NEWS
Around North America in seven stories… R E TA I L
TRANSPORT
AMERICA UNMASKS
APPLE STAFF FORM FRUITFUL UNION EMPLOYEES AT APPLE’S Grand Central Station store in New York have announced a plan to start a new worker’s union. If this bid is successful, it will be the first of its kind at one of the tech giant’s US stores. Known as Fruit Stand Workers United, the staff must gather signatures of support from 30 percent of colleagues within the store in order to qualify for a union election. With Apple yet to comment, this move follows similar drives for
unionization by the staff at both Starbucks and Amazon. The group has explained how they continue to work through extraordinary times with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and once-in-a-generation consumer price inflation. The collective is also campaigning for a $30 minimum hourly wage for all employees, additional holiday time and provision for more robust safety protocols at the Grand Central location.
FACE MASKS WILL no longer be required to be worn on public transport in the US, after a judge voided the previous national mandate. The White House press secretary Jen Psaki has described the decision as “disappointing” and details how the Centers for Disease Control are still recommending that people wear masks on public transit. The judge, in Tampa, Florida, has ruled that the guidelines previously enforced, which covered airlines, airports, mass transit and taxis, were unlawful and will be scrapped immediately. Shortly after the change in policy was announced, several major airlines rapidly switched to an optional mask policy, including Alaska Airlines and United Airlines. However, despite this ruling New York City’s public transit system says it will continue to enforce its strict mask requirements.
S U P P LY C H A I N
GROUNDS FOR CONCERN A TURBULENT AND trying month of struggle for ‘The Ever Forward’ container ship, has finally come to an end after the 1,096-foot vessel ran aground in the perilous shallow waters of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay. The vessel has now finally been freed from its predicament. The ship became entrenched in water just 25 feet deep after leaving Baltimore. Coincidentally, her sister ship ‘The Ever Given’, became stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal last year, causing 6 | North America Outlook issue 09
huge disruptions to global supply chains. Two previous attempts to dislodge the vessel had proved unsuccessful, leading to the deployment of barges to remove approximately 500 of the total 5,000 containers on board. Finally, salvage vessels were able to free The Ever Forward from the treacherously shallow, murky waters. The ship’s hull will now be thoroughly examined by inspectors before being allowed to return to Baltimore. Thankfully no injuries, damage or pollution was sustained during the incident.
