WHITE WHALE-SPIRIT ANIMAL
AUSTRALIA

Experts confirm white whale carcass on Victorian beach is not Migaloo

Victorian environment officials said images of the dead humpback proved it was not well-known humpback

Scientists have determine that a dead white whale washed up in Victoria is not Migaloo. Photograph: REX/Jenny Dean

Australian Associated Press

Sun 17 Jul 2022 

A white whale that washed up on a Victorian beach is not the well-known albino humpback Migaloo, according to the state’s environment department.

The carcass of an albino whale was found at a beach in Mallacoota in the state’s far east this week, sparking concern it could be the beloved Migaloo, who was first spotted off Byron Bay in 1991.

But Peter Brick, of Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DEWLP), said images of the carcass that had been viewed by officials proved it was not Migaloo.

“DELWP officers have examined images of the dead humpback whale at Mallacoota and have confirmed it is a sub-adult female,” Brick told AAP. “Migaloo is a male.”

It has been two years since Migaloo, who was named using an Indigenous word for white person, was last spotted.

Macquarie University wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta told the ABC such long spells without a sighting were not uncommon.

She also said that after viewing photos of the whale it may not even be a white whale, but one that has lost its pigmentation after dying because of weather exposure.

Scientists have genetic samples from Migaloo, meaning that they can test any remains to confirm whether they belong to him.

“It seems to be most likely a white whale, or at least a whale that has been a darker pigmentation that has passed out at sea and washed ashore and been weathered over time,” Dr Pirotta said.

Dead whale which washed up at Mallacoota is not Migaloo

Analysis of images show the whale was a young female.(Supplied: Peter Coles)

Wildlife officers say a whale which was found washed up at Mallacoota, in Victoria's east yesterday is not the famous albino humpback Migaloo.

Key points:The white whale was found at a remote beach at Mallacoota in Victoria's east
Wildlife officers say analysis of photos shows the whale is a female, while Migaloo is male
People have been warned to stay away from the carcass due to health risks and potential predators

The whale carcass was discovered on Saturday morning at a beach at Mallacoota which is only accessible by water.

Officers from Victoria's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning [DELWP] said analysis of images of the carcass show that the whale is not Migaloo.

"DELWP Officers have examined images of the dead Humpback Whale at Mallacoota and have confirmed it is a sub-adult female. Migaloo is a male," DELWP Regional Agency Commander Peter Brick said.

"DELWP and Parks Victoria staff will be further assessing the carcass over coming days."

DELWP said it was an offence for people or their dogs to be within 300 metres of a beached whale, and the animals were protected under the Wildlife Act whether they were alive or dead.

Rather than try to remove the whale from the remote location, DEWLP's Principal Officer for Wildlife Emergencies, Rodney Vile, said it will be left on the beach.

"Currently we're planning to leave it in place, and let it decompose naturally," he said.

"That's our preferred approach but it really depends with deceased whales like this, the location of it and leaving it to decompose naturally versus human safety about where it's actually located.

"There are warnings out for people to avoid going near the whale or touching the whale… and also warnings around the potential for sharks to be in the area as well."

Mr Vile said DELWP will provide ongoing updates to the Mallacoota community.

Scientists will still conduct genetic testing on the whale.

Macquarie University wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta said photos of the animal did not confirm that it was an albino whale.

"It seems to be most likely a white whale, or at least a whale that has been a darker pigmentation that has passed out at sea and washed ashore and been weathered over time," Dr Pirotta said.

What appears to be black skin can be seen near a collection of barnacles on the throat of the carcass.(Supplied: Peter Coles)

Dr Pirotta said barnacles on the throat of the whale carcass appeared to be covering skin which was not white, casting doubt on it being a true albino whale.

"Over time, these animals can pass [away] and their bodies weather, there's sun exposure and their skin can come off," she said.

Whale carcass still valuable for scientists

The carcass of what appeared to be a white whale has washed up on the beach at Mallacoota.(Supplied: Peter Coles)

Dr Pirotta said the whale carcass would still be highly prized by marine scientists.

"A stranded whale like this is a huge contribution to science … because often we don't have a whale wash up in an area that can be accessible to science," she said.

"Measurements and samples, genetics will be taken from this individual by the appropriate authorities."

Dr Pirotta warned people not to approach the animal as it could be carrying diseases, and could attract predators such as sharks to the area.

Rodney Vile said DELWP is working with the Victorian Fisheries Authority about how long shark warnings will need to be in place.

He said the time it takes whales to decompose depends on the size and species, as well as wave action and temperature.

The whale carcass is not that of Migaloo, but who is the creature that has fascinated us for decades?

By Bridget Judd

Washed up white whale not Migaloo.

The discovery of a white whale carcass on a beach in far-east Victoria sparked fears for Migaloo, the elusive humpback who hasn't been spotted in two years.

But wildlife officers now say an analysis of images shows that it's not the iconic whale.

"DELWP Officers have examined images of the dead Humpback Whale at Mallacoota and have confirmed it is a sub-adult female. Migaloo is a male," Victoria's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Regional Agency Commander Peter Bick said.

The case of mistaken identity isn't all that surprising.

While some 35,000 humpback whales migrate along the east coast of Australia each year, Migaloo is one of just a handful of known white humpback whales worldwide — and the most famous.

Here's what you need to know.

Who is Migaloo?

It's not hard to understand how Migaloo — meaning "white fella" in some Indigenous languages — earned his moniker.

First discovered in 1991 off Byron Bay, the humpback's albino appearance is the result of a variation in the gene responsible for the colour of his skin.

First discovered in 1991 off Byron Bay, the humpback's albino appearance is the result of a variation in the gene responsible for the colour of his skin.(Supplied: Craig Parry)

While it's attracted the attention of whale watchers across the globe, the condition has been associated with reduced heat absorption in colder waters, increased conspicuousness to predators, increased eye and skin sensitivity and visual impairment.

Despite this, the 40-tonne, 15-metre humpback whale made it to adulthood and is believed to be aged in his 30s.

Migaloo is protected under Queensland and Commonwealth government legislation, prohibiting boats from being within 500 metres of him.

Migaloo has attracted the attention of whale watchers across the globe.(ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)

Are there other white humpback whales?

While Migaloo is one of the world's most recognisable whales, he's not alone.

There are three to four other known white humpback whales, including Bahloo, Willow and Migaloo Junior (although it's unclear if they are related).

Unlike Migaloo, however, these animals have some black spots on their body, leading researchers to believe they have a condition called leucism, or hypo-pigmentation.

 
Is it Migaloo? The answer is no

Photographs indicate the beached whale is younger than Migaloo and not the same sex.

(Supplied: Craig Parry)

While there were initially concerns for Migaloo's welfare, officers from Victoria's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning [DELWP] said analysis of images of the carcass show that it is not the same whale.

"DELWP Officers have examined images of the dead Humpback Whale at Mallacoota and have confirmed it is a sub-adult female. Migaloo is a male," DELWP Regional Agency Commander Peter Bick said.

"DELWP and Parks Victoria staff will be further assessing the carcass over coming days."

DELWP said it was an offence for people or their dogs to be within 300 metres of a beached whale, and the animals were protected under the Wildlife Act whether they were alive or dead.

Scientists will still conduct genetic testing to confirm the whale is not Migaloo
Has this happened before?

Similar concerns were sparked back in 2011, when the carcass of a white whale was discovered off Palm Island, near Townsville.

But after viewing photos and video footage, the Whale Research Centre found the humpback had some black markings and was not the same animal.

At the time, researchers noted that whales go belly up when they die, and as they are white underneath, some may mistake them for the iconic whale.

Students, Campuses, and Dominant Corporate Power

by Ralph Nader / July 16th, 2022

When it comes to corporate power and control over their lives, now and into the future, today’s college students are perilously dormant. When it comes to putting pressure on Congress to counter the various dictates of corporatism, there is little activity other than some stalwarts contacting their lawmakers on climate violence.

Much of campus activity these days focuses on diversity, tuition, student loans, “politically correct” speech demands and conforming conduct.

This campus environment is strangely oblivious to the corporate abuses of our economy, culture and government. This indifference extends to the endless grip of corporate power over the educational institutions that the students attend.

Companies see universities and colleges as profit centers.

Corporate vendors influence or control the food students eat on campus, down to the junk in vending machines, along with their credit cards, iPhones, very expensive textbooks and, of course, student debt.

College Boards of Trustees are dominated by corporate executives or corporate affiliated people. Corporate science is – as from drug companies, biotech, military weapons and fossil fuel companies – co-opting, corrupting or displacing academic science which is peer-reviewed and unencumbered by corporate profiteering (See Professor Sheldon Krimsky’s books).

Corporate law firms dominate law schools, with few exceptions, seriously distorting the curriculum away from courses on corporate crimes and immunities and courses that show how corporations have shaped public institutions such as Congress, state legislatures, and the Pentagon along with state and federal regulatory agencies.

Business schools, except for a few free-thinking professors, are finishing schools for Wall Street and other businesses. They operate in an empirically starved environment regarding what is really going on in the world of global corporate machinations, while feeding their student’s dogmatic free-market fundamentalism.

Engineering departments narrowly orient their students toward corporate missions, without educating them about the engineering professions’ ethical and whistleblowing rights and duties.¹

Social science courses are largely remiss as well. There are very few courses on plutocratic rule and uncontrolled big-business ways of getting commercial values to override civic values. Teachers may be wary of raising such taboo topics, but the enthusiastic student response to Professor Laura Nader’s course on “Controlling Processes” at UC Berkeley over the years might indicate deep student interest in courses on top-down power structures.

Active students in the nineteen sixties and seventies took their environmental, civil rights and anti-war concerns directly to Congress. They, with other citizen groups, pushed Congress and got important legislation enacted.

Students in about twenty states created lasting full-time student advocacy groups called Public Interest Research Groups or PIRGs.

Today the PIRGs are still making change happen in the country (See “Right to Repair Project.”). However, few new PIRGs have been established since 1980. Students need to embrace how important, achievable and enduring such nonprofit independent PIRGs can be. With skilled advocates continuing to train students in civic skills and provide students with extracurricular experiences for a lifetime of citizen engagement, the PIRGs create a vibrant reservoir for a more functioning democracy.

As a leading European statesman Jean Monnet said decades ago – “Without people nothing is possible, but without institutions nothing is lasting.”

Students need to think about the civic part of their years ahead and focus on building the pillars of a democratic society that dissolve the concentrated power of giant corporations and empower the citizenry as befits the “We the People” vision in our Constitution.

1. See Ethics, Politics, and Whistleblowing in Engineering by Nicholas Sakellariou and Rania Milleron, CRC Press, 2018. [Facebook

TwitterReddEmail

Ralph Nader is a leading consumer advocate, the author of Unstoppable The Emerging Left Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State (2014), among many other books, and a four-time candidate for US President. Read other articles by Ralph, or visit Ralph's website.

UK

Hull Trains drivers in 24-hour strike over pay and conditions

ALAN JONES, PA INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT16 July 2022,

Train drivers have launched a 24-hour strike in the worsening rail disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.

Members of the Aslef union on Hull Trains walked out on Saturday, disrupting services across the region.

Nigel Roebuck, Aslef’s full-time organiser on Hull Trains, said: ‘We don’t take strike action lightly but this union is determined to defend the living standards of our members

“Drivers on Hull Trains have not had a pay increase for three years and it’s time for the company to do the right thing, with inflation soaring, depending on which index you use, to something north of 10%.”

Aslef and the Rail, Maritime and Transport union are planning a series of strikes in the coming weeks which will cripple services across the country.

Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association are also taking industrial action over the summer.

Extensive talks have been held in recent weeks but the dispute remains deadlocked.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “It’s incredibly disappointing that Aslef bosses have opted for destructive strike action instead of engaging in constructive talks.

“Train drivers, such as those Aslef represent, earn a median salary of almost £60,000 – significantly more than the very workers who will be most impacted by these strikes.

“We urge union bosses to reconsider this divisive action and instead work with their employers, not against them, to agree a new way forward.”

Inside Josephine Baker’s badass life as a resistance spy during WWII

By Jennifer Wright
July 16, 2022

French US-born singer and dancer Joséphine Baker traveled the world gathering intelligence

 for the allies, and once even survived enemy fire in Algeria by diving near a buffet tent.

AFP via Getty Images

As Josephine Baker moved through international checkpoints in Spain and Morocco, the dancer and singer teased the agents who asked to see her papers, saying they just wanted her “autograph.”

Her official story was that she was on a “tour of Spain.” She was really working as a spy for the resistance, with state secrets neatly hidden in her bra.

Baker took a gamble that no one would dare to strip-search her. She smiled her famous smile — she was at the time the most photographed woman in the world — as the documents stayed “snugly in place, secured by a safety pin.” 

Baker’s role as one of the true heroes of World War II, fighting against the Nazis at great risk to herself, is detailed in the new book “Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy” (PublicAffairs) by Damien Lewis. In 1961, she received a Legion D’Honneur, France’s highest decoration for military service, for her Spain and Morocco mission, and was commended for retrieving “precious information.”

Josephine Baker — shown here receiving the Legion D’Honneur and the Croix de Guerre on August 19, 1961 — would also receive admission into the Pantheon in 2021, one of only five women to earn a place there.

AFP via Getty Images

Born in St. Louis in 1906, Josephine Baker moved to France at 19. She emigrated with the hope of leaving the racism that hindered her American aspirations behind. She quickly became famous for her singing and dancing, including her beloved act where she wore only a skirt made of rubber bananas. She befriended French luminaries like the writer Colette. She bought a chateau, wore gowns by the most exclusive designers, and often walked the streets with her pet cheetah, Chiquita, who wore a diamond collar. 

And for a while she was treated equally.

Josephine Baker was once the most photographed woman in the world.

Corbis via Getty Images

Once, when a visiting American seeing her dance at the Folies Bergere theater remarked, “At home a n—-r woman belongs in the kitchen,” the room fell silent in horror.

“You are in France,” the manager curtly replied, “and here we treat all races the same.” 

But dark forces were rising in Europe.  

In 1925, when Hitler’s “brown shirt” storm troopers were still considered a fringe group, Baker performed in Berlin to thunderous applause. When she returned two years later — after Hitler had gained prominence with the publication of his book “Mein Kampf,” which denounced black people as “half-apes” — the response was very different. German and Austrian newspaper headlines denounced her as a “black devil” and a “jezebel.”

“How dare they put our beautiful blonde Lea Seidl with a Negress on stage?” asked one paper, while another claimed “the convulsions of this coloured girl” would undermine Dresden’s sense of dignity. The mobs were such that Baker feared for her life.

Ten years later, Baker’s face adorned the cover of a 1937 brochure denouncing decadent artists issued by Joseph Goebbels, the chief propagandist for the Nazi Party. That same year, Josephine married the Jewish industrialist Jean Lion. Her passion to fight against the Nazis — and to defend her adopted country and husband, as well as herself — grew to a fever pitch. In 1938, she declared that Nazis were criminals and “criminals need to be punished.” She claimed she would kill them with her own hands if necessary. 

Baker was not shy to call out the evil of the rising Nazi power in Germany, declaring in 1938 that she would kill [Nazis] with her own hands if necessary. 

Provided by Svce Historique DeLa

That same year, she was approached by the Deuxième Bureau as an Honorable Correspondent, a voluntary position that involved retrieving intelligence for the bureau. It was entirely unpaid, as was typical for such a role. Throughout the war, Josephine refused to accept money for her work and sometimes resorted to selling off jewels and other assets to help finance her excursions.

Soon after she began working as a spy, Baker learned through friends at the Japanese Embassy that Japan had signed a secret anti-communist pact with Hitler. It was the first of many pieces of information she’d convey back to the bureau. Shortly after that, she informed the bureau that — through friends at the Portuguese embassy — she had learned that Germany planned to occupy neutral Portugal to use their ports. She quickly became one of France’s most valuable assets. Espionage gave Baker the ability, as Lewis puts it, “to strike back, without necessarily ever needing to draw blood.”

Baker’s country home, the Château des Milandes in the Dordogne region, where she housed refugees.

courtesy of Damien Lewis

When the war came to France in 1940, Josephine’s glamorous country home — the Château des Milandes in the Dordogne region — became a base of operations for the local members of the resistance, as well as refugees, including a Belgian Jewish couple whom Baker sheltered there. A radio transmitter was installed on the tower for contact with Britain, and the cellar was filled with weapons for the resistance. When German soldiers stopped by to investigate after receiving a denunciation, Baker assured them that she was merely a dancer.

Though, she informed them pointedly, “I would not have the heart to go on stage when there is so much suffering.” In fact, Baker did go on stage throughout the war — she just wouldn’t perform for Nazis.

As a star performer, Baker had a cover that allowed her to easily travel to other countries — from Portugal to Spain to Morocco — something most people could not obtain visas for during the occupation.

“I come to dance, to sing,” she told journalists abroad who asked her why she’d left France. She’d actually come to ferry missives, photos and documents that might be helpful to the allies, and to meet with those sympathetic to the cause of the resistance. She carried sheet music with information written in invisible ink regarding the positions of the enemy defenses in southwestern France. She stuffed notes about other important details in her lingerie. Fellow agents would travel with her, pretending to be her “tour manager.” 

Born Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3, 1906, in Saint-Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker (center, with dog) obtained French nationality in 1937.

Provided by Svce Historique DeLa

Throughout the war, she worked with “Berber leaders, Rif chiefains [from the Northeastern region of Morocco], Arab dignitaries, American troops both black and white, (former) Vichyites, plus the Free French forces.” Even as her friends were murdered by Nazis or sent off to concentration camps, Baker maintained her cool. When she performed for American troops in Northwestern Algeria, she survived enemy fire by diving near the buffet tent. A Texan soldier crawled over on all fours with a bowl of ice cream for her, which she happily ate.

A poster from Casino de Paris, where Baker performed.

public domain

Afterward, she joked, “Me, belly down, amongst soldiers from Texas, Missouri and Ohio in my 1900 Paris dress, must have been an irresistibly funny sight. Mostly because I kept on eating.”

After the war, Josephine returned again to Germany in 1945. This time, she was honored at the Allied Victory ceremony at Hohenzollern Castle, the historic home of the German royal family. She took the place of honor in a country that had degraded and ridiculed her only a few years before. Then, she performed for the survivors of Buchenwald death camp who were too feeble to leave the prison. Although the camp was riddled with typhus and still littered with bodies, and Baker was in poor health, she still found the strength to sing a number called “In My Village” about the simple pleasures of home.

Even after France was liberated from the Nazis in 1944 and the war ended the following year, Baker never stopped fighting for equality for all people.

“She would never forget the lesson of the war years: freedom must be fought for, every day,” writes Lewis.

She died in 1975 at the age of 68. While she danced right up until the day before her death in a revue at the Bobino Theatre in Paris celebrating her 50 years in show business, she said that “the war years” had been the highlight of her life.

Baker lounging on a tiger rug, circa 1925. She said “the war years” had been the highlight of her life.

Getty Images

“I gave my heart to Paris, as Paris gave me hers,” she said onstage at the Revue’s opening night.

In 2021, she was given her greatest honor — admission to the French Pantheon, which recognizes only the greatest figures in French History, such as Voltaire, Victor Hugo and Marie Curie.

She is one of only five women to earn a place there.

LEAVE THE WOLVES ALONE

Swiss canton gives green light to shoot wolves attacking cows
Reuters

A wolf is seen in a near-natural enclosure at the Langenberg Wildlife Park in Langnau am Albis, Switzerland June 9, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

ZURICH, July 15 (Reuters) - The eastern Swiss canton of the Grisons gave the green light on Friday to shoot two young wolves whose pack has begun attacking cows in addition to traditional prey of sheep and goats.

The move highlights a national debate over how to handle the more than 100 wolves in Switzerland whose protected status is a thorn in the side of farmers keen to protect their flocks from the predators.

Cantonal authorities said they had to act after the so-called Beverin wolfpack mauled a grown cow so badly on Wednesday that it had to be euthanised, just days after the pack killed another mother cow in the area.

Federal authorities had approved the decision, they added.

"The canton's goal remains the removal of the entire pack and the shooting of the particularly conspicuous sire M92 within the framework of the Swiss legal system," they said.

Swiss voters in 2020 decided not to relax curbs on shooting wolves deemed a threat to livestock in a referendum that exposed divergent attitudes held by urban voters keen on protecting wildlife and rural voters who have to put up with wolves. read more

Swiss federal law holds that wolves may be shot only after they have attacked a certain number of livestock and their pack has had offspring, which applied in this case.

Hungarians Rally Against Orban's Reforms, Skeptical of Change

July 16, 2022 
Reuters

Leader of Everybody for Hungary party Peter Marki-Zay speaks during 

a rally against the new taxation rules in Budapest, Hungary, July 16, 2022.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY —

Around 1,000 Hungarians demonstrated against Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government Saturday in the latest of a series of smaller demonstrations this week since his right-wing Fidesz party passed legislation sharply raising taxes on small firms.

Nationalist Orban is facing his toughest challenge yet since taking power in a 2010 landslide, with inflation at its highest in two decades, the country’s currency, the forint, plunging to record lows and European Union funds in limbo amid a dispute over democratic standards.

The blockade of a bridge in Budapest Tuesday failed to derail the approval of a government motion to increase the tax rate for hundreds of thousands of small firms, defying criticism from some business groups and opposition parties.

People take part in a rally under the motto "Stand for Victims of Orban's Government" against the new taxation rules in Budapest, Hungary, July 16, 2022.

On Wednesday, Orban's government also curtailed a cap on utility prices for higher-usage households, rolling back one of the 59-year-old premier's signature policies in recent years because of a surge in electricity and gas prices amid the war in Ukraine.

"I have an acquaintance who only heats with electricity. His monthly power bill has been 30,000 forints ($75) so far, which is not a lot, but from now on he will be paying 153,000," said Miklos Nyiri, a 70-year-old pensioner at the rally.

"He is a pensioner, so the pension will be eaten up by the power bill, and they will be left grazing in the field," he said, adding however that the small-scale protest was unlikely to force Orban to change tack.

Saturday's rally was called by small-town mayor Peter Marki-Zay, Orban's independent challenger, whose opposition alliance suffered a crushing defeat in an April parliamentary election.

The low number of participants at the rally indicated that despite lurking discontent with Orban's latest reforms to shore up Hungary's state finances, anti-government sentiment was struggling to gain traction even in Budapest, where the opposition had its strongest showing in April.

Ildiko Hende, 52, who works as a cleaner in a bank, also lamented the low turnout at the rally.

"I have been working for more than 30 years, but what is going on in this country right now is hell incarnate," she said.

People take part in a rally under the motto "Stand for victims of Orban's government" against the new taxation rules near the Margaret Bridge in Budapest, July 16, 2022.

Despite Orban capping the prices of fuel and some basic foods, inflation has surged to its highest in two decades, at 11.7% year-on-year in June, forcing the central bank into its steepest rate tightening cycle since the collapse of Communist rule.

Even so, the forint is skirting record lows versus the euro, feeding into inflationary pressures.

"I just want to be able to live a normal life, not having to pinch pennies at the end of every month," Hende said. "Prices are just so high that it makes you go crazy. This is really not sustainable."

SAS and striking pilots closer to deal but issues remain, mediator tells E24


STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Crisis-hit airline SAS and unions have made progress on a new savings deal to end a 13-day pilots' strike, but significant issues have yet to be resolved, a mediator told news agency E24 on Saturday

© Reuters/ANDREW KELLYFILE PHOTO: The tail fin of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) airplane parked on the tarmac at Copenhagen Airport Kastrup in Copenhagen

A majority of SAS pilots in Sweden, Denmark and Norway walked out on July 4 after negotiations over conditions related to the Scandinavian carrier's rescue plan collapsed. The parties returned to the negotiating table in the Swedish capital on Wednesday.

National Mediator of Norway Mats Wilhelm Ruland said the parties had come closer during the day.

"Yes, we are, but there are still many and big questions that need to be solved," he told E24 on during a break in negotiations on Saturday. "The development in the first hours has been good."

SAS had been struggling with increased low-cost competition for years before the COVID-19 pandemic heaped pressure on the airline industry. The governments of Denmark and Sweden, which are the biggest owners, see it as a key part of the region's transport infrastructure.

The airline said on Thursday the strike had caused 2,550 flight cancellations, affecting 270,000 passengers and costing the carrier between $94 million and $123 million.

Pilots employed by SAS Scandinavia, a subsidiary of SAS Group, have said they would agree to limited wage cuts and less favourable terms, but SAS has said that concessions offered so far are not enough for it to carry out a rescue plan announced in February.

Unions are also demanding that pilots who lost their jobs during the pandemic are rehired at SAS Scandinavia, rather than having to compete with external applicants for jobs on less attractive terms at recently created SAS Link and Ireland-based SAS Connect.

(Reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Boeing 'disappointed' union recommending rejection of contract offer

Sat, July 16, 2022 

A Being logo is seen at the company's facility in Everett


(Reuters) - Boeing on Saturday said it is "disappointed" that the union representing nearly 2,500 employees at the U.S. planemaker's facilities in the St. Louis area has recommended rejection of management's contract offer.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union representing the workers, said in an earlier statement that it recommended rejecting the company's "last, best, and final" contract offer.

The contract is set to expire on Monday, July 25. After a seven-day waiting period, the workers could begin picketing on Aug. 1 if they vote to reject the contract offer and go on strike, the union said.

Boeing said it remains "hopeful that our employees will see the value in this offer and vote yes" to accept its offer, which the company said provides "highly competitive" wage increases and cash and stock immediately and also includes one of the "most lucrative" 401(k) retirement plans in the country.


Tom Boelling, an IAM official, said Boeing had failed to meet members' needs on a number of issues. "We will fight for a contract the membership deserves," he said in the union statement.

(Reporting by Jose Joseph and Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao)