labor & employment
Spirit Airlines To Furlough Hundreds of Pilots To Cut Costs
October 31, 2024
By Rajesh Kumar Singh CHICAGO (Reuters) - Spirit Airlines will furlough about 330 pilots on Jan. 31, 2025, a company spokesperson told Reuters, as part of its efforts to cut costs and shore up its finances. The ultra-low-cost carrier has been losing money despite strong travel demand. It has failed to report a profit in the last five out of six quarters, raising doubts about its ability to manage looming debt maturities. Spirit furloughed 186 pilots last month. It will also downgrade 120 captains to first officers on Jan. 31, the spokesperson said. The company has been facing an uncertain future after the collapse of its $3.8 bill...
Low US Weekly Jobless Claims, Solid Consumer Spending Showcase Economy’s Strength
October 31, 2024
By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell to a five-month low last week and consumer spending increased more than expected in September, showcasing the economy's strength heading into the final stretch of 2024 and just days before next Tuesday's presidential election. Though prices pushed higher last month, inflation is firmly on a downward trend, with other data on Thursday showing labor costs posting their smallest gain in more than three years in the third quarter. The data likely keeps the Federal Reserve on track to cut interest rates next week and possibl...
Hiring, Supporting Justice-Impacted Individuals in the Workplace
Penn State School of Hospitality Management | October 30, 2024
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Hiring those who have criminal records or histories of incarceration serves a significant role in the integration of those individuals back into society while helping hospitality businesses withstand labor shortages, according to researchers in the Penn State School of Hospitality Management. The researchers developed a framework to guide hospitality businesses in the efforts to break down barriers of bias and destigmatize the hiring of these individuals. The team identified three major stakeholder groups — the hired employees, those in the correctional system responsible for administering and overseei...
US October Nonfarm Payrolls Seen Taking a Hit From Striking Aerospace, Hotel Workers
October 28, 2024
By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. nonfarm payrolls in October could be reduced by as many as 41,000 jobs amid strikes in the aerospace manufacturing industry and at three hotel chains, government data showed on Friday. The Labor Department's monthly strike report showed 33,000 Boeing employees were idle at the planemaker's plants in California, Oregon and Washington state during the October payrolls survey. Another 5,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union representing the Boeing factory workers, were also on strike at Textron, an aircraft company, in Kansas. The repor...
King, Rounds Seeking Maximum H-2B Work Visas to Support Small Businesses in 2025
October 25, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), alongside a bipartisan group of their colleagues, have written to the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release the maximum allowable number of additional H-2B visas for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. H-2B visas fill needs for American small businesses when there are not enough able and willing American workers to fill the temporary, seasonal positions. As required by law, employers must first make a concerted effort to hire American workers to fill open positions; when the local workforce is insufficient, H-2Bs are seen as ...
Is Your Staff Overwhelmed? Addressing the Employee Challenges in Hospitality – Part 1
Reeves Mathews | October 22, 2024
The hospitality industry thrives on creating unforgettable guest experiences. However, hotel employees, who are at the forefront of shaping that experience, are facing an ever-growing set of challenges. It is no secret that the years 2023 and 2024 saw a surge in hotel employee strikes and persistent staff shortage issues around the world. In this light, it is timely to explore how hotel management can better support the workforce to uplift their well-being, meeting their rights and requirements to boost long-term employee satisfaction. Current challenges faced by modern hotel employees As the hospitality industry navigate...
AAHOA Opposes Los Angeles City Council’s Proposed Minimum Wage Increase for Hotel Workers
AAHOA | October 22, 2024
LOS ANGELES, CA, OCTOBER 22, 2024 — AAHOA (Asian American Hotel Owners Association), representing 1,165 hotel owners in the Greater Los Angeles Area, voiced strong opposition to the Los Angeles City Council's proposed minimum wage increase for hotel workers, which would raise wages to $30 per hour, along with an additional $8 per hour for healthcare. AAHOA maintains that a recent economic impact study supporting this measure is fundamentally flawed, inaccurately concluding that the hotel industry can absorb such a drastic increase. AAHOA Members have testified multiple times before the Council, including last week when a delega...
What Shall We Do When Job Seekers Cheat the AI Hiring Systems?
Linchi Kwok | October 11, 2024
AI can streamline the hiring process, but concerns linger. For example, AI could perpetuate gender or racial biases in the hiring process, just like most human HR managers could do. Meanwhile, to increase the chances of being picked by AI, job candidates must prepare resumes and job interviews tailored to AI’s “preference.” When more job candidates understand how to convince AI that they are the best candidates for the job, can AI still make valid recommendations to hire the best-fit candidate in the pool? Then, if AI makes a mix of valid and invalid recommendations for hiring, will HR managers find it more challenging to selec...
