Austin Knipper
@knippa.bsky.social
urban planner for good jobs and worker power | recovering labor economist | roomba dad
Pinned
Austin Knipper
@knippa.bsky.social
· Dec 16
Worker Protections in Freefall: The Collapse of Federal Labor Enforcement under the Second Trump Administration - Good Jobs First
Worker Protections in Freefall: The Collapse of Federal Labor Enforcement under the Second Trump Administration - Good Jobs First
goodjobsfirst.org
Now more than ever, cities and states need to step up to protect workers.
Federal wage and hour enforcement is down 94%. Health and safety enforcement is down 45%. You don't want to live in the world where businesses can take that for granted.
goodjobsfirst.org/worker-prote...
Federal wage and hour enforcement is down 94%. Health and safety enforcement is down 45%. You don't want to live in the world where businesses can take that for granted.
goodjobsfirst.org/worker-prote...
Reposted by Austin Knipper
NYT's house style is genuinely deranged
One court decision, two different headlines.
Guardian on the left, NY Times on the right. Which one more directly conveys information and the stakes to the reader?
Guardian on the left, NY Times on the right. Which one more directly conveys information and the stakes to the reader?
January 22, 2026 at 3:38 AM
NYT's house style is genuinely deranged
Reposted by Austin Knipper
20-01-1934 GERMANY: The Nazis abolish collective bargaining and union elections. According to the law "the head of the company decides for the employees and workers in any matter concerning the company [...] The workers owe their loyalty to him".
January 20, 2026 at 11:25 AM
20-01-1934 GERMANY: The Nazis abolish collective bargaining and union elections. According to the law "the head of the company decides for the employees and workers in any matter concerning the company [...] The workers owe their loyalty to him".
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Me pitching a train ad campaign
January 20, 2026 at 4:11 AM
Me pitching a train ad campaign
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Compare & contrast. This is Trump’s demand for Greenland. And this is Hitler’s for the Sudetenland.
There is no difference. The language. The unstoppable need to dominate. The megalomania. It’s the same.
And Keir Starmer’s response is appeasement. We are in that moment.
1/
There is no difference. The language. The unstoppable need to dominate. The megalomania. It’s the same.
And Keir Starmer’s response is appeasement. We are in that moment.
1/
January 20, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Compare & contrast. This is Trump’s demand for Greenland. And this is Hitler’s for the Sudetenland.
There is no difference. The language. The unstoppable need to dominate. The megalomania. It’s the same.
And Keir Starmer’s response is appeasement. We are in that moment.
1/
There is no difference. The language. The unstoppable need to dominate. The megalomania. It’s the same.
And Keir Starmer’s response is appeasement. We are in that moment.
1/
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Reposted by Austin Knipper
oh cool you can just do that huh?
SEOUL, Jan 13 (Reuters) - South Korea's special prosecutor on Tuesday requested the death penalty for former president Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of insurrection over his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.
January 13, 2026 at 6:44 PM
oh cool you can just do that huh?
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Common Sense, published 250 years ago today.
January 10, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Common Sense, published 250 years ago today.
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Any staffer who did this would face up to 5 years in prison.
Last night, Donald Trump appeared to release confidential details of the BLS's upcoming December 2025 jobs report on social media. These are inputs that absolutely could have affect markets and impacted trading behavior... which is precisely why they're so closely guarded and NEVER leaked.
January 9, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Any staffer who did this would face up to 5 years in prison.
okay, Bing AI is still a work in progress 😂
January 8, 2026 at 10:51 PM
okay, Bing AI is still a work in progress 😂
Reposted by Austin Knipper
No. No. No.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
January 4, 2026 at 8:48 PM
No. No. No.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Report Shows Bike Lane Initiative Positively Impacting Traffic In Boston.
Report Shows Bike Lane Initiative Positively Impacting Traffic In Boston | WBZ NewsRadio 1030
The City of Boston says its bike lane initiative appears to be working.
wbznewsradio.iheart.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Report Shows Bike Lane Initiative Positively Impacting Traffic In Boston.
And, like clockwork, every chamber of commerce in the country will attempt to solve this problem by demanding public dollars be spent on countless new workforce development programs to replace the internal talent pipelines they destroyed
The question then becomes: how much more expensive will mid-career employees be if you have to bid them away from firms that are producing them in a few years, and does that exceed what you save by using AI as an excuse not to hire now?
December 29, 2025 at 8:36 PM
And, like clockwork, every chamber of commerce in the country will attempt to solve this problem by demanding public dollars be spent on countless new workforce development programs to replace the internal talent pipelines they destroyed
Reposted by Austin Knipper
If you think of "hiring in entry level positions" as "procuring labor to do the tasks entry level people do" then you probably do think AI is a magical headcount reduction machine.
But the point of hiring in entry level positions is to produce mid-career employees.
But the point of hiring in entry level positions is to produce mid-career employees.
December 29, 2025 at 5:47 PM
If you think of "hiring in entry level positions" as "procuring labor to do the tasks entry level people do" then you probably do think AI is a magical headcount reduction machine.
But the point of hiring in entry level positions is to produce mid-career employees.
But the point of hiring in entry level positions is to produce mid-career employees.
Reposted by Austin Knipper
This is slavery.
Private prison company GEO Group allegedly made immigration detainees work for no pay. Now it's at the Supreme Court trying to prevent the detainees from suing. bit.ly/4pfafj2
Supreme Court Considers Private Prison Case
A private prison company seeks a ruling that could help all government contractors evade liability.
www.brennancenter.org
December 29, 2025 at 3:33 PM
This is slavery.
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Welcome to A New Era, Julie Su!
December 19, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Welcome to A New Era, Julie Su!
Now more than ever, cities and states need to step up to protect workers.
Federal wage and hour enforcement is down 94%. Health and safety enforcement is down 45%. You don't want to live in the world where businesses can take that for granted.
goodjobsfirst.org/worker-prote...
Federal wage and hour enforcement is down 94%. Health and safety enforcement is down 45%. You don't want to live in the world where businesses can take that for granted.
goodjobsfirst.org/worker-prote...
Worker Protections in Freefall: The Collapse of Federal Labor Enforcement under the Second Trump Administration - Good Jobs First
Worker Protections in Freefall: The Collapse of Federal Labor Enforcement under the Second Trump Administration - Good Jobs First
goodjobsfirst.org
December 16, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Now more than ever, cities and states need to step up to protect workers.
Federal wage and hour enforcement is down 94%. Health and safety enforcement is down 45%. You don't want to live in the world where businesses can take that for granted.
goodjobsfirst.org/worker-prote...
Federal wage and hour enforcement is down 94%. Health and safety enforcement is down 45%. You don't want to live in the world where businesses can take that for granted.
goodjobsfirst.org/worker-prote...
Reposted by Austin Knipper
It matters to workers who is President: @goodjobsfirst.org reports that 2025 has witnessed a dramatic drop in federal enforcement of wage and workplace safety regulations. goodjobsfirst.org/worker-prote...
Worker Protections in Freefall: The Collapse of Federal Labor Enforcement under the Second Trump Administration - Good Jobs First
Worker Protections in Freefall: The Collapse of Federal Labor Enforcement under the Second Trump Administration - Good Jobs First
goodjobsfirst.org
December 16, 2025 at 7:37 PM
It matters to workers who is President: @goodjobsfirst.org reports that 2025 has witnessed a dramatic drop in federal enforcement of wage and workplace safety regulations. goodjobsfirst.org/worker-prote...
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Disappointed to see this. 160 union workers are fighting for a fair contract at Individualized Shirts, a US factory that makes high-end men's button-ups. The managers there have rejected the union's request for fair wages and health insurance. The union is asking for support 🧵
December 2, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Disappointed to see this. 160 union workers are fighting for a fair contract at Individualized Shirts, a US factory that makes high-end men's button-ups. The managers there have rejected the union's request for fair wages and health insurance. The union is asking for support 🧵
Reposted by Austin Knipper
“I just want there to be a car that drives itself so I can get places without thinking about it”
hello, please meet: train.
also see: bus
hello, please meet: train.
also see: bus
December 2, 2025 at 6:03 PM
“I just want there to be a car that drives itself so I can get places without thinking about it”
hello, please meet: train.
also see: bus
hello, please meet: train.
also see: bus
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Reposted by Austin Knipper
"True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.”
—FDR, 1944
—FDR, 1944
November 30, 2025 at 8:08 PM
"True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.”
—FDR, 1944
—FDR, 1944
Reposted by Austin Knipper
All of these companies should be taxed into the ground and required to pay living wages.
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
November 30, 2025 at 3:19 AM
All of these companies should be taxed into the ground and required to pay living wages.
Reposted by Austin Knipper
Not coincidentally this is a pretty good list of Most Important Companies to Unionize.
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
November 29, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Not coincidentally this is a pretty good list of Most Important Companies to Unionize.