers love the cards. They make them feel welcome,” Belcoski said.

“We wanted to get the schools involved because we want the kids to know that the workers are here. They put the food on the table, and the workers are not invisible. They have voices too.”

Langton berry farmer Helen Zamecnik of EZ Grow Farms — which brings in 35 migrant workers from Jamaica and Trinidad each spring — called the welcome bags a “wonderful” initiative.

“Pretty well everything that’s in the bag is what I as a farmer would leave on their beds or on the counter,” said Zamecnik, who stocks the workers’ bunkhouses with groceries and other useful items.

“Even down to the socks — they always know they’re going to get a fresh, warm pair of socks from me, and it’s in the bag,” she said.

“So it’s all most welcomed and most appreciated. And everything will be used — that I know for a fact.”

Besides the practicality — Zamecnik said the sturdy bags themselves will come in handy in the fields and while shopping — the gifts are a morale boost.

“They right away felt special,” said Zamecnik. “Every bit helps, and if there’s a smile at the end of it, then it’s a good thing.”

Staff at the centre created short online videos in English and Spanish to educate workers about COVID-19 precautions and testing, and their rights while in Canada. Belcoski also fields questions about employment benefits, and if workers need help reporting unsafe working conditions or inadequate housing, the centre can be a first point of contact.

“Any questions they have, we guide them to the right channels,” Belcoski said.

Sorio hopes the centre will eventually serve to educate the broader community about “the role migrant workers play in our whole economic and food security system” while “decreasing the racism and xenophobia that many people have.”

“It’s an opportunity to deepen that understanding and also deepen that gratitude for what the migrant workers bring to us,” she said.

J.P. Antonacci, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator

 Port of Montreal workers furious over back-to-work legislation

Duration: 01:51 

Striking dockworkers at the Port of Montreal say they are livid at the federal government's plan to force them back to work with legislation. The bill was passed on Thursday but still needs to make its way through the senate. Global's Olivia O'Malley has more.

ONTARIO

Front-line workers say that 3 paid sick days is not enough to protect them from contracting or spreading COVID-19

Duration: 02:23

WATCH: Kingston area MPP, the president of Kingston's hospital workers, and the president of the Ontario Nurses' Association call on the Ford government to do more to protect workers. They say that 3 paid sick days does not offer the protection needed when dealing with COVID-19 or any of its variants

SUDBURY

Laurentian created a 'manufactured crisis' to cut ties with 3 schools for $10M loan, court told

CBC/Radio-Canada 
29/4/2021

© Yvon Theriault/Radio-Canada Laurentian University has been going though unprecedented restructuring in the wake of declaring financial insolvency on Feb. 1. The Sudbury, Ont. school is currently under creditor protection, and was in Ontario…

Laurentian University's attempts to cut ties with three federated schools, as part of efforts to qualify for a $10-million loan to help it continue with restructuring for survival, was met with heated opposition in Ontario Superior Court on Thursday.

Laurentian lawyer D.J. Miller argued the Sudbury, Ont., university wouldn't' be sustainable without the loan, so needs to end contracts with Thorneloe University, the University of Sudbury and Huntington University, including to keep $7.7 million in grants and funding that would normally flow to those partners.

Miller also told Justice Geoffrey Morawetz that Laurentian severing its relationship with the three other universities is a requirement of getting approved for the loan from Firm Capital Mortgage Fund Inc.

Laurentian "cannot put forward a viable plan if it does not have the ability to stop the flow of money from Laurentian to the federated universities," she said.

The university needs the court's approval to move forward with restructuring. The hearing is the latest move in its ongoing attempts to operate while trying to gain financial stability as part of the insolvency process under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

Earlier this month, the school started making deep cuts to staff and programs, prompting outcry from students, staff and supporters, and calls for governments to step in. The federated universities, in turn, launched court challenges after Laurentian announced cutting ties with them would be an important part of becoming financially viable again.

Schools say cost to cut ties overblown

Thorneloe and the University of Sudbury, however, say there's no cost to Laurentian to maintain ties with them, and ending the federated agreements would drive Thorneloe, at least, into its own financial crisis.

For its part, Huntington has reached an agreement to sell its online gerontology program to Laurentian and cease offering courses.

But during Thursday's court proceedings, it was revealed that if the other two universities win their court challenges, Huntington would also benefit and retain its federated status.

Andrew Hatnay, lawyer representing Thorneloe, accused Laurentian of just "plain mismanagement," saying it would only retain $1.8 million from ending its agreement with Thorneloe alone.

Hatnay argued Laurentian is exploiting the restructuring process, saying it simply wants to stop students from taking Thorneloe courses and direct them to Laurentian to lessen competition.

He said Laurentian's claim it needs a loan quickly, by the April 30 deadline, is a "manufactured crisis," and he accused Laurentian of deploying "tactics" to reach its financial goals.

Laurentian lawyer deflects competition idea

Miller said cutting personnel and programs were only part of the initial attempts to show how Laurentian would immediately reduce costs. She said the lending condition that the federated partners be severed was added April 19, after time was spent trying to negotiate a consensual agreement with them.

She dismissed the argument Laurentian simply wants to reduce competition.

"Evidence is clear, and the testimony of [Laurentian] president Robert Haché has been abundantly clear, that to suggest that Thorneloe and Laurentian are in competition is to suggest that a store that sells computers down the road is in competition with Dell," she said.

"This is not about eliminating the competition. There are three service providers here moving to one service provider which will provide service to all students."

Miller said Laurentian plans to use its own faculty and facilities, so isn't in need of support from the other schools.

If the federated universities win court challenges to stop the split, it would lead to Laurentian's demise, she said.

The University of Sudbury's case against Laurentian's separation plan is scheduled to be heard by another judge on Friday.

Laurentian wants to continue to be protected from creditors so it can apply for the $10 million, which would allow it to still operate while restructuring, and needs court approval for certain conditions to qualify for the loan — most importantly getting the OK to split with the three federated universities.

Miller said getting the $10-million loan would allow it to deal with creditors, and teach spring courses as well as six Indigenous studies courses.

As well, she said, Laurentian would be able to meet the terms it agreed on with Huntington University, including paying $1.2 million into a pension plan and Laurentian would acquire Huntington's gerontology program.

Lender has 'a lot of skin in the game'

Vern Da Re, representing Firm Capital Mortgage Fund in court, confirmed the lender's condition that Laurentian end its agreements with the federated universities to qualify for loan money on top of the $25 million it already lent to Laurentian.

"I don't think my client should be forced to advance $10 million — that would have a chilling effect on further loans," Da Re said.

He said his client simply wants to know his loan will be repaid, and emphasized these are all business decisions.

"We've got a lot of skin in the game."

Morawetz expressed frustration that he was being asked to make a critical decision within a short amount of time.

"Could this timing crisis not been averted with actions entirely within the power of the applicant?" the judge asked.

But Morawetz said he and the judge in the University of Sudbury hearing will deliver written decisions sometime before 11 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Classes for Laurentian's spring term start May 3.

WHY YOU NEED A UNION
As more retailers turn to tech, Macy's store employees score victory in challenging self-checkout in mobile app

Melissa Repko 

A union that represents Macy's employees scored a victory in challenging a self-checkout feature in the retailer's mobile app.

An independent arbitrator ruled last week that Macy's violated its bargaining agreement and said the company must find a way to credit employees for sales through the app or exclude departments, such as men's suits and cosmetics, that have commission-based pay.

The labor dispute spotlights the tension between technology and workers in the retail industry, especially as the pandemic drives more digital adoption and retailers race to adapt to consumer preferences.

© Provided by CNBC People wear facemasks as they walk through Herald Square on January 8, 2021 in New York City.

When Macy's rolled out a new self-checkout feature in its mobile app in 2018, the department store touted how customers could browse stores but skip the hassle of the checkout line. For some store associates, however, that set off alarm bells — and concerns that it would jeopardize their jobs or dock their pay.

Three years later, a union that represents Macy's employees has scored a victory in challenging the tech-based approach and how it cuts them out of commissions. An independent arbitrator ruled last week that Macy's violated its bargaining agreement and said the company must exclude departments, such as men's suits and cosmetics, that have commission-based pay from self-checkout.

The grievance was filed by about 600 employees at six stores in the Boston area and Rhode Island who are part of the United Food and Commercial Workers. UFCW represents 1.3 million workers, including over 11,000 Macy's workers in major cities including Seattle, San Francisco and New York City.

The labor dispute spotlights the tension between technology and workers in the retail industry. For years, retailers from department stores to major grocers have raced to keep up as online giant Amazon and direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands stole away market share.

Amazon has made technology a central feature as it expands its own brick-and-mortar footprint. At its convenience stores, called Amazon Go, it uses high-tech camera systems that automate checkout — speeding up payments for customers and eliminating the need for cashiers. It's thought to be bringing that technology to at least some of its Amazon Fresh full-sized grocery locations. And it is expanding a palm-scanning payment system to Whole Foods stores, too.

With the pandemic, the debate has come to the forefront again. Consumers have downloaded apps and adopted new modes of shopping such as curbside pickup to limit store trips and socially distance during the health crisis. Along the way, shoppers have learned to love the added convenience these services provide. That's added urgency for retailers to adapt their digital options, supply chain and workforce to keep up with consumer preferences.

For instance, contactless payments have gone mainstream, according to data from Mastercard. It found 41% of in-person transactions globally in the third quarter of 2020 were contactless, up from 37% in the second quarter, and 30% a year prior.
Remaining competitive

Santiago Gallino, a professor at the Wharton School who specializes in digital transformation, said retailers in particular are under pressure "to reinvent themselves and rethink the role of employees" or risk becoming extinct. The industry is littered with cautionary tales, from RadioShack to Toys R Us.

Macy's doesn't want to join that list. It has been battling a yearslong period of sales declines. Its sales fell for three consecutive years, from 2015 through 2017. Revenue dropped again in 2019. And the pandemic intensified its challenge, temporarily shuttering stores and causing annual sales to drop by about 28%.

In the arbitration, Macy's said it needed the technology "to remain competitive in an ever changing retail market."

While Macy's declined to comment on the arbitration's outcome, the ruling won't have an immediate effect for customers.

The company expanded self-checkout, called scan and pay, to all of its approximately 500 Macy's stores in 2018. Customers could scan bar codes on items with their phones and apply coupons or loyalty program discounts on their own, but had to get security tags taken off by an employee. The feature excluded some departments, such as big-ticket items like mattresses and fine jewelry.

Macy's took the feature offline for tech improvements in October and doesn't have a timeline on when it will bring it back, company spokeswoman Blair Rosenberg said. It would not be available in stores covered by the arbitration.

Macy's leaders have said, however, that it will direct its investments toward its digital business. At a virtual conference hosted by Goldman Sachs in September, Macy's interim Chief Financial Officer Felicia Williams said using technology — including self-checkout — to improve the customer experience is a priority.

As retailers adapt to stay relevant, Wharton's Gallino said leaders must strike a delicate balance: adding technology that customers want while stressing employees' importance, even if their job descriptions change.

"If the conversation is about cutting labor, cutting hours, the reaction of these sales associates is not a surprise," he said. "But if the retailer explains the transformation the industry is going through and how the associates add value in this environment, then I would hope both employees and management can get to a better place."

He said commissions have become trickier in a digital world, too. Historically, he said, retailers used the pay to incentivize employees' efforts on the sales floor, from fetching customers other sizes to recommending merchandise. The payoff came for the sales associate when he or she checked out a customer.

Increasingly, however, customers may come to a store to try on pairs of shoes, browse aisles or ask questions — only to buy the item later online. That can make the role of the employee in that sale harder to track even if they were instrumental in influencing that sale, he said.

"The link between the cause and the effect is not so clean," he said. "The moment when that link is broken, my sales rep may lose the incentive to be helpful and pay attention to a customers' needs."

As stores serve more as showrooms, he said, retailers must think of new ways to motivate strong customer service.

'Just the beginning'

As part of the ruling, Macy's must provide backpay that employees at those six stores would have made on about $2,000 in total sales made through scan and pay.

Fernando Lemus, who represents the workers who filed the grievance as president of UFCW 1445, said the self-checkout feature drove a small number of sales at the stores. Even so, he said, employees want to make sure that changing responsibilities don't amount to a pay cut.

"As technology continues to advance in this industry, we were concerned this was just the beginning," he said.

Over the past five years, he said, Macy's workers in his local union have declined by about 33% as the retailer reduces its workforce — and some who still work at stores have moved into jobs such as fulfilling online orders.

For Terri Barkett, who works at the Macy's store in Warwick, Rhode Island, the arbitrator's decision came as a relief. Unlike some of her colleagues, she said, her wages aren't based on commission. But she said she worried scan and pay could eventually lead to stores with few, if any, cashiers.

Barkett has worked for Macy's for 19 years. She said she takes pleasure in helping customers find the perfect birthday gift or outfits for special occasions — and often looks high and low for the right color, style or size. She said she believes human connection is one of retailers' strongest tools to deepen loyalty and drive higher sales.

Just this week, she said, she checked out a customer and noticed the Tommy Bahama logo on his shirt. She told him that brand was on sale and pointed to the display.

"He ran right over there. He got two more [shirts]," she said. "An app can't see that."