Fevered Offices and Unions of Strength 💪

Startups in the U.S. are hitting tough times, with failure rates soaring, according to a recent report by Carta. The stats paint a bleak picture: the closure rate for startups has more than doubled in the past couple of years. Specifically, between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024, there was a 58% spike in shutdowns, following a massive 124% increase the year before.

A key factor driving this trend is the tightening of venture capital funding. VCs are now more cautious, leading to fewer startups getting the funds they need to survive and scale. This funding crunch is hitting startups across all stages of development. Carta’s data reveals a rise in shutdowns at every level, from seed-stage companies just starting out to Series B companies further along in their journey. For instance, seed-stage shutdowns jumped by 102%, while Series A and Series B saw increases of 61% and 133%, respectively.

Going into work sneezing, coughing, and battling fever is so passe. People aren’t open to compromising on health for work anymore. And Gen Z is leading the charge to change. Their attitudes towards sick days and sickness are, in fact, contagious.

According to data from HR platform Dayforce, sick leave in the U.S. jumped 55% in 2023 compared to 2019. While workers of all ages are taking advantage of sick days, it’s the under-36 crowd that’s leading the charge. Their sick leave usage has surged by 29% since 2019, compared to a 16% increase among older employees.

All generations experience an uncomfortable adjustment to a new workplace culture. But what separates Gen Z from previous generations is the amount of information they have at their fingertips. They have grown up entirely in a world where the internet gives us all the answers we need. They literally have a manual of life in their pockets. 

Meanwhile, 

Boomers are unretiring and really want a job. New data from LinkedIn shows that baby boomers’ job search shows that over 13.2% of retired boomers — those aged between 60 and 78 — came back to start a new job in 2023, a five-year high. The so-called “unretiring” trend is a clear indication of how individuals are affected by inflation.

In 2024, labor unions are making significant strides, despite the share of unionized workers in the U.S. being only about 10% of the workforce. This is a sharp decline from the early 1980s, when union membership was double that rate. But union popularity is still high, with more than half of Americans believing that the decline in union membership has been bad for the country.

A quick rundown of unions and their success.  

• The United Auto Workers (UAW) secured a 25% pay raise for its members at Detroit automakers last year. In April 2024, workers at Volkswagen’s Tennessee plant voted to join the UAW, marking the first unionization of a Southern car factory through an election in 80 years. 
• In the service industry, Starbucks is nearing a contract agreement with a union representing 10,000 workers. 
• Apple store employees ratified their first union contract last month. 
• Workers at Microsoft studios, including Bethesda, have unionized. 
• The SAG-AFTRA performers’ union went on strike against video-game studios over wages and AI concerns.

What’s Next? The possibility of significant labor actions looms on the horizon. Boeing’s contract with 32,000 unionized machinists is set to expire this month, raising the threat of a major strike. Looking further ahead, the UAW is planning a potential general strike in the U.S. in 2028, which could lead to more cross-industry labor actions in the coming years.

🧍‍♂️Studying or Working? Neither - Youth unemployment and aimlessness is at 16% in the US, 17.1% in China, and 13.5% in Canada, its highest level since 2014, not counting the pandemic.

🐋 Whale Dumping - Last week, Bitcoin got devalued 5% overnight. Reason: The cryptocurrency's "whale" owners selling it off in large batches. 

💉 Price of Diabetes - Kamala Harris wants to put a $35 price cap on insulin dozes.

📈 Small Workforce, Popular - Telegram has some 950 million monthly users, despite having only ~50 workers. 

🖼️ NFT Trump Dump - Donald Trump advertised a series of NFT portraits of himself by saying he’s the “Crypto President.”

📝 Lazy Reports - Police departments are experimenting with having officers write up reports with AI chatbots.