News from around the nation.

CHIPS Act opportunity to set standard for good Colorado jobs; Israelis erupt in protest to demand a cease-fire after 6 more hostages die in Gaza; New PA labor report reveals economic progress, challenges; Proposals ending taxes on tips have mixed results for NYers.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily newscast for Labor Day, September the 2nd, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

If you get taxpayer money, you should be treating workers fairly.

That's according to a new report.

As the Biden-Harris administration prepares to invest up to $175 billion taxpayer dollars into semiconductor manufacturing under the CHIPS Act, a new Institute for Policy Studies report warns guardrails are necessary to ensure that workers in Colorado and across the US who make tiny chips critical for electronic devices are getting good jobs.

Report author Chris Rodrigo says the US Department of Commerce should add key worker protections, including good wages, safety from toxic chemicals, and the freedom to unionize to all contracts before backing up the brink trucks.

Commerce should require, or at least strongly encourage companies to not try to disrupt any organizing activity going on.

Having unions at these companies is a good backstop to make sure that there aren't too many violations of people's labor rights.

The report also recommends banning stock buybacks and other executive perks to make sure that more taxpayer dollars are invested in workers.

I'm Eric Galatas.

The industry claims there are not enough qualified Americans willing to take on jobs created by the CHIPS Act, but researchers found there was no deficit of credentialed workers.

Next, from the Associated Press, tens of thousands of grieving and angry Israelis surged into the streets Sunday night.

That after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza, chanting "Now, now!"

as they demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire with Hamas to bring the remaining captives home.

The AP reports the mass outpouring appeared to be the largest such demonstration in 11 months of war, and protesters said it felt like a possible turning point, although the country is deeply divided.

Israel's largest trade union further pressed the government by calling a general strike for Monday, the first since October 7.

It aims to shut down or disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking, healthcare, and the country's main airport.

And a new report highlights Pennsylvania's strong economic growth and recovery, making the state a favorable environment for job seekers.

More now from Daniel Smith.

The findings from the Keystone Research Center show job growth in the state has consistently kept pace with or exceeded national rates over the past three years, despite slow working-age population growth.

The center's Steven Herzenberg says wages for nearly all groups of workers are increasing when adjusted for inflation.

Whether you're a low-wage worker, whether you're in the middle, whether you're a woman or a person of color or even a blue-collar worker, all of those categories of workers have seen inflation-adjusted wages go up in the last year, in the last four or five years, in the last decade.

Pennsylvania's unemployment rate is holding steady at 3.4 percent.

This is public news service.

National proposals to end taxes on tips might have mixed impacts on New Yorkers.

This would let workers keep more of their tips, but tipped workers don't earn enough income because they make a subminimum wage, which is $16 with tip credits in New York.

Saru Jayaraman, with one fair wage, says both candidates are taking separate approaches to implementing these policies.

Trump's proposal also would provide that same tax exemption to hedge fund billionaires.

And Harris' proposal, when she elevated it, did call for raising the minimum wage in addition to ending taxes on tips.

She adds the best way to implement this is by ending the subminimum wage.

Several states and cities have done this, but New York's bill faces opposition from groups like the New York Restaurant Association.

However, restaurants in different states are seeing dividends from paying workers a full minimum wage with tips.

Several states have ballot measures this year on possibly ending the subminimum wage.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

And a new report highlights girls in Indiana facing higher rates of bullying and sexual dating violence compared to boys.

The 2020 for Indiana Girl Report produced by the Indiana Youth Institute, Girl Coalition of Indiana, and Girl Scouts emphasizes the need for better mental health support and violence prevention in communities.

Tammy Silverman with Indiana Youth Institute says the report helps Hoosiers better understand all girls' experiences.

It's good to say this is what I know about those girls closest to me, and how is that similar to or different from the experiences girls in other parts of our state are having?

That's why the data is great, 'cause it really checks our own biases.

While girls in the state excel academically, particularly in reading, they also experience significant challenges.

Nearly 17 percent of high school girls report experiencing sexual dating violence, and many struggle with mental health issues at twice the rate of boys.

I'm Joe Alarie, Public News Service.

Finally, Election Day is little more than two months away.

North Dakotans turned off by the political environment are urged to consider their long-term health as possible motivation to re-engage with the voting process.

Over the past few years, organizations like the American Medical Association have emphasized messaging that voting is a social determinant of health.

University of North Dakota Professor Craig Burns, who specializes in social work, says this is especially true for marginalized populations.

For example, he says a candidate's stance on local zoning laws and key services might resonate with a person's need to establish a better quality of life.

Whether people have access to an affordable grocery store that sells healthy produce, or whether they have access to safe transportation.

I'm Mike Moen.

This is Mike Clifford.

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