💪 State of the unions

…and a US TikTok ban could actually happen Stumping for labor’s blessing (Mark Makela/Getty Images) [Sponsored by]( Last Week's Market Moves Dow Jones 38,723 (-0.93%) S&P 500 5,124 (-0.26%) Nasdaq 16,085 (-1.17%) Bitcoin $68,602 (+9.71%) Dow Jones 38,723 (-0.93%) S&P 500 5,124 (-0.26%) Nasdaq 16,085 (-1.17%) Bitcoin $68,602 (+9.71%) Hey Snackers, Sad news for alien enthusiasts : the Pentagon said on Friday that there’s no evidence that any gov’t-tracked UFO sightings have been [extraterrestrial](. Most are just drones, rockets, and birds — not aliens recording Earth and streaming it as a reality show back on their home planet. Sigh. Stocks dipped last week after hitting fresh highs on Thursday, while [bitcoin]( continued its record rally, briefly topping $70K. Fed Chair Powell suggested that rate cuts (aka: investors’ obsession) may not be far off. And US hiring was strong last month, though unemployment hit a two-year high. Investors now have eyes on the February consumer-prices report. Btw... Do you want to start getting Snacks daily? Or prefer to unsubscribe? Manage your subscription preferences [here](.   BREWING [US labor flexes its election-year leverage after big union wins]( There’s still movement… in labor. American workers keep fighting for better pay and benefits after a banner year for unions. 2023 saw the most major US strikes in over two decades, as 150K autoworkers, 170K+ actors and writers, and 340K [UPS]( employees scored major contract victories. Now worker movements in other industries are [gaining]( momentum: - Food chains: After a two-year, $240M anti-union campaign, [Starbucks]( began contract talks last month with its 10K workers repped by Workers United. It’s a big leap for the fast-food industry, which has historically struggled to unionize. - College athletics: Dartmouth’s men’s-basketball team voted last week to form the first union in college sports. Up next is a battle that could fundamentally change the NCAA: whether college athletes are employees. - Simultaneous strikes: This month, 13K Minnesota workers from unions representing janitors, city employees, teachers, and others are participating in coordinated strikes. On a larger scale: the United Auto Workers is trying to get big unions to line up their contract expirations for a nationwide strike on May 1, 2028. From picket lines to boardrooms… Unions are tackling corporate moves. The 1.2M-member United Steelworkers union has strongly opposed [Nippon Steel](’s $15B takeover of US Steel. While the deal doesn’t need union approval, the labor-friendly Biden admin could hesitate to OK a merger opposed by a major union in an election year. Nippon’s meeting with union leaders this month in hope of winning their blessing. Union pressure in a boardroom-seat battle was likely a factor in Starbucks starting contract talks with its unionized workers. THE TAKEAWAY Labor’s influence could peak this election year… After finally landing a UAW endorsement earlier this year, President Biden is set to meet this week with the still undecided Teamsters (America’s largest union). Both Biden’s and former President Trump’s campaigns have sought to gain labor’s endorsement in a general election that could be decided by just thousands of votes in battleground states (like autoworker stronghold Michigan). That leverage could help unions achieve even more.   SPONSORED BY BOXABL Building houses in a factory 🏠the housing crisis: [BOXABL’s mission is to mass produce housing in a factory.]( Tesla and Ford output 1 car every minute. Why has no one done this with housing? 🤖 New technology: [The company developed technology behind shipping, building materials and manufacturing methods.]( [🏬]( A building system: The Casita is a 361 sq. ft. house. But...the company envisions an entire system where mass produced rooms can connect to create many buildings. [BOXABL welcomes accredited investors to invest now. Retail investors can join the waitlist to be eligible for 5% Bonus Shares.*]( ✅ $15,000,000 in Factory Building equipment upgrades in progress. ✅ 500+ homes produced and counting! ✅ 3 Factory buildings SPONSORED BY BOXABL Building houses in a factory 🏠Solve the housing crisis: [BOXABL’s mission is to mass produce housing in a factory.]( Tesla and Ford output 1 car every minute. Why has no one done this with housing? 🤖 New technology: [The company developed technology behind shipping, building materials and manufacturing methods.]( [🏬](A building system: The Casita is a 361 sq. ft. house. But...the company envisions an entire system where mass produced rooms can connect to create many buildings. [BOXABL welcomes accredited investors to invest now. Retail investors can join the waitlist to be eligible for 5% Bonus Shares.*]( ✅ $15,000,000 in Factory Building equipment upgrades in progress. ✅ 500+ homes produced and counting! ✅ 3 Factory buildings   ZOOM OUT Stories we’re watching... The Tik-ban saga ain’t over… US leaders have been trying to ban TikTok over national-security concerns since 2020, but a new bipartisan push could make the Tok-less life a reality. Last week lawmakers intro’d a bill that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, to separate from the app within 180 days or be banned in the States. But ByteDance doesn’t want to sell its profit puppy. The House will fast-track a vote on the bill this week. TikTok called it an “outright ban,” arguing it would rob 170M American TikTok users of free-expression rights (and lip-sync vids). OpenAI spills the Tesla tea… OpenAI blogged a response to cofounder Elon Musk’s lawsuit, in which Musk accused the former nonprofit biz of prioritizing $$ over the public good (see: multibillion-dollar deal with [Microsoft](). OpenAI argues that AI is just pricey. The company published emails from Musk that appeared to show he’d withheld funds to try to gain control of OpenAI and have it tacked on to [Tesla](. Musk’s suit could force OpenAI to publicly share its techy secrets and not use products like ChatGPT to make Microsoft money.   EVENTS Coming up this week... A painful remembrance… Today marks four years since the WHO declared Covid a pandemic. The virus has killed millions of people globally and lockdowns ground economies to a halt. Recently the CDC said that people who test positive no longer need to isolate for five days. That update comes as Covid vaccine rates and test sales have plunged, and pandemic pharma players like [Pfizer]( and [Moderna]( have taken a hit from lower sales. While US economic growth is strong, China’s still struggling to rebound after zero-Covid restrictions. Stockin’ up for T-ball szn… [Dick’s Sporting Goods]( is at bat to report Thursday after scoring a record $3B in sales in Q3, though profit fell. America’s largest sporting-goods retailer benefited as more athletes stocked up on gear. Last month, Dick’s dropped a star-studded “Click on Dick’s” ad to boost awareness for its growing ecomm biz, which has been on the upswing since the pandemic. Dick’s boosted its annual earnings forecast, though it said holiday-quarter success is weather-dependent (pickleball isn’t great in a snowstorm).   What else we’re Snackin’ - [Jersey](: Six months after NYC banned short-term [Airbnb]( rentals, rent prices there remain prohibitive, hosts are angry, and Airbnbs in neighboring New Jersey are #thriving as visitors seek hotel alternatives. - [Unsure]( : Insurance companies have refused to provide new coverage for homeowners in natural-disaster-prone states like California. As “last resort” state-backed plans step up, experts worry about a disaster-triggered financial crisis. - [Reset](: In line with new EU antitrust regs, [Apple]( reversed a block that barred “Fortnite” maker Epic Games from running its own app store in Europe. The EU recently fined the tech giant $2B, saying it suppressed rival music streamers.   Snack Fact Of the Day Women in the US couldn’t get credit cards in their own names until 1974 [Read more](   This Week - Monday: Earnings expected from Oracle and Vail Resorts - Tuesday: Equal Pay Day. Earnings expected from Kohl’s - Wednesday: Earnings expected from Adidas, Dollar Tree, Lennar, Petco, and Williams-Sonoma - Thursday: PGA Players Championship begins. Earnings expected from Adobe, Build-A-Bear, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dollar General, Getty Images, Kodak, Ulta Beauty, and Weibo - Friday: Earnings expected from Groupon and Soho House. St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Apple, Microsoft, Moderna, Starbucks, Tesla, and Ulta *Advertiser’s disclosure: BOXABL IS CONSIDERING UNDERTAKING AN OFFERING OF SECURITIES UNDER TIER 2 OF REGULATION A FOR RETAIL INVESTORS. NO MONEY OR OTHER CONSIDERATION IS BEING SOLICITED, AND IF SENT IN RESPONSE, WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. NO OFFER TO BUY THE SECURITIES CAN BE ACCEPTED AND NO PART OF THE PURCHASE PRICE CAN BE RECEIVED UNTIL THE OFFERING STATEMENT FILED BY THE COMPANY WITH THE SEC HAS BEEN QUALIFIED BY THE SEC. ANY SUCH OFFER MAY BE WITHDRAWN OR REVOKED, WITHOUT OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT OF ANY KIND, AT ANY TIME BEFORE NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE GIVEN AFTER THE DATE OF QUALIFICATION. AN INDICATION OF INTEREST INVOLVES NO OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT OF ANY KIND. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE [REGULATION A OFFERING STATEMENT](. INVESTMENTS IN PRIVATE PLACEMENTS ARE SPECULATIVE, POSSESS A HIGH LEVEL OF RISK, ARE HIGHLY ILLIQUID, AND THOSE INVESTORS WHO CANNOT HOLD AN INVESTMENT FOR AN INDEFINITE TERM SHOULD NOT INVEST. NO ASSURANCE CAN BE GIVEN THAT INVESTORS WILL RECEIVE A RETURN OF THEIR CAPITAL. 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