Increased Pandemic Automation Fuels Workforce Anxiety
The COVID-19 health crisis has undoubtedly pushed companies toward automated processes and robotic systems. As the vaccine is rolled out, some worry workers may be permanently displaced as health restrictions loosen by Olivia Rockeman, James Attwood and Joe Deaux, Bloomberg News / December 17, 2020 Refraction AI in Ann Arbor has developed an autonomous delivery robot. The first generation Rev1 sits at a red light in Kerrytown while on a mission Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 to deliver sandwiches in downtown Ann Arbor. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press/TNS) TNS
(TNS) For decades, the attitude of unions and their advocates to increased automation could be summed up in one word: no. They feared that every time a machine was slipped into the workflow, a laborer lost a job.
Unions Worry Uptick in Automated Jobs Will Go Beyond Pandemic To maintain productivity and safety, some jobs are installing robot coworkers. Labor unions worry that the robots will continue to occupy jobs after the pandemic ends while others say they will free up workers for other positions. Olivia Rockeman, James Attwood and Joe Deaux, Bloomberg News | December 17, 2020 | Analysis
(TNS) For decades, the attitude of unions and their advocates to increased automation could be summed up in one word: no. They feared that every time a machine was slipped into the workflow, a laborer lost a job.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a small but significant shift in that calculation. Because human contact spreads the disease, some machines are now viewed not exclusively as the workers’ enemy but also as their protector. That has accelerated the use of robots this year in a way no one expects to stop, even after the vi
Danone expands non-gender specific parental leave
By Sandy Rose Schwieterman - For the Sidney Daily News
MINSTER – The 330 hourly employees and 100 salaried staff members of Minster’s Danone Plant will benefit by the Danone North America expansion of its gender-neutral Parental Bonding Leave policy.
The new policy provides 18 weeks of leave for a new parent, whether they be male or female.
“Not only is it the right thing to do to provide all parents the time they need to care for and bond with a new child, but ultimately we believe this policy will lead to stronger, more engaged teams,” said David Merritt, Danone’s senior plant director in Minster.
The next U.S. agriculture secretary must rebuke the meat industry Neal Barnard, Another View contributor
Trump declares meat plants critical infrastructure during coronavirus
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More and more, it’s clear just how troubling the meat industry is. It endangers the lives of workers, produces products that cause heart disease and cancer, contributes to climate change, and keeps animals in deplorable conditions until they are killed. Now, a lawsuit is alleging that managers at a Tyson Foods plant in Iowa were betting on how many workers would contract COVID-19.
The conditions at meatpacking plants across the U.S. have ensured that infection rates would be high. Since the beginning of the pandemic, workers have reported a lack of protective gear, lack of social distancing, inadequate sick leave policies, and inadequate testing. As of Nov. 30, there have been nearly 50,000 infections and more than 250 deaths among U.S. meatpacking plant workers,
Butler on wheels, robot cutting salad: How COVID-19 sped automation techxplore.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from techxplore.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.