It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, June 05, 2024
Starbucks, US workers’ union reach tentative agreements on key issues
US coffee giant Starbucks reached tentative agreements with the Workers United union on a number of key issues during talks to draw up a collective bargaining framework, the two parties said Friday.
If ratified, the deal would be a Starbucks’ first in the United States.
“The two-day bargaining session this week in Chicago advanced several matters within the framework intended to be the foundation of each single-store contract,” the two parties said in a joint statement.
“We are pleased that the matters discussed were grounded in the needs and concerns of both the company and union-represented partners,” they added.
They said they had reached an agreement in principle on a number of issues, including job protection, and support and training for unionized Starbucks employees.
“We are proud of our progress to date,” they continued, adding that the negotiations between the two sides would continue.
Contacted by AFP, the group and the union did not confirm either the subjects still outstanding or the timetable for the third round of negotiations since talks between the two sides officially began on April 24.
The goal is to establish a “foundational framework” on key issues such as wages, scheduling policy and access to health care, the union said in a statement on April 23.
Once this framework is agreed, contracts would then be negotiated by each individual store and ratified accordingly, according to Starbucks.
The Workers United drive to organize was launched back in August 2021.
The union now represents more than 10,000 employees at over 425 locations in 43 states and the US capital.
Starbucks owns nearly 10,000 coffee shops in the United States, and more than 900 in Canada, employing around 200,000 people.
In addition to Workers Union, the coffee giant is also negotiating with other unions representing employees in the US and Canada, including the powerful International Brotherhood of Teamsters in one branch in Pittsburgh, and United Steelworkers in 13 branches in Canada.
Several thousand unionized employees went on strike in the United States on 16 November, the day of a major promotional campaign by the coffee chain for the year-end holiday season.
May marks 12th straight month of record global heat: EU
Last month was the hottest May on record and was the 12th consecutive month of historic heat on Earth, the EU climate monitor announced Wednesday.
It is the latest red flag in a year already hit by climate extremes and rising greenhouse gas emissions, spurring fresh calls for more rapid action to limit global warming.
“The global average temperature for the last 12 months (June 2023-May 2024) is the highest on record… and 1.63 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average”, EU monitor Copernicus said, referring to the period before human-caused greenhouse gas emissions began warming the planet.
Copernicus made the announcement in a coordinated publication with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and a speech by UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres in New York, in which he called for a ban on advertising of fossil fuels.
In May, the global average temperature was 1.52C above the pre-industrial average.
May was also the 11th consecutive month since July 2023 at or above 1.5C compared with the pre-industrial era, Copernicus said.
This doesn’t mean the 1.5C warming limit agreed by world leaders in Paris in 2015 has been breached — that is measured in decades, not individual years.
The El Nino natural weather phenomenon, which increases global temperatures and has accentuated the effects of global warming for the past year, “is showing signs of ending”, the WMO said Monday.
The opposing cycle, La Nina, which lowers global temperatures, is expected to begin later this year, according to the WMO.
But scientists have warned the cooling effect could be miniscule compared to the effect human-caused global warming, which is already responsible for raising global temperatures by at least 1.2C since the end of the 19th century.
Humanity’s climate impact like dinosaur-ending meteor: UN chief
Humankind’s role in the destructive warming of the planet is comparable to the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday, calling for rapid steps including bans on fossil fuel advertising.
“Of the vast forces that have shaped life on Earth over billions of years, humanity is just one small blip on the radar,” Guterres said in a speech at New York’s American Museum of Natural History.
“But like the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, we’re having an outsized impact,” he warned.
“In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. We are the meteor. We are not only in danger. We are the danger.”
He said that the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service would officially report on Wednesday that May 2024 was the hottest May in recorded history.
“This marks twelve straight months of the hottest months ever,” Guterres said.
However he noted optimistically that humans “are also the solution” and called again for concerted global action to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
That target, the most ambitious of the near-decade-old Paris Agreement, is “hanging by a thread,” he said.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organisation is set to report on Wednesday that there is an 80 percent chance the global annual average temperature exceeds the 1.5 degree limit in at least one of the next five years, he said.
“The battle for 1.5 degrees will be won or lost in the 2020s — under the watch of leaders today. All depends on the decisions those leaders take — or fail to take — especially in the next 18 months,” he said.
Signatory countries of the Paris Agreement must submit new greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by early 2025.
Guterres called for humanity to take an “exit ramp off the highway to climate hell,” putting a particular target on the fossil fuel industry, which he labeled “Godfathers of climate chaos.”
He also denounced advertisers as “enablers” who have helped fossil fuel companies to delay climate action.
“Stop taking on new fossil fuel clients, from today, and set out plans to drop your existing ones,” he told the “Mad Men fuelling the madness.”
He also urged every country to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies, as many have done for “products that harm human health — like tobacco.”
The UN chief repeated a call for a tax on fossil fuel companies’ profits to finance the fight against global warming, while also mentioning unspecified “solidarity levies” on the aviation and shipping sectors.
Guterres also demanded again that rich countries phase out coal by 2030 and reduce oil and gas consumption by 60 percent by 2035.
Wealthy countries which are historically more responsible for carbon emissions should increase their climate aid to poorer, more at risk countries, he pleaded.
“We cannot accept a future where the rich are protected in air-conditioned bubbles, while the rest of humanity is lashed by lethal weather in unliveable lands,” he said.
Canada sees third anti-Semitic attack in days
By
AFP
Vancouver police searched Friday for an arsonist who set fire to the entrance of a synagogue, while stepping up security at other Jewish facilities following two other anti-Semitic attacks in the country in the span of a few days.
The incidents come as the bloody Israel-Hamas war in Gaza grinds into its eighth month.
The perpetrator poured fuel on the front doors of the Schara Tzedeck synagogue and set them on fire Thursday night, causing minor damage, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver said.
No one was hurt and the blaze was quickly put out by members of the synagogue.
“This fire was intentionally set at a place of worship for the Jewish community,” police Constable Tania Visintin said in a statement.
“While we collect evidence to identify the person responsible, we’re also working closely with faith leaders and community members to ensure everyone’s safety.”
The statement said additional officers were dispatched to Jewish community centers, schools and religious institutions.
“A synagogue in Vancouver was attacked last night in another disgusting act of anti-Semitism,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X.
“We cannot let this hate or these acts of violence stand. This is not the Canada we want to be.”
The arson came less than a week after two Jewish schools — in Toronto and Montreal — were targeted by gunfire.
In November, a Jewish school in Montreal was hit by gunfire twice in one week.
No one was injured in any of those incidents.
The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,284 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Indian students in Canada halt hunger strike after meeting immigration official
Indian students in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, paused their total hunger strike after meeting Jeff Young, the province's immigration director. They are protesting against the recent immigration policy changes by the Canadian province that could lead to their deportation
Indian students have paused their no-liquid hunger strike after a meeting with a top immigration official in Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Indian students pause hunger strike in PEI after meeting top immigration official However, no commitment has been made yet on extending work permits PEI, received 12,000 PR applications, but will only nominate 1,590 per year
Indian students who are protesting in Prince Edward Island, a province in Canada, against the recent immigration policy changes have decided to pause their total hunger strike. The decision came after a meeting with Jeff Young, the director of the provincial Office of Immigration.
The hunger strike by Indian students started on May 24 and has entered its second week.
Rupinder Pal Singh, one of the protest leaders whose work permit expires on July 14, announced the pause, stating that Young encouraged them to halt the hunger strike while the government considers their demands, according to CBC News.
Rupinder Pal Singh explained that the Canadian government had all the necessary information and the protestors were waiting for a response.
"Since the government is cooperating with us, we will pause the hunger strike as requested. It seems they have understood our message and are working on it. The ball is in their court now, and we expect positive answers soon," Singh was quoted by CBC as saying.
Prince Edward Island (PEI) Workforce Minister Jenn Redmond confirmed that Young had been in contact with the protestors throughout the hunger strike but noted that Friday marked a significant point in the discussions.
Redmond emphasised that affected individuals need to contact the Office of Immigration or her department directly to discuss their cases.
"There was some misunderstanding as each case is individual," Redmond said. "It's challenging to communicate through one representative. We need to meet individuals for their specific cases," reported CBC news.
Redmond acknowledged the complexity of the situations and assured that the government would keep communication lines open to explore available pathways for those impacted.
Earlier in the week, Charlottetown member of Parliament (MP) Sean Casey urged the province to seek federal assistance to extend work permits for those most affected by the reduction in permanent residency nominations.
However, Redmond did not commit to making that request to Ottawa.
The province has received over 12,000 applications for its expression of interest draw for permanent residency but will only nominate 1,590 applicants per year.
Redmond explained that the province focusses on critical sectors such as health, education, childcare, and manufacturing.
This latest development shows a temporary pause in the protests as both sides work towards a resolution.
The Indian students consist of prospective immigrants who claim that their lives have been significantly disrupted by the changes to the province's immigration policy implemented in February.
These changes have made it much more difficult for individuals working in sales and service positions to be nominated for permanent residency by the province, even for those already employed on the Island.
Most of the protesters are recent graduates from Canadian universities or colleges. As international students, they were granted open work permits for three years and chose to work in a Canadian province, PEI, because of its reputation as a relatively straightforward pathway to earning permanent residency, which is the first step toward becoming a Canadian citizen.
RIP
Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, dies aged 86
Mrs Robinson was unusual for being one of the few in-laws who lived at the White House with the president and his immediate family.
Former US first lady Michelle Obama’s mother Marian Robinson (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (Andrew Harnik/AP)
ByDarlene Superville, Associated Press
Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, has died at the age of 86.
Mrs Robinson died peacefully on Friday, the former US first lady and her brother, Craig Robinson, and their families announced in a statement.
“There was and will be only one Marian Robinson,” they said. “In our sadness, we are lifted up by the extraordinary gift of her life. And we will spend the rest of ours trying to live up to her example.”
As well as being the mother of the United States’ first black first lady, Mrs Robinson was also unusual for being one of the few in-laws who lived at the White House with the president and his immediate family.
Until January 2009, Mrs Robinson had lived her entire life in Chicago. She was a widow and in her early 70s when Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and resisted the idea of starting over in Washington. Mr Obama said the family suggested she try Washington for three months before deciding. The first lady enlisted her brother to help persuade their mother to move
“There were many good and valid reasons that Michelle raised with me, not the least of which was the opportunity to continue spending time with my granddaughters, Malia and Sasha, and to assist in giving them a sense of normalcy that is a priority for both of their parents, as has been from the time Barack began his political career,” Mrs Robinson wrote in the foreword to A Game Of Character, a memoir by her son, formerly the head men’s basketball coach at Oregon State University.
“My feeling, however, was that I could visit periodically without actually moving in and still be there for the girls,” she said.
Marian Robinson boarding Air Force One with former US president Barack Obama (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Mrs Robinson said her son understood why she wanted to stay in Chicago, but still used a line of reasoning on her that she would use on him and his sister. He asked her to think of the move as an opportunity to grow and try something new.
“As a compromise, I opted to move to the White House after all, at least temporarily, while still reserving lots of time to travel and maintain a certain amount of autonomy,” she wrote.
Granddaughters Malia and Sasha were just 10 and seven, respectively, when they started to call the executive mansion home in 2009 after their father became president. In Chicago, Mrs Robinson had become almost a surrogate parent to them during the presidential campaign. She retired from her job as a bank secretary to help shuttle them around
At the White House, she was a reassuring presence, and her lack of Secret Service protection made it possible for her to accompany them to and from school daily without fanfare.
Former US first lady Michelle Obama, left, and her mother Marian Robinson (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) (Charles Dharapak/AP)
“I would not be who I am today without the steady hand and unconditional love of my mother, Marian Shields Robinson,” Michelle Obama wrote in her memoir. “She has always been my rock, allowing me the freedom to be who I am, while never allowing my feet to get too far off the ground. Her boundless love for my girls, and her willingness to put our needs before her own, gave me the comfort and confidence to venture out into the world knowing they were safe and cherished at home.”
Her White House life was not limited to caring for her granddaughters.
Mrs Robinson enjoyed a level of anonymity that the president and first lady openly envied, allowing her to come and go from the White House as often as she pleased on shopping trips around town, to the president’s box at the Kennedy Centre and to Las Vegas or to visit her other grandchildren in Portland, Oregon. She gave a few media interviews but never to White House press.
She attended some White House events, including concerts, the annual Easter Egg Roll and National Christmas Tree lighting, and was a guest at some state dinners.
White House residency also opened up the world to Mrs Robinson, who had been widowed for nearly 20 years when she moved to a room on the third floor, one floor above the first family.
She had never travelled outside the US until she moved to Washington, taking her first flight abroad on Air Force One in 2009 when the Obamas visited France. She joined them on a trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana later that year.
She also accompanied her daughter and granddaughters on two overseas trips without the president to South Africa and Botswana in 2011, and China in 2014.
Marian Lois Shields Robinson was born in Chicago on July 30, 1937. She attended two years of teaching college, married in 1960 and, as a stay-at-home mother, stressed the importance of education to her children.
Both were educated at Ivy League schools, each with a bachelor’s degree from Princeton. Michelle Obama also has a law degree from Harvard.
Fraser Robinson was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department. He had multiple sclerosis and died in 1991.
Besides the Obama family, Mrs Robinson is survived by her son, Craig, his wife, Kelly, and their children Avery, Austin, Aaron and Leslie.
NEW STRAINS
WHO confirms first fatal human case of H5N2 bird flu
A person died of bird flu in Mexico in the first confirmed case of a human infected with the H5N2 variant, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The 59-year old, who died on April 24 after developing fever, shortness of breath, diarrhoea and nausea, had “no history of exposure to poultry or other animals” and “multiple underlying medical conditions”, the WHO said in a statement.
The resident of the State of Mexico was hospitalised in Mexico City and died the same day, the statement said.
It was the “first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A(H5N2) virus reported globally”, the WHO added.
Mexican health authorities reported the confirmed case to the UN health body on May 23 after conducting laboratory tests.
The source of exposure to the virus was unknown, the WHO said, although cases of H5N2 have been reported in poultry in Mexico.
H5N2 cases were detected in a backyard poultry farm in Michoacan state in March, with other outbreaks identified in the State of Mexico, according to the UN health body.
But it said establishing a link between the human case and the poultry infections was so far impossible, estimating the risk to people as “low”.
Mexico’s health ministry said in a statement that the person who died was “a 59-year-old man with a history of chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, (and) long-standing systemic arterial hypertension”.
“There is no risk of contagion for the population,” the statement said, adding that “all samples from identified contacts (of the patient) have been negative”.
Authorities are monitoring farms near the victim’s home and have established a permanent monitoring system to detect other cases in wildlife in the area, the statement added.
A different variant of bird flu, H5N1, has been spreading for weeks among dairy cow herds in the United States, with a small number of cases reported among humans.
But none of the cases are human-to-human infections, with the disease instead jumping from cattle to people, authorities have said.
Australia records first human case of bird flu; outbreak of different strain sparks mass cull of farmed chickens
H7N7 was the most common strain of bird flu in Australia
AAP 22 May, 2024
Auckland businesses plead for greater police presence, more Kiwis rescued from New Caledonia and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calls a general election.
Hundreds of thousands of birds at a country egg farm will be euthanised following an outbreak of bird flu, as a child is confirmed as Australia’s first human case of a lethal strain spreading around the world.
The child, who returned to Victoria from India in March, experienced a “severe infection” after contracting the H5N1 strain but has made a full recovery, Victoria’s chief health officer confirmed on Wednesday.
“This is the first human case of H5N1 avian influenza in Australia,” Clare Looker said.
“The avian influenza virus was detected through further testing of positive influenza samples that takes place to detect novel or concerning flu virus strains, as part of Victoria’s enhanced surveillance system.
“Contact tracing has not identified any further cases of avian influenza connected to this case.”
Looker said the chance of more human cases was low because avian influenza does not spread easily between people.
Agricultural authorities have revealed a different strain of bird flu had been detected at an egg farm in regional Victoria.
Agriculture Victoria has ordered urgent testing after avian influenza was detected at a farm near Meredith, about 40km northwest of Geelong, following a number of poultry deaths.
Victoria’s chief veterinary officer Graeme Cooke said the outbreak likely involved the H7N7 strain, different to the highly pathogenic H5N1 variant.
“There is a type of virus which is causing great concern in the USA and other parts of the world and has behaved unusually in that it has infected dairy cattle and some other marine mammals,” Cooke told the ABC’s Country Hour.
“This is not the strain that we’re dealing with. This is a strain that’s occurred in Australia before. It’s likely not new.” H7N7 was the most common strain of bird flu in Australia, Cooke said.
One of the strains in the last bird flu outbreak in Australia in 2020, which affected one-in-three egg farms in Victoria, was an H7 strain.
Samples of the virus have been sent to the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong for further testing.
“Agriculture Victoria is responding with staff on the ground supporting the business with further laboratory investigations as necessary,” Cooke said.
The property has been placed into quarantine with a 5km radius and several hundred thousands of birds at that business will be “depopulated”, he said.
“If this disease is allowed to spread, it would very much have an effect on the economic life of the poultry sector but there’s also a lot of jobs in rural Victoria which are related to the industry.”
Farmers in the area have been put on alert. Photo / File
Australia’s chief veterinary officer Beth Cookson told AAP authorities are still considering the size of the quarantine area.
“The response will attempt to stamp out and eradicate the virus from the affected farm, so that will mean the destruction of the poultry on that premises,” Cookson said.
The outbreak has put farmers on high alert with extra biosecurity measures in place.
“For those within that area, we would encourage everyone to increase their level of biosecurity on their farms,” Cookson said.
Mary Wu from the Australian Chicken Meat Federation said while the disease appeared to be confined to a single egg farm, meat producers were on alert.
“We are very relieved that it’s not the international strain, but we still take it extremely seriously and are acting very quickly.”
Avian influenza is a highly contagious viral infection which can cause severe symptoms and sudden death in domestic poultry, wiping out entire populations.
Wild birds are the natural host for the disease and it can spread through close contact or contaminated environments.
Authorities have reassured the public that eggs and poultry products in supermarkets do not pose a risk and are safe to consume.
