🧑🏽‍🏭 Are Labor Unions Going Extinct?

Good morning. US stock futures rose in Wednesday morning trading as investors digest earnings reports and await the release of economic data.

🪧 US labor unions face membership struggle

📝 Our report: Even with all the drama from the Rustbelt to Hollywood, U.S. union membership hit record lows in 2023. “Workers want unions, but a broken system is undermining their efforts to organize at every turn,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, commenting on the decline in membership rates.  

 🔑 Key points:

• The union membership rate fell to 10.0% from what had already been a record-low 10.1% in 2022, the Labor Department said in an annual census of the U.S. organized labor landscape that also showed continued growth in union membership among people of color and a narrowing pay advantage for union workers.

• Last year was the most active for organized labor walkouts in more than two decades, with 36 strikes that idled at least 1,000 workers at a time, the most since 2000, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

• Union membership has been in steady decline since the 1970s and is now less than a third of its peak rate in the 1950s when more than 30% of workers were in a union.

💡 So what: Despite declining membership rates, labor unions continue to play a crucial role in advocating for workers' rights, better working conditions, and fair wages. Unions historically have been instrumental in securing essential benefits such as weekends, overtime pay, and safer workplaces. They also serve as a collective voice for employees, enabling them to negotiate with employers on equal footing. While the landscape may be shifting, unions remain vital in addressing issues of income inequality, ensuring fair treatment, and fostering a more balanced employer-employee dynamic.

Wednesday - No Major Economic News.

Thursday - US GDP Q4

Friday - Personal Income, Personal Spending

 💸 John Bogle became a legendary investor using this strategy

📓 Here are a few budgeting tips everyone should know

💲Overdraft fee limits could be coming soon

 📈 Get 5.1% APY For Your Extra Cash

Many of you ask where we’re putting our extra cash to earn the highest interest while still having access to it.

I’ve looked through plenty of high yield options and my top pick is Moomoo. It’s offering one of the highest yields available today at 5.1% APY.

And the best part? No minimum deposits, no cap on interests, and you can withdraw your cash at anytime.

Moomoo is offering Daily Market Briefs subscribers a limited-time deal: earn 5.1% APY on your cash and get up to 15 free stocks.

PS: Despite the funny name, Moomoo is a registered broker dealer with the SEC and is a member of SIPC meaning you’re insured up to $500,000.

🧾 TurboTax takedown

WHAT: Intuit, the brains behind TurboTax, is getting a lesson in advertising etiquette. U.S. regulators have barred the company from advertising its services as “free” unless they are free for all customers, or if eligibility is clearly disclosed.

WHY: The recent judgement and final order upholds an initial decision from FTC chief administrative law judge D. Michael Chappell, who ruled that Intuit violated federal law by engaging in deceptive advertising back in September.

📱 Netflix, WWE ink streaming partnership deal

WHAT: Netflix and WWE are tag-teaming in the ultimate streaming smackdown! Starting January 2025, get ready to rumble with Raw, the flagship program that's about to body-slam its way into your binge-watching lineup on Netflix. While financial stipulations of the deal were not disclosed, multiple reports said the agreement is valued at more than $5 billion.

WHY: Live sports quickly emerged as an untapped area for Netflix, even as tech giants like Apple, Amazon, and YouTube have snatched up pricey professional sports contracts over the past few years.

💰 Figma goes to bat for employees

WHAT: Figma is spicing things up for its team, giving employees a makeover for their equity packages and even offering an exit plan with some serious perks. The San Francisco-based company will provide employees with more equity at a $10 billion valuation as they signed up after Adobe's buyout offer valued the company at $20 billion.

WHY: Photoshop maker Adobe terminated its $20 billion deal to buy Figma in December last year, pointing to "no clear path" for antitrust approvals in Europe and Britain for what would have been among the biggest acquisitions of a software startup.

✏️ DMB Insider Quiz ✏️

🧑‍💻 We read your emails and poll replies daily.

Hit reply and let us know what you want more of!

See ya next time, Daily Market Briefs