Latest news with #StephenAusmus
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Anti-trust enforcement is important to competitors and consumers, but don't forget workers
A recent $180 million wage-fixing settlement among the largest firms in the poultry industry shows another consequence of unchecked monopoly power. Photo by Stephen Ausmus/Agricultural Research Service, USDA. For Minnesota legislators looking for ways to protect workers, an unlikely source has provided an important blueprint. Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson is establishing a Joint Labor Task Force that will prioritize investigating corporate conduct that harms workers. In announcing the task force Ferguson wrote that 'deceptive, unfair, and anticompetitive labor practices are widespread' and identifies a range of harmful practices, including noncompete agreements, wage-fixing agreements and the abuse of consolidated power. While an antitrust agency might not seem the obvious place for labor policy, the unchecked rise of monopoly power is a significant threat to workers. Ferguson's announcement continues the approach of his predecessor, Lina Khan, and other Biden administration regulators. That approach is not new, as the architects of our antitrust laws understood the threat monopolies pose to workers. Sen. John Sherman, author of the Sherman Antitrust Act, said in 1892 that a monopoly 'commands the price of labor without fear of strikes, for in its field it allows no competitors.' That statement rings true today. The average local labor market in the U.S. is considered highly concentrated by federal antitrust guidelines, and one out of every eight labor markets is dominated by a single employer. The result of that, according to a 2022 study by the Treasury Department, is that the average worker earns roughly 20% less than they would if there was more competition. In 2023 Minnesota took a step in addressing that issue by requiring the impacts on health care workers to be considered when evaluating large health care mergers. Legislators could build on that law by requiring labor market analysis as part of merger review across the economy. States across the country have proposed requiring more pre-merger notification and labor market analysis could be made a part of such a proposal. Legislators could also pass the Fair Competition Act, which would make it clear that the abuse of monopsony power — when big players use their power to push down prices from suppliers and labor — is a violation of Minnesota's antitrust law. A recent $180 million wage-fixing settlement among the largest firms in the poultry industry shows another consequence of unchecked monopoly power. Companies not only gain greater power over workers but can also more easily collude with those firms that remain. In an economy that has grown 50% more consolidated since 2005, this behavior is likely to increase. Unfortunately, a 2007 Supreme Court decision has made it more difficult to bring price and wage-fixing cases. Legislators could ease enforcement by amending Minnesota law to shift the burden onto defendants instead of requiring plaintiffs to provide explicit evidence of price-fixing before further facts can be obtained through discovery. Traditional wage-fixing is just the tip of the iceberg. A recent report on surveillance prices and wages demonstrates how detailed data collection to feed algorithms and artificial intelligence will make it even easier for companies to conspire against workers and drive down wages. One approach to this emerging challenge is to prohibit algorithmic price and wage-fixing, which some legislators are seeking to do in the rental industry. The use of third-party analytics companies to fix prices and wages is not confined to housing, however. Legislators could draw on a federal proposal, Senator Amy Klobuchar's Preventing Algorithmic Collusion Act, for a way to prohibit tacit collusion against workers across Minnesota's economy. In addition to the impact on wages and jobs, anticompetitive conduct is transforming the basics of what a worker really is. Consider a proposal to allow Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize. The underlying reason such legislation is necessary is because ridesharing platforms misclassify their workers as independent contractors and then exert control using anticompetitive 'vertical restraints,' which are contracts governing buyer-seller relationships. This business model would have been a clear violation of antitrust laws before a multi-decade effort to weaken enforcement against anticompetitive vertical restraints. Now gig companies and others are able to maintain a system of 'control without responsibility' — firms can tightly manage individuals while avoiding the legal and financial responsibilities of formal employment. Uber controls the routes and rates supposedly independent drivers receive while the 'independent' trucking companies Amazon uses must deliver packages exclusively for Amazon in vehicles branded by Amazon, and using routes, rates and schedules dictated by Amazon. Minnesota took steps to limit vertical restraints by banning non compete clauses and no-poach agreements in 2023. But lawmakers could build off that work by strengthening the state's antitrust laws to more clearly prohibit the use of other anticompetitive and coercive contracts that exploit workers and limit freedom and mobility. For too long the concept of what constitutes labor policy has been narrowly confined to issues like minimum wage rates and right-to-work laws, but our antimonopoly tools are an important part of keeping workers from suffering under the thumb of monopolists. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New Nebraska case of highly contagious bird flu reported in Saunders County
A new case of bird flu is reported in Saunders County. (Courtesy of Stephen Ausmus/Animal Research Services, USDA) LINCOLN — A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in a backyard flock in Saunders County. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service announced the bird flu discovery on Thursday. The contagious virus spreads easily among birds through nasal and eye secretions, as well as infected food, water and manure. It can spread in various ways from flock to flock, including by wild birds during migratory season, through contact with infected poultry, and by equipment and clothes of caretakers. Wild birds can carry the virus without becoming sick, while domesticated birds can become very sick and die. State Veterinarian Dr. Roger Dudley reminded poultry producers to practice biosecurity with their flocks, including minimizing exposure to wild birds, washing hands and changing clothes and shoes before and after coming into contact with poultry, the state ag department said in a statement. The year's first cases of bird flu were announced Jan. 30 in two backyard poultry flocks in Kearney and Nance Counties. Signs of the HPAI virus in birds include: a decrease in water intake; lack of energy and appetite; decreased egg production or soft-shelled, misshapen eggs; nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing; incoordination and diarrhea. HPAI can survive for weeks in contaminated environments. State ag officials said unusual poultry deaths or signs of the virus should be reported to the NDA, 402-471-2351, or the USDA, 866-536-7593. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bird flu bill is among first to pass Pennsylvania legislature this session
(Photo by Stephen Ausmus/Agricultural Research Service, USDA) Legislation intended to aid the state's response to highly-pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, passed the Senate Wednesday. It was the first bill this session to pass through both chambers of the legislature. The bill, if signed by the governor, will eliminate citizenship requirements for people who want to become licensed poultry technicians in Pennsylvania, though they must be allowed to work in the country legally and undergo training. The goal is to expand the number of certified testers for bird flu. The bill received a bipartisan vote in both chambers, though it was opposed by four Republican senators and 41 Republican representatives. It was sponsored by Berks County Democratic Rep. Johanny Cepida-Freytiz. The bill's proponents say the state needs all the help it can get combating bird flu. Late last month, the state confirmed its first cases of the disease in domestic poultry this year, in Lehigh County. It now heads to Gov. Josh Shapiro's desk for signature. Speaking at this year's farm show, he called the disease one of the top concerns for the state's large agriculture industry. Pa. moves to let non-citizens obtain poultry testing licenses as bird flu quarantine expands Experts say bird flu is, largely, not a risk to the general public, but can have severe economic impacts for farmers, especially those working with chicken flocks. It has also transferred to dairy cattle elsewhere in the country. Store-bought eggs and pasteurized milk are still safe for consumption, according to experts. Anyone who encounters a sick or dead wild bird is asked to report it to the PA Game Commission at 1-833-PGC-WILD (1-833-742-9453). People in contact with sick or dead birds who are not feeling well should contact a physician or the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-724-3258. The poultry technician bill was one of the first two to make it through both chambers this session. The other, which also passed Wednesday, will make it easier for international soccer teams' doctors to practice in Pennsylvania. It was sponsored by freshman Sen. Joe Picozzi (R-Philadelphia), who said he introduced it ahead of the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup, which will hold matches in Philadelphia this summer.
