Major fast-food chains like White Castle and Chipotle have started employing restaurant robots as labor shortages continue to impact the industry while the price of food increases in the aftermath of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a> and crippling inflation.
According to a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/27/restaurant-chains-are-investing-in-robots-bringing-change-for-workers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, automated machines will grill burgers, brew coffee, and welcome customers for a fraction of the cost compared to paying human workers — as governments nationwide imposed draconian lockdown orders, forcing restaurants to close down temporarily and, in some cases, permanently.
The National Restaurant Association said in a report reviewed by the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11596161/Chipotle-White-Castle-spending-500-000-month-ROBOTS-combat-labor-shortages.html?ns_mchannel=rss&amp;ns_campaign=1490&amp;ito=social-twitter_dailymailus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Mail</a> that four out of five operators have been understaffed since the pandemic hit in 2020.
White Castle reportedly has begun testing at 100 locations a robot named Flippy, a kitchen robot built by a California-based tech company called Miso Robotics. The AI-powered machine can cook 300 burgers and deep fry potatoes for about $3,000 a month. On the other hand, Chipotle hired one-armed robots to make tortilla chips at 73 different sites for the same price.
&#8220;The highest value benefit that we bring to a restaurant is not to reduce their expenses, but to allow them to sell more and generate a profit,&#8221; Miso CEO Mike Bell told CNBC.
Starbucks has spent $18,000 on AI-powered espresso machines in at least 1,200 locations.
David Henkes, a principal at restaurant research firm Technomic, told CNBC the automation experimentation would lead the industry &#8220;somewhere at some point.&#8221;
&#8220;But we&#8217;re still a very labor-intensive, labor-driven industry,&#8221; Henkes said.
Jamie Richardson, vice president of White Castle, told the outlet that other changes, like Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, have had a more outsized impact on sales.
&#8220;Sometimes the bigger automation investments we make aren&#8217;t as earth-shattering,&#8221; Richardson said.
McDonald&#8217;s revealed a test restaurant last month that replaced positions formerly held by employees with automation technology near Fort Worth, Texas.
&#8220;The technology in this restaurant not only allows us to serve our customers in new, innovative ways, it gives our restaurant team the ability to concentrate more on order speed and accuracy, which makes the experience more enjoyable for everyone,&#8221; Keith Vanecek, the franchisee operating the test restaurant, said in the blog post <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-automated-restaurant-robots-drive-thru-conveyer-belt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> by CBS News.
Vanecek&#8217;s comment comes after McDonald&#8217;s CEO Chris Kempczinski dismissed in an earnings call last summer the idea of total automation any time soon.
&#8220;The idea of robots and all those things, while it maybe is great for garnering headlines, it&#8217;s not practical in the vast majority of restaurants,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The economics don&#8217;t pencil out. … You&#8217;re not going to see that as a broad-based solution any time soon.&#8221;
Casey Warman, an economics professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, told CNBC he expects automation to permanently shrink the restaurant industry&#8217;s workforce.
&#8220;Once the machines are in place, they&#8217;re not going to [sic] backwards, especially if there&#8217;s large cost savings,&#8221; he said.
Other restaurants, such as Taco Bell, Popeyes, and Panera Bread, have also installed AI to take orders, while Dominoes has started testing robotic technology to add sauce, cheese, and toppings to its pizza.
Implementing automation in restaurants also comes as states like California have increased minimum wages.
The Golden State increased its minimum hourly wage last year to $15 for employers with 26 or more employees and $14 for employers with 25 or fewer employees — the highest hourly wage in the nation. The increase comes as part of the law that has raised the wage from $10 per hour in 2017 to $15.50 in 2023.
The California Department of Industrial Relations said in a <a href="https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_minimumwage.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news release</a> that &#8220;after the state minimum wage reaches $15 an hour for all employees, the rate will be adjusted annually for inflation based on the national consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical worker.&#8221;
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act three months ago, creating a Fast Food Council empowered to raise minimum wages for the industry up to $22 per hour, representing an increase of over 40% from the $15.50 per hour minimum wage slated to take effect this year.
A report published last year by the Congressional Budget Office found that a nationwide minimum wage of $15 per hour would result in 1.4 million job losses, even as 900,000 workers are lifted from poverty.
Such a wage hike would affect 17 million workers whose pay would otherwise be below the threshold.
 Ben Zeisloft contributed to this report.

Smart robotic food holding a hamburger in a restaurant futuristic robot automation increase efficiency

More Fast-Food Chains Invest In Automation Amid Labor Shortages, Minimum Wage Increases

Artificial Intelligence

Business

labor shortage

Minimum Wage

Restaurant

U.S.

As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">teacher</a> shortages loom ahead of the new school year, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/teachers-unions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">union</a> leaders are calling for more financial resources.
In a recent interview with <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-300000-teacher-school-staff-vacancies-nea-president/story?id=88242614">ABC News</a>, National Education Association President Rebecca Pringle estimated that the United States lacks 300,000 teachers and support staff — the fruition of a “crisis in the number of students who are going into the teaching profession and the number of teachers who are leaving it.” Likewise, 55% of teachers reportedly consider exiting the profession earlier than they had expected.
The shortage comes as COVID and the lockdown-induced recession prompted millions of Americans to retire or otherwise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-continue-to-opt-out-of-the-workforce">exempt themselves</a> from the job market. The labor force participation rate has dropped from 66% in 2008 to 62% in 2022, falling 3% between February 2020 and April 2020 alone, according to data from the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CIVPART">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>.
In response to the shortage, Pringle recommended that citizens ask that “all of our schools are funded, so all of our students have what they need and they deserve.” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, meanwhile, pointed to “inadequate support and resources” and “subpar compensation” in a July <a href="https://www.aft.org/press-release/aft-unveils-report-teacher-and-school-staff-shortages">press release</a> discussing the teacher shortage.
Despite claims of poor funding, there is by no means a lack of taxpayer dollars flowing toward government schools. A <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_236.55.asp?current=yes">report</a> from the National Center for Education Statistics indicated that the inflation-adjusted yearly expenditure per American pupil rose from $4,060 to $15,424 between 1960 and 2017 — a 280% increase. Another <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED543118.pdf">study</a> from the Department of Education revealed that schools increased the number of non-teaching staff by 702% between 1950 to 2009 and hired 252% more teachers over the same period.
The state of Virginia, for example, “would have had an extra $29,007 to spend per teacher if it had limited the growth of administrators and other non-teaching staff” from 1992 to 2009, according to the study.
As Robert Bortins — the CEO of Christian homeschool curriculum provider Classical Conversations — explained to The Daily Wire, the bloated funding occurs even as the United States remains in a mediocre position on many international education metrics.
“If the New York Yankees, who routinely have the highest payroll in the MLB, missed the playoffs almost 100% of the time, the front office would be fired, not given more money,” Bortins noted. “Giving our current government education system — a group of individuals who can&#8217;t even properly identify man versus woman — more money is not the solution to providing our children a better education.”
Indeed, unions themselves likely play a role in the educator shortage, according to Bortins. “Teacher unions have helped create this broken system through decades of legislative reform that are designed to give themselves power, rather than empowering families to give their children a great education,” he continued. “Teacher unions support legislation that puts unneeded and unnecessary licensing burdens on new teachers, keeping qualified individuals out of the profession due to being improperly credentialed.”
Jeremy Tate — the founder of the Classic Learning Test, a standardized exam geared toward students with Christian and classical educations — told The Daily Wire that “the motivating force” behind teachers unions is “not serving students, but protecting teachers.”
“Nothing discourages young people from entering the teaching profession more than teachers unions and the policies they push. Teaching is inherently a heroic calling, but the unions put an ugly stain on the beauty and dignity of this great profession,” he said. “Pouring your life into the next generation is a high and beautiful calling for young people and they get excited about it. But having to join the ranks of an organization that clearly doesn’t want the best for students kills this excitement.&#8221;

Randi Weingarten

Unions Complain Of Dire Teacher Shortages Ahead Of New School Year, Push For More Funding

Education

National Education Association

Teachers Unions

Unions

American candy-maker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chocolate">The Hershey Company</a> warned on Thursday that it would fail to have enough candy come Halloween and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christmas">Christmas</a> time due to a variety of supply-chain issues and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/labor-shortage">labor shortages</a> plaguing the industry.
Hershey Chief Executive Officer Michele Buck told Reuters that the coming shortage will be caused in part by the Russian-Ukraine war impacting cocoa, edible oil, and other ingredients, while other issues stemming from the economic disruption during COVID are also to blame.
Still, Hershey&#8217;s said that sales for 2022 will top last year, despite not being able to meet demand during the busy holiday season. A recent analysis found that Hershey&#8217;s raised the prices of its various bars by a weighted average of 14%.
&#8220;Management says that the incremental pricing is in response to incremental cost pressure as some hedge expirations approach,&#8221; Goldman Sachs analyst Jason English <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/inflation-chocolate-bars-hershey-154341220.html#:~:text=In%20a%20recent%20note%20to,and%20hikes%20on%20various%20pouch">explained</a>. &#8220;While higher pricing on higher costs is not unique to the company, we believe Hershey is enacting the increases to preserve its growth algorithm which contrasts meaningfully with center-of-plate food companies who are raising prices to minimize earnings declines.&#8221;
The National Confectioners Association also recently told FoodDive that the entire industry is facing pressures due to the state of the American economy.
“There’s no question that the challenges faced across the industry — supply chain, inflation, labor shortages, broad pandemic impact and more — have disproportionately affected small and mid-sized companies compared with their larger counterparts,” Carly Schildhaus, a spokesperson for the trade group, <a href="https://www.fooddive.com/news/small-candy-makers-rethink-business-strategy-inflation-supply-chain-cost/625658/">told</a> FoodDive.
Frankford Candy CEO Stuart Selarnick <a href="https://www.fooddive.com/news/small-candy-makers-rethink-business-strategy-inflation-supply-chain-cost/625658/">added</a> that his Philadelphia candy company has had to get creative in order to find needed ingredients. Selarnick told the outlet that it&#8217;s the first time in company history that there has ever been trouble finding ingredients.
“You have to move on,&#8221; Selnick said. &#8220;You have to be resourceful and find other sources, other opportunities, other suppliers,” Selarnick said. “That’s what we’re really good at because we’re nimble. We can move quickly.”
Adding to the problem — albeit a bittersweet one for the candy makers given the shortage of needed supply — is that demand for the sugary confections is strong even as inflation raises costs across the board.
National Confectioners Association CEO John Downs <a href="https://www.mashed.com/932473/why-some-artisanal-candies-are-more-expensive-post-covid/">told</a> the media that &#8220;in contrast to rising costs for families related to inflation, health care and simply putting food on the table, candy remains a simple, affordable treat. Whether consumers found their inspiration on social media or in the grocery aisle, they reached for chocolate and candy as a means of self-care and enjoyment in an otherwise uncertain time.&#8221;

Hershey’s

Hershey’s Chocolates Warns Of Halloween, Christmas Candy Shortage

Hershey's Chocolates Warns Of Halloween, Christmas Candy Shortage

chocolate

Economy

Food

Supply Chain

Over 3,300 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/unemployment">employees</a> from 70 British companies started participating in a four-day <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jobs">workweek</a> pilot program on Monday.
The initiative — led by nonprofits 4 Day Week Global, 4 Day Week UK Campaign, and Autonomy — will last for six months. Employees will receive full pay despite working only 80% of their usual week, with the promise of maintaining 100% of their productivity. Participating businesses range across several industries, with researchers from Cambridge University, Oxford University, and Boston College monitoring the results.
“After the pandemic, people want a work-life balance,” Joe Ryle, the campaign director for the 4 Day Week Campaign, said in an interview with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/06/business/uk-four-day-work-week.html">The New York Times</a>. “They want to be working less.”
American lawmakers have floated permanent proposals similar to the one modeled in the pilot. In California, for example, legislators <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-lawmakers-propose-4-day-workweek">introduced a bill</a> that would reduce the workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours for companies with more than 500 employees. Those who work more than 32 hours would receive time and a half pay.
David Bahnsen, the founder of Manhattan-based wealth management firm The Bahnsen Group, told The Daily Wire that the United States has seen a “deterioration in regard for work” since the recession of 2008.
“I do not believe it could last, though, as places that refuse to get on board will so substantially out-produce and out-perform those that do implement such folly that market forces would deal with it accordingly,” he predicted.
Labor force participation rates dropped from 66% in 2008 to 63% in 2020, according to data from the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CIVPART">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>. The metric dropped another 3% between February 2020 and April 2020 alone as COVID-19 led to government lockdowns and business closures. As of May 2022, labor force participation is 62.3%. Men, in particular, have seen a gradual <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300001">disengagement</a> from the labor force since the end of World War II.
Bahnsen characterizes the phenomenon as originating in culture rather than market conditions.
“What has changed in Western culture about work has been a change in the culture creating a change in labor markets — not a change in labor markets adjusting the culture,” he explained. “The cause and effect is important here. Greater secularization, especially post-1960s, has led to a decline in regard for work.”
Yet the phenomenon has not applied equally to all strata of society.
“Where there has been a higher regard for social norms and achievement, the high regard for careerism and work has stayed robust,” Bahnsen continued. “The top 20% in socioeconomic metrics have a high regard for work, where the value placed on the dignity of work and the value of work has declined in the lower 80%.”
Even after economic growth resumed in 2020 and the labor market quickly began to recover, a federal program offering $300 in weekly enhanced unemployment insurance remained intact in roughly half of states through much of 2021. According to a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the benefits significantly increased the number of Americans who were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/surprise-enhanced-unemployment-benefits-significantly-increased-unemployment-study">unwilling to work</a>, as indicated by data from states that prematurely nixed the program in favor of faster labor market recovery.
“Western Europe has led the way down in this regard and the U.S. is somewhat trying to catch up, but gratefully not at a rapid pace,” Bahnsen said of negative cultural attitudes toward work. “Where there is high regard for work today is in pockets of South America and southeast Asia.”

US-HEALTH-VIRUS

The World’s Largest Four-Day Workweek Pilot Program Just Began. Could It Come To The United States?

British Companies Launch World's Largest Four-Day Workweek Pilot Program

Jobs

Unemployment

United Kingdom

Former McDonald’s chief executive Ed Rensi argued that California’s four-day workweek proposal would cause “unintended consequences.”
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/people-dont-want-to-go-back-california-democrat-wants-a-four-day-work-week">The Daily Wire</a> reported earlier this week, California AB 2932 would leave the official workday at eight hours, but require overtime for workers putting in more than 32 hours or four full days in a week. The bill would also require paying double the regular wage for those working more than 12 hours in a day or for seven days per week — thereby hiking hourly wages by approximately 25%.
Rensi told <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/labor-costs-former-mcdonalds-usa-ceo">Fox Business</a> anchor Neil Cavuto that &#8220;California has always been on the leading edge of smart things and dumb things.” The executive added that the four-day workweek proposal will result in &#8220;unintended consequences&#8221; and emphasized that the government &#8220;doesn’t understand&#8221; the law. 
He also expressed his concern that the California policy would significantly worsen labor shortages.
&#8220;We got 12 million unfilled jobs in the United States right now that we can&#8217;t recruit for. Restaurants are desperately trying to hire people and can&#8217;t find them anywhere… You put this kind of [law] in place, you&#8217;re really paying a lot of people overtime,” Rensi explained. 
He added that the shortened workweek proposal may diminish workers’ well-being, allowing people “to get two jobs, because they can work three days in one place… three days in another place.&#8221;
&#8220;I’ve got mixed feelings about it,&#8221; Rensi continued. “I want our workers to have a good quality of life, have enough money to support themselves and their families… put their kids through college.&#8221; 
California Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia — who co-sponsored the four-day workweek bill — said employees do not want a return to normalcy following COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession. “We’ve seen over 47 million people voluntarily leave their jobs for better opportunities. We’re seeing a labor shortage across the board from small to big businesses,” Garcia told Fortune. “And so it’s very clear that employees don’t want to go back to normal or the old way, but to rethink and go back to [something] better.”
The California Chamber of Commerce argued that the bill “significantly increases labor costs by imposing an overtime pay requirement after 32 hours and other requirements that are impossible to comply with.” Chamber President and CEO Jennifer Barrera argued that the legislation would kill job creation.
“California companies are the economic engine that drives innovation and job creation in our state and are responsible for the record revenues the state is currently experiencing,” Barrera explained in the press release. “Yet, the bills on this year’s job killer list reflect a lack of appreciation of the economic realities and regulatory challenges employers&#8230; A shrinking workforce coupled with California’s oppressive legal climate, penchant for overregulation, and continued push for even higher taxes, will hamper the ability of California companies to remain competitive in the future. This year’s job killer list highlights policies that will hurt job creation and will shut down or reduce investment in our economy.”

‘Unintended Consequences’: Former McDonald’s CEO Blasts California Four-Day Workweek Proposal

California

McDonald’s

Neil Cavuto

Walgreens and CVS are reportedly closing down some of the companies’ pharmacies on Saturdays and/or Sundays to address the worker shortage issue that is affecting various industries across the country. 
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/walgreens-cvs-shut-some-pharmacies-on-weekends-as-omicron-strains-staffing-11642156381?mod=hp_lead_pos7">reported</a>, &#8220;CVS Health Corp. […] and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. […] said weekend shutdowns are unusual but become a reality when locations lack enough pharmacists and technicians to remain open.”
Other stores such as Macy’s and Walmart are reducing their hours, as well, as staff either are remaining at home because they are sick, waiting to get test results back, or are taking care of other people who have been infected with the coronavirus. 
The Journal reported that prior to the Omicron variant spreading across the country, the drugstore companies were shortening hours, increasing wages, and attempting to bring on tens of thousands of additional employees to deal with the worker shortages. “But with their roles as major providers of Covid-19 testing and vaccinations, the chains are also dealing with growing discontent among existing staff as well as customers’ concern about service,” the outlet added. 
CVS and Walgreens both reportedly said they are not able to measure the weekend shutdowns, which change every week and sometimes take place without much of a heads-up. Customers in Washington, D.C., as well as areas of Maine and New York said they have been surprised to find the drive-through service or the pharmacy area closed in recent weeks. Some even came to the pharmacy for a scheduled COVID-19 vaccination appointment to discover that the pharmacy itself was not open. 
Last month, Rite Aid also said it would start shutting down its shops an hour early and permit walk-in vaccinations for just one hour each day due to the low amount of workers. 
A CVS spokesperson, per The Journal, noted that a minor fraction of its almost 10,000 stores in the United States are shutting down for one or two days of the weekend “to help address acute staffing issues amidst both the Omicron surge and the workforce shortage affecting nearly every industry and company.”
A Walgreens spokeswoman reportedly said that a large majority of its 9,000 U.S. stores are open during their usual hours. “The ongoing labor shortage, combined with the surge of Covid-19 cases, has resulted in isolated instances in which we’ve had to adjust operating hours or temporarily close a limited number of stores,” she said.
The Journal added:
<blockquote>
When a pharmacy has to close, Walgreens tries to shut it on days with the lowest demand and then to prepare nearby locations to handle added business, the spokeswoman said. The company tries to alert customers as soon as possible with signage, automated phone calls and adjustments in refills. Employees from closed locations often are deployed to help staff at other stores, she said.
</blockquote>
The staffing shortage is being felt across many industries, with healthcare being especially hard hit.
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hospitals-struggle-with-covid-related-worker-shortages-many-fired-unvaccinated-workers">reported</a> that hospitals across the country are being stretched as staff members call in sick over COVID-19 infections after health care systems fired employees over their vaccination status.  The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/hospitals-cut-beds-as-nurses-call-in-sick-with-covid-19-11641810781">reported</a> that employee shortages led the Mass General Brigham hospital system to maintain 83 empty beds last Friday. “The University Hospitals system in Ohio has closed as many as 16% of its intensive-care beds recently, while Parkland Health &amp; Hospital System in Dallas has shut 30 of 900 beds,” The Journal noted. 
Physicians and healthcare authorities have said that reducing capacity is a last measure for hospitals where it is done to maintain the necessary safety and care of specific patients. However, such actions can have negative and potentially devastating effects. People are left waiting in emergency rooms, ambulances have to wait, and other care like cancer treatment is put off until a later date. 
On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the vaccine mandate from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in a 5-4 decision, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-allows-cms-vaccine-mandate-for-healthcare-workers-to-go-forward">reported</a>. 
“The mandate covers approximately 10 million healthcare workers at roughly 76,000 hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities. The majority in the CMS case argued that the government had the ability to mandate the vaccine as it dealt with facilities that received Medicare and Medicaid funding,” per The Daily Wire.

BB931901-4B1E-41CE-B2DE-06C13E0D03E3_1_201_a

CVS, Walgreens Close Some Pharmacies On Weekends Due To Worker Shortages

Prescription Drugs

Mike Rowe’s hit show “Dirty Jobs” was massively popular ever since its premiere in 2005. But now the series has taken on new significance as the nation faces a massive labor shortage, especially when it comes to skilled trades. And it’s coming back in 2022 just in time for that crisis.
Rowe said fans have been begging him to bring the series back ever since it ended in 2012. The 59-year-old host told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/dirty-jobs-star-mike-rowe-new-season-hiring">Fox News</a> he “ran out of ideas” for dirty, dangerous, and surprising jobs to feature way back in season 3, but fans have kept the concept going with their suggestions and contributions. And now with the COVID-19 pandemic thrown in, there’s never been a better time to highlight these “dirty” jobs and hopefully help fill some of them.
During the Fox News interview, the &#8220;How America Works&#8221; narrator explained how the biggest shock of the series reboot in 2022 wasn’t the jobs themselves, which had been the case in the past. Rather it was that no one was applying.
“It’s not the jobs that were surprising this time around,” the Emmy Award-winning TV host said. “It’s something they all have in common, which is difficulty in recruiting. We just had four and a half million people quit their jobs in this country. We’ve got 11 million open positions right now.”
He continued, discussing how the new challenge was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/upwards-of-40-of-workers-are-thinking-about-quitting-their-jobs-report">affecting every industry</a>. But it’s been prevalent among blue collar industries long before COVID-19 changed the world.
“The theme that keeps coming back, again and again, is how difficult it is to find people who want to learn a skill that’s in demand,” the Discovery Channel host explained. “Someone who shows up early, stays late and isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty. It’s a real challenge. And that comes through this season in a big way.”
Rowe went on to discuss earning potential for these types of positions especially. He continued, saying “they’re actively hiring” but there aren’t enough interested people to fill the slots.
“You just figure people don’t want these jobs because they’re dirty and difficult. But the truth is that with many of these jobs you can make six figures.”
But Rowe is committed to fixing the problem first by highlighting these positions on “Dirty Jobs” and second by providing training to anyone who wants it. His organization mikeroweWORKS helps teach the basics of these hands-on, in-demand trades and sponsors kids who want to learn the skills. 
And bringing “Dirty Jobs” back to TV is meant to instruct and entertain. Because the jobs may be dirty, but they’re also fun and lucrative, the host says.
“First and foremost, it’s fun to talk about all the big themes and all the important ideas around work and education. But it’s also entertainment,” Rowe told Fox News. “It’s a love letter to hard work. It’s a love letter to risk and entrepreneurship. Mostly it’s a nod to jobs that are still out of sight, out of mind.”
He continued, &#8220;I hope people see it for what it really is, which is not a show. It’s a trip. You know, there are no second takes. There’s no scripting, no writing, no rehearsing, no acting. It’s an honest look at a hard day’s work through the eyes of an apprentice. I hope people see it for what it is and watch it to have a few laughs and maybe learn a thing or two about something they didn’t know they would care about.&#8221;
&#8220;Dirty Jobs&#8221; airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on Discovery and streaming on Discovery+.

FOX News Channel Relights Their All-American Christmas Tree In New York

Mike Rowe On Why Bringing Back ‘Dirty Jobs’ Was Vital — ‘Many Of These Jobs You Can Make Six Figures’

Mike Rowe

As price levels continue to rise, a key metric for consumer inflation expectations followed suit.
After the Bureau of Labor Statistics <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/as-inflation-soars-americans-real-wages-decline">announced</a> that consumer prices rose at a 6.8% rate last month — the largest year-over-year increase since 1982 — the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2021/20211213">Survey of Consumer Expectations</a> revealed that Americans foresee higher short-term inflation:
<blockquote>Median one-year-ahead inflation expectations increased to 6.0% from 5.7% in October. Median three-year ahead inflation expectations decreased to 4.0% from 4.2% in both September and October. This is the first decline in the three-year measure since June 2021, and only the second decline since October 2020. 
The decline in medium-term expectations was driven by respondents without a college degree. Measures of disagreement across respondents (the difference between the 75th and 25th percentiles of inflation expectations) increased at both horizons to new series highs.
Median inflation uncertainty — or the uncertainty expressed regarding future inflation outcomes — increased at both the short- and medium-term horizons, with both reaching new series highs.</blockquote>
Likewise, Americans — especially those with lower incomes — expect to earn less while spending more:
<blockquote>The median expected growth in household income fell by 0.1 percentage point from its series high in October, to 3.2%. Median year-ahead household spending growth expectations jumped up by 0.3 percentage point to 5.7%, a new series high. The increase was largest for respondents with annual household incomes under $50,000.
Perceptions of credit access compared to a year ago deteriorated slightly in November, with fewer respondents finding it easier to obtain credit now than a year ago. Expectations about future credit availability deteriorated as well, with fewer respondents expecting it will be easier to obtain credit in the year ahead.</blockquote>
Indeed, a rebound in wages following COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/as-inflation-soars-americans-real-wages-decline">eclipsed</a> by higher price levels. Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that “real average hourly earnings” — a metric that considers the impact of inflation on purchasing power — fell by 0.4% between October and November. Though nominal average hourly earnings rose by 0.3%, the effects were overshadowed by a 0.8% increase in consumer prices.
As persistent supply chain bottlenecks, lavish federal stimulus, labor shortages, and other phenomena continue to rock the United States, the Biden administration is allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-working-with-reporters-to-reshape-coverage-of-economic-woes-under-biden-as-approval-sinks-report">pushing</a> news outlets to provide more favorable coverage of its economic policies.
“The White House, not happy with the news media’s coverage of the supply chain and economy, has been working behind the scenes trying to reshape coverage in its favor,” said CNN’s media newsletter. “Senior White House and admin officials — including NEC Deputy Directors David Kamin and Bharat Ramamurti, along with Ports Envoy John Porcari — have been briefing major newsrooms over the past week, a source tells me.”
“The officials have been discussing with newsrooms trends pertaining to job creation, economic growth, supply chains, and more. The basic argument that has been made: That the country’s economy is in much better shape than it was last year. I’m told the conversations have been productive, with anchors and reporters and producers getting to talk with the officials.”

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Americans’ Inflation Expectations Hit New High As Soaring Prices Erode Paychecks

Inflation

American Airlines is planning to hire roughly 18,000 workers in 2022.
CEO Doug Parker will reportedly announce the plan as he and other airline executives sit before members of the Senate on Wednesday.
<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/14/american-airlines-plans-to-hire-18000-people-next-year-for-travel-rebound.html">CNBC</a> reported:
<blockquote>The CEOs of American, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, and Delta Air Lines’ chief of operations, will face questions Wednesday from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation about mass flight cancellations and staffing struggles despite roughly $54 billion in federal payroll aid doled out to the airline industry to soften the Covid pandemic’s impact.
American and Southwest canceled hundreds of flights during brief periods this fall, as they struggled with staffing shortfalls and bad weather. Both carriers have turned to incentives like extra pay or bonuses to avoid repeats during Thanksgiving, which went smoothly, and Christmas and New Year’s holidays.</blockquote>
Parker wrote in his testimony that American — which has about 130,000 workers — has already onboarded more than 16,000 employees in 2021. 
“We believe this positive momentum will continue into next year, as we’ve set a target of hiring an additional 18,000 team members in 2022,” Parker explained. “Each time we add to our ranks, it’s like a dividend payment on the investment made in our team through the [payroll support program]; instead of building back from collapse, we’re growing to provide more promising careers in good-paying jobs to hard-working individuals who are the lifeblood of our nation’s economy.”
As The Daily Wire previously reported, airlines have left thousands of travelers stranded in recent months as they cancelled flights with minimal notice. Though the airlines typically point to labor shortages and bad weather, COVID-19 vaccine mandates could have played a role in the phenomenon.
For instance, the U.S. Freedom Flyers — an organization of airline and transportation workers working to oppose the vaccine mandates imposed by airlines and the federal government — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flight-crews-have-reached-their-breaking-point-anti-vaccine-mandate-group-responds-to-mass-flight-cancellations">disagreed</a> with American Airlines’ claim that a spate of cancellations in November was attributable to high winds.
“The system is stressed as it is and now we have unions coming out and gaslighting their members that if they are unvaccinated, they need counseling and education,” Freedom Flyers founding member Jason Kusinich told The Daily Wire, citing an email from the president of the American Airlines Pilots’ Union, which said unvaccinated crew members need “education and counseling.”
Some airlines have since walked back their vaccine mandates. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian, for example, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/delta-air-lines-ceo-ditches-divisive-vaccine-mandate">explained</a> that announcing a plan to get all employees vaccinated — without enforcing a mandate — has worked, allowing the company to attain a 90% inoculation rate.
“The reason the mandate was put in by [the] president, I believe, was because they wanted to make sure companies had a plan to get their employees vaccinated,” said Bastian, according to Fox Business. “A month before the president came out with the mandate, we had already announced our plan to get all of our people vaccinated. And the good news is the plan is working.”
The Daily Wire is fighting Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate in federal court. Join us in this fight by signing our <a href="https://lp.dailywire.com/osha-petition/">petition</a> to OSHA, telling them that you will not comply with this mandate.
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American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner In Greece

American Airlines To Hire 18,000 People As Unexplained Flight Cancellations Continue

American Airlines

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