The strike against Amazon is over but Teamsters warn: ‘Stay tuned’
CNN
Thousands of Amazon workers have ended their days-long strike against the company, according to the Teamsters union. But tensions persist, with the union saying its efforts aren’t over.
Thousands of Amazon workers have ended their days-long strike against the company, according to the Teamsters union. But tensions persist, with the union saying its efforts aren’t over. “Make no mistake the Teamsters will never let up and workers will never stop fighting for their rights at Amazon,” a union representative said in a statement. “Stay tuned.” Thousands of Amazon delivery drivers across a handful of states went on strike late last week in the thick of the holiday package season. The Teamsters said the strike affected at least 200 facilities nationwide, ending on Christmas Eve. The union claims to represent 7,000 Amazon workers nationwide, or less than 1% of the company’s US workforce. Amazon is the nation’s second-largest private employer, with a headcount of 740,000 workers across 1,000 warehouses and distribution centers. The protesting workers demanded higher wages and better benefits, pointing to the online shopping behemoth’s massive profits in recent years. Amazon posted solid profit growth in the third quarter, in part driven by strong e-commerce sales. Striking workers have also complained of tough working conditions.

A typical 401(k) plan only offers stock and bond funds that invest in publicly traded companies. But private companies — traditionally the domain of institutional and high-net-worth investors — have become a significant part of the overall investing market. Do they belong as an option in workplace retirement plans, given that they are often more expensive and less transparent than publicly traded securities?

President Donald Trump’s attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are so commonplace at this point that they barely register in financial markets these days. The rapidly intensifying multi-pronged efforts by Trump’s advisers to amplify and expand on Trump’s attacks are a good reason to rethink that indifference.