Making unions hot again

Hi there, everyone! Notice anything different? In a real Princess Diaries moment, we had a little makeover here at Salary Transparent Street! And we’re so excited to share it with you today.

From here on out, you can expect to hear from us every Tuesday to get the full picture of what’s going on re: work, compensation, money, and how to advocate for yourself on all of the above. Got any feedback on our new vibe? Hit reply and let us know!

Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you at the bottom! 💸

 1   The fight to unionize at Starbucks starts to feel like the bottom of a PSL...

It’s more than you bargained for. Since 2021, Starbucks workers have been fighting to unionize to get higher wages, improved benefits, and better working conditions. Also since 2021? Starbucks has been fighting back with anti-union programming.

Quick recap:

• Nearly 300 Starbucks locations have voted to unionize.

• The union has made 500+ complaints of unfair labor practices, according to the National Labor Relations Board. In turn, Starbucks has filed ~100 of its own complaints against the union.

• Judges have found that the company has broken federal labor law 130 times. But longtime CEO Howard Schultz said this: “Starbucks Coffee Company unequivocally…has not broken the law.”

The latest? Schultz just testified before a Senate commitee, defending Starbucks labor practices. That same day, the Buffalo Starbucks employee credited with kickstarting the union campaign was fired.

Zoom out: Starbucks’ union effort inspired similar campaigns at companies including Amazon, Apple, and Trader Joe’s—so the outcome is important. Want to read more about what the union battle at Starbucks means for massive labor trends in the U.S.? Do that here.

 2   How much should an “AI Whisperer” get paid?

Would $335,000 a year do? 🤯 As new generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT become bigger and bigger, the companies both building and using them are hiring experts to 1) train the AI to deliver better results and 2) train workforces to use AI to their advantage.

…And some of those jobs pay almost 5x the median household income in the U.S. But? There’s always a but: These super high-paying roles typically go to people who’ve founded AI companies or earned PhDs in machine learning or ethics (high five if that’s you).

What do you think of the AI revolution happening right now? Is this NFT mania all over again, or is this tech (and the jobs it’s creating) here to stay? Read this and let us know.

 3   What are you saving those vacation days for?

Only 48% of U.S. workers say they use all their vacation days, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center. And we know you want to sip a daiquiri on the beach instead of attending today’s all-hands…so why aren’t workers using the average of 15–20 vacation days they get a year?

1. No need. With remote work, something like a doctor’s appointment can happen virtually or on your lunch break.

2. Fear. Layoffs (especially in tech) and the prospect of falling behind are keeping people at their desks.

3. Their boss. If you don’t see your boss take time off…you probably won’t either.

Big picture: Some 80% of all U.S. private sector employees get paid vacation. It’s time to use it…and if you want some help asking for PTO? This guide has you covered.

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Just call us Taylor Swift. Because Salary Transparent Street’s (unofficial) U.S. tour has been incredible—we’ve been all over the country learning about people, their jobs, and how they like them.

We promise we won’t spoil the setlist! But here are some highlights you don’t want to miss:

• In New York City, we asked different generations whether they were living paycheck to paycheck and things got really real really fast.

• In Salt Lake City, someone in product support makes the case for ditching self-employment to go work for the big guys.

• In Phoenix, a cardiac anesthesiologist redefines work/life balance on terms we can definitely get behind.

• Remember when we all collectively gasped upon finding out that a $100K salary in NYC felt more like $35K? That was the shot, this is the chaser: the top 10 cities where $100K goes the furthest.

• We’ve seen 150K+ people let go from jobs this year and it’s only April. Could bad management be a bigger part of the problem than we know?

• BookTok is both mesmerizing and super lucrative—here’s how the best of the best make $$$.

• How to advocate for your disability-related needs at work (and in the job search). 💪

• TikTok is Gen Z’s alternative to LinkedIn…which means your boss might recruit you to become an influencer. Grab that ring light!

Thank you so much for reading! Got feedback on our new look? We would really love to hear it. Have a great week, plan some PTO, and we’ll see you next Tuesday!