Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where we are busy editing several TV segments that will air on Brazilian TV and YouTube. We will have more out this week.
Payday's Segment From Steelers Tailgate Airs on Brazil's ICL Notícias
When I began studying Portuguese as a 17-year-old, I never imagined that I would get to cover a funny segment from a tailgate of a Pittsburgh Steelers' game for Brazilian TV.
However, I recorded a viral hit news segment this week on a funny interaction with a woman promoting Trump's cryptocurrency at a Steelers' game. The segment underscores how Trump has become a big player in the cryptocurrency markets.
Watch it here with subtitles in English
Help Rent a Car to Cover Immigrants in Rural Areas
This week, immigrant activists will canvass rural Western PA to reach out to other immigrant activists. We want to go, but we would need to rent a car to get there, as I am too broke to own one.
Donate to help us rent a car so we can expand our coverage outside of Western PA into rural PA.
Washington Post's Union Denounces Editorial Interference in Non-Endorsement Decision
Earlier today, the Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced that it would not endorse anyone for President.
The decision follows a similar one earlier this week by the LA Times not to endorse anyone, which led several members of their editorial board to resign. Many speculate that the billionaire owners are refusing to allow endorsements to hedge their bets in case Trump wins.
In a public statement, the Washington Post's union claimed that editorial staff had already prepared an editorial backing Kamala Harris but were blocked from issuing it by the newspaper's owner.
"According to our own reporters and Guild members, an endorsement for Harris was already drafted, and the decision to not to publish was made by The Post's owner, Jeff Bezos," wrote the Post's union in a statement. "We are already seeing cancellations from once loyal readers. This decision undercuts the work of our members at a time when we should be building our readers' trust, not losing it."
Read the full statement from the union here.
Stockholm Syndrome?!?! NewsGuild Refuses to Back Subscriber Boycotts
Semafor has reported that thousands of readers have canceled their Washington Post subscriptions in the past few hours.
However, unionized journalists have denounced efforts to cancel subscriptions.
"It's so disheartening to see people cancelling their LA Times and Washington Post subscriptions due to decisions made by billionaires," tweeted Bradford Pearson, a reporter at Philly Magazine. "These cancellations hurt the reporters, editors, photographers, and designers doing the real work, not q
Much like the NewsGuild's refusal to endorse a ceasefire in Gaza while other unions endorsed it, the union refuses to back consumer efforts to cancel subscriptions due to non-endorsements.
This is quite frankly a case of "Stockholm Syndrome: "reporters feel so beholden to their corporate overloads that they are unwilling to support efforts to hold these newspaper owners accountable.
Payday fully endorses boycotting and unsubscribing from these papers. Rather than focus on saving the bottom line of these corporate media outlets, we should direct our money to worker-run publications.
Donate to Payday to Help Us Tell Stories from Workers' Perspectives
Sherrod Brown Wants Kamala Harris to Invest in Ohio
An hour away across the border in Ohio, Senator Sherrod Brown is in a tight battle for his Senate race. If Brown loses this Senate race, it could mean losing control of the Senate.
The Harris campaign has yet to invest in Ohio, which they do not expect to win. However, Brown has told donors that he believes he can win if they can hold Trump's margin of victory to less than 8%.
Nebraska Union Leader in Tight Senate Race Embraces Right-Wing Politics
In Nebraska, Kellogg strike union leader Dan Osborn appears to be in an unusually tight race as an independent with Republican Senator Deb Fischer.
Harris-Walz's campaign investing helps the race in the state because it divides its electoral vote by congressional district. Democrats have often been able to win the electoral vote provided by Omaha's Congressional District.
However, Osborn has been running a campaign that fuses union politics with right-wing populism. He recently ran ads saying, "If Trump needs help building the wall, well, I'm pretty handy, and the career politicians, they've tried to stop Trump just like they're trying to stop me."
While Osborn has received some excitement from national media and union members, his embrace of right-wing politics has upset some democratic and labor leaders in Nebraska.
For more on the race, check out this long profile by Nebraska native Austin Ahlman entitled "In Search of Trump-Osborn Voters."
All right, folks, that's all for today. We will have more stuff coming out tomorrow. Keep sending tips, story ideas, comments, and complaints to melk@paydayreport.com
Donate to help us cover how unions are fight in the Rust Belt
Love & Solidarity,
Melk
