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The worst thing that the federal government has done to labor unions in my lifetime happened this week. Donald Trump signed an executive order saying that the government will no longer recognize and bargain with a huge portion of the unions that represent federal workers. Among the agencies where he says he is tossing out the union contracts are the VA, the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, the Department of Energy, the EPA, the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice, and others. To justify this move, Trump said that all of these agencies are involved in national security. This is a fiction. His statement also said that Certain Federal unions have declared war on President Trumps agenda, which is closer to the true motivation. He doesnt like these unions, so he is just trying to erase them with the stroke of a pen. None of his Republican predecessors in the White House for the past half century ever considered doing something this outrageous. In comparison to this, Ronald Reagans firing of the striking air traffic controllers at PATCO was a calm and reasonable decision. There are more than a million union members working in the federal government. I have not seen an official count, but this executive order targets most of them. It is also meant to establish the precedent that the president is capable of destroying entire unions using flimsy legalistic pretexts. Oh, the Environmental Protection Agency is determined to have as a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work, so you can throw out its fairly negotiated existing union contract, and that is okay? Sure. Treating any of this as a legitimate political position is a mistake. This is just running into the middle of organized labor swinging around a chainsaw. You may recall that earlier this month, the Trump administration declared that it was unilaterally tossing out the union contract covering 50,000 TSA workers. When that happened, I said that it was the worst thing to happen to unions in America in my lifetime. And it was. This latest action is many times worse. It is multiplying the unilateral attack on workers at a single agency across the entire federal government. When a presidential administration does the two worst things in the past half century within three weeks of one another, that is enough data to understand what is happening. With two points, you can draw a line. Now is not the time for organized labor to sit in conference rooms with their lawyers going Ermm, well, this is certainly a rather radical interpretation of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978! My brothers and sisters, this is war. Republicans dont want unions to exist. And they are coming for us. Right now. Rouse yourselves. Here is what is happening: First they are coming for the federal unionsthe lowest-hanging fruit, the most bureaucratic unions, the ones barred from striking. Then they will proceed to come for all public-sector unions. Then they will come for private-sector unions. Understand that the transparently bullshit nature of the justification for this moveUh, everything is national security, therefore Trump is king over youis a preview of what will be more transparently bullshit justifications for them to conduct further outrageous assaults on the very existence of organized labor. They dont give a fuck. They are proving, over and over again, that they dont give a fuck. This is not about law. This is about power. The point of the labor movement is to give working people power. That is what unions do. The unions of America purport to be powerful. If we imagine that all of our power is dependent on the kindness of the presidentand that it therefore can be wiped away in one day because a particular president is willing to stretch the wording of the law as far as his imagination will let himthen we were just bluffing the whole time. In that case, we never really had power at all. We were lying to all the working people who believed that solidarity would produce a sort of power that was not a polite request, but an inherent fact. Do unions have power or not? If they do, the time to exercise that power is now. We, the labor movement, cannot allow individual unions or individual sectors to be picked off by our fascist government as the rest of us stand by, thankful that we werent targeted this time. That is the road to death. It is also an abdication of solidarity, which is, in fact, the source of our power. Naturally, if we do not act in accordance with the source of our power, we are going to be weak. And, throughout these hectic first months of the Trump administration, the unions of America have looked extremely weak. It is time to fucking wake up and act as one, before its too late. It is unreasonable to run around demanding a general strike every time a single union gets in a hard fight. It is not unreasonable to demand a general strike when the very existence of unions is under direct attack by a government that cares nothing about us, and does not respect our contracts, and is attempting to throw in the trash the union contracts covering hundreds of thousands of our fellow union members, as a step toward doing the same thing to millions more of our fellow union members. This is the bombing of Pearl Harbor, against the labor movement. Will we say, We are filing a lawsuit against this illegal bombing, and we will keep you all updated as it progresses? Will we say, Pearl Harbor is way out in Hawaii. Im glad those bombs didnt fall where I live. These are the terms that the union world needs to be thinking in, right now. This is not an exaggeration. If we do not go to war, the husk of American unions that emerges at the end of the Trump administration will be, probably, about half as big as it was when the Trump administration started, and immeasurably weaker. That is not an acceptable outcome if you believe that increasing organized labors strength is the key to saving this country, which it is. It is trite to use boxing stories as metaphors, and I really try to avoid doing it, but I am going to do it today, as a special occasion. When you start boxing, sooner or later you will experience a moment when you realize in a deep and palpable way that nobody is coming to save you in there. One day, you will be getting your ass kicked, and you will be getting hurt, and you will look around and see that there is nobody else in that ring but you and the person who is kicking your ass. There is no other authority to appeal to. There is no button to push to stop the massacre. Even though the fight may not be fair, even though the person beating you up may be bigger and stronger than you, the raw fact is that you will either fight back and defend yourself, or you are going down. There are no other choices. This realization has the clarifying effect of wiping away your illusions about the world and leaving you with one clear path forward. That is the position that we, the labor movement, are in. It is all on us. Of course the successive illegal actions of this administration should all be chllenged in court, but it is foolish to expect the courts to save us from what is happening. The courts will be, at best, a momentary tap of the brakes. This administration does not care about the law. Nor do they care about the fundamental right of working people to choose to come together as a union for the purpose of collective bargaining. They want to destroy all of that. And they will, unless we, ourselves, stop them. If you are a union member, contact the president of your union today and make it clear to them that inaction right now is unacceptable, and tell them also to contact the AFL-CIO with the same message. Tell them you are ready for a general strike for your brothers and sisters who work in the federal government, and for all of us. Tell them that this administration is an enemy to the existence of unions and that any union that believes that they can be an ally to this administration is undermining the solidarity of all working people. There is a surreal nature to living through drastic thingswatching things unfold that we have only imagined as abstract possibilities. That surreality can be paralyzing. It can turn us into spectators of our own demise. Lets not do that. I dont want to write new the worst thing that has happened in my lifetime pieces every few weeks. The labor movement is supposed to have the power to shut things down. Time to act like it. Or, to prepare to die. Only two things are left on the menu. No substitutions allowed. This piece first appeared on labor journalist Hamilton Nolans Substack, How Things Work.
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E-Commerce
Few apps are as inextricably linked to the iPhone as Apple’s Messages. Introduced with the original iPhone almost 18 years ago, the app (then called “Text”) has become the primary messenger for most iPhone users worldwide. It allows users to receive Apples proprietary iMessages, as well as RCS messages and old-school SMS messages. In recent years, Apple has introduced several new features to the Messages app and its iMessage protocol. Most recently, in iOS 18, the company allowed users to stylize text by bolding or underlining words, incorporated animated effects that make words shake or appear to explode, and enabled users to react to a message with any emoji. But while the above additions are nice, theyre mainly eye candyand that only gets a messaging app so far. When it comes to being truly useful, Apples Messages still lacks some basic functionalityand reliabilityother messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal have had for years. Apple is expected to preview the iPhones next operating system, iOS 19, at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 9. Heres hoping the company adds the following improvements currently sorrowfully lacking in Messages today. iMessage needs to work when traveling internationally Apple needs to address how its iMessages work when a user is traveling internationally and using a temporary travel SIMas anyone who has tried to text a friend who is traveling overseas, or who has traveled internationally themselves, knows too well. If an iPhone user removes their domestic SIM card and replaces it with a temporary travel SIM, they often will not receive messages sent to the iMessage account associated with that phone number. Instead, the messages will, more often than not, simply disappear into the ether, never to be received againeven after the domestic SIM card is reinstalled. It may be natural to think that, of course, a person wont receive a text if they dont have the SIM card with the phone number the text was sent to installed in their phone. But thats not how iMessages work. When you send an iMessage, you’re not actually texting the users phone number. Instead, youre using their phone number as a routing identifier to deliver a message to the associated iMessage account. This is why your Mac and iPad can receive and send messages to and from your phone number-linked iMessage account. In other words, it shouldnt matter that the users normal SIM card isnt in their iPhonethey should still be able to receive the iMessages. This is how it works with competing apps like WhatsApp and Signal, which also use phone numbers as routing identifiers. Indeed, whenever a friend travels internationally, and I dont get a response to an iMessage Ive sent, I follow up via Signal or WhatsApp. They immediately receive those messages despite not having their domestic SIM card installed. I reached out to Apple about why iMessages dont work in a similar matter, and the company told me that it was a security measure. Apple says that the measure triggers when an iPhone is without its domestic SIM cards for a few weeks, until which time users can still receive iMessages sent to their usual phone number. However, in my experience, this two-week timeframe is not accurate, and as soon as a domestic SIM card is removed from the phone, iMessages sent to the number will not go through. Apple also says that users can keep getting iMessages with a travel SIM if they have their friends send the iMessage to their email address instead of their phone number. But this relies on everyone texting you knowing that you are traveling internationally and without your domestic SIM card. While I understand the security reason behind this problem, it would be great if it were accurate that it only kicks in after two weeks. Even better: Apple should give users the option to disable this security measure for a period of time that the user can designate whenever they switch from their default SIM to a travel one. Archiving would help reduce clutter But reliability isnt the only issue that Messages faces. For some reason, Apple still hasnt added a feature that allows users to archive chat threads. Archiving helps declutter your messaging app by letting you move chats with people you no longer or rarely interact withlike the plumber who fixed your sink last monthto a separate folder. This frees up screen space and allows you to keep your most important and active chats front and center. Archiving is a great intermediary option between keeping a chat thread forever or deleting it entirely. It has been a standard feature in nearly every major messaging app for years. Why Apples Messages still doesnt support such a basic feature in 2025 is beyond me. Bookmarking would offer quick access Speaking of basic featuresApples Messages lacks another one: the ability to bookmark individual messages. Other messaging apps, like WhatsApp, have allowed users to do this for a long time (WhatsApp calls this starring messages). Bookmarked messages are saved to a smart folder that the user can easily access inside the app in order to view their most important messages. This is a great way to quickly access an old message that you would otherwise have to scroll through lengthy threads to find again. There are many reasons to bookmark a message, ranging from the sentimental to the practical. An example of the latter might be when you want to quickly access important information someone had previously texted youlike the PIN code to a friends smart door lock so you can enter their house to feed the cats while they’re away. Labeling forwarded messages would eliminate confusion Even when iMessage does offer basic features that most other messaging apps offer, they are sometimes poorly implemented. The most glaring example of this is message forwarding, which allows you to easily forward a text one person sent you to another person. Other apps clearly indicate that a message is forwardedoften with an arrow or label in front of the forwarded message. But with Apples Messages, the forwarded message simply looks as though it was written by the person forwarding it. Case in point: The other day, I received a message from a friend that had a very uncharacteristic tone and subject matter. It confused me quite a bit. While I was reading it a second time, I received a follow-up message stating that the first one was from another individual, and my friend was simply forwarding it to me. Without that additional text message from my friend clarifying that the first message was forwarded, I wouldnt have known, because Apples Messages doesnt give any visual indication distinguishing a regular message from a forwarded one. Will Apple implement any of these changes in Messages in iOS 19? I hope so, but well just have to wait to see. Apple is expected to preview iOS 19 at WWDC25 in June.
Category:
E-Commerce
The benefits of taking time off from work are well-documented. In previous coverage, Fast Company has detailed how vacations stave off burnout, promote engagement, and may even help you be healthier. There are a number of ways to get more out of your vacation days, says time-off expert Jackie Swayze, founder of Maximizing My PTO, a website that helps people use a number of tips and tricks to plan unusual getaways. She says that one size does not fit all when it comes to paid time off. There’s so much more creativity to be had than the standard, you know, take one week off in the summer, she says. Here are some ways others have made their time off distinctly their own. Honor your personal priorities Sundie Leigh Jones, a software development engineer, says she makes the most of her PTO by focusing on her priorities. One of the ways she does so is to use time off for her birthday and her daughters. Im big on spending my free time building up my relationships, and I like to do that by traveling to people I love or with people I love, she says. Since her birthday typically falls around Labor Day and her daughters is during the summer, those are good times to take a day to celebrate, she says. And if they fall adjacent to a weekend, thats an opportunity to make the celebration into a long weekend. Plan a speed getaway Swayze recommends checking your local airport’s flight schedules. There are likely direct flights that make getting to a particular destination convenient. That recipe for a quick trip may require little to no time off. For example, she recently flew to Ireland for St. Patricks Day. While some might balk at flying several hours to a destination for such a quick trip, she says that changing your thinking about doing short trips can open up new opportunities for adventure. There’s never enough time in a place ever. I’d much rather go somewhere for just a couple of days than not ever go at all, she says. Combine your PTO with flexible work time Swayze says remote work opportunities can open up other ways to extend your PTO options. While her husbands job typically requires him to be in the office five days per week, he does have some flexibility to work remotely. When they found a great deal on a flight to Paris out of Detroit, they flew from Chicago to Detroit the night before. He worked out of the hotel the next day and then they boarded their flight to Europe. Once in Europe, working East Coast hours tends to mean getting the morning to explore and working from 3 to 11 p.m., she says. Play hard, then work hard. (Of course, its important to check that your employer allows work from anywhere and to also ensure that working in other states or countries wont create new tax obligations.) Work on your hobbies or side hustles Jones owns a number of income properties in other states, so shell schedule her PTO to be able to go tend to those properties, taking off a day or two on a given week to create a long weekend. She even planted an orchard during one of her breaks. Because her day job tends to make her sedentary, she says she relishes the opportunity to do physical labor when she takes time off. I took two weeks off, and we transformed a part of my property . . . [into] a small fruit orchard, she says. We worked 10 hours a day on the orchard. Then, on the off days, we explored the Pacific Northwest. While that may not sound restful, she says that she enjoys the trips and the chance to build her property portfolio. Plus, all that physical activity leaves her eager to get back to her desk job, she says. Be strategic about when you take time off Cornia Leslie is the public relations manager at email verification service ZeroBounce. While her company has an unlimited PTO policy, shes concerned about how much is too much. Still, she says she needs at least four to five days off to begin disconnecting from work, so she planned a long vacation last year, spending nearly a month in Europe. It was my first real vacation in seven years. I was able to fully relax and stop checking my email compulsively, she says. To prepare, she made plans for her tasks to be covered and wrote some content in advance.Leslie says that she actually felt more secure about taking vacation time when she had a set amount of PTO. I dont want to abuse this policy, so I try to plan ahead: Batch my time off, use it less often, but make it count, she says. Longer vacations are more restorative for me than scattering single days here and there.In addition to a longer-than-average vacation, it may also be possible to use your time off to plan a sabbatical to learn something new, travel, or work on a personal project. Swayze encourages people to think about being strategic and use the PTO that they are due. I plan trips pretty far in advance, so I’m looking at my whole year of PTO all at once, she says. By thinking through the time off you have available to you, as well as holidays and seasonal fluctuations in your work, you can create times for rest, experiences, and adventures throughout the year in the ways that best suit you.
Category:
E-Commerce
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