Dockworkers v robots, Los Angeles edition: FT reports, dockworkers in Los Angeles are making a last stand against the automation of lucrative port jobs, in a backlash that affects a vital link in global trade. The International Longshore & Warehouse Union is fighting a plan by Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk to use unmanned electric vehicles instead of diesel trucks to shuttle shipping containers around the largest port terminal in the US. The move would cut the company’s costs by reducing the need for truck drivers, and aid compliance with California’s tough air pollution rules.
New Goldman Sachs dress code points to a sartorial double standard in the workplace: LAT reports, Goldman Sachs, one of the last bastions of crisp-collared, bespoke-suited workplace attire, has loosened up. It announced an official "firm-wide flexible dress code" earlier this month. And at last — after the long, slow undoing of corporate formality — business casual seems to have triumphed in the American workplace. But for women and minorities who have been playing corporate catch-up for decades, a more casual dress code presents its own complications.
Men ditch suits, and retailers struggle to adapt: WSJ reports, as companies relax dress codes, Lululemon pants enter the office; stretch ‘isn’t a dirty word anymore.’
Tech is splitting the US workforce in two: NYT reports, a small group of well-educated professionals enjoys rising wages, while most workers toil in low-wage jobs with few chances to advance.
Exoplanet tally set to pass 4,000 mark: BBC reports, The huge haul is a sign of the explosion of findings from searches with telescopes on the ground and in space over the last 25 years. It's also an indication of just how common planets are - with most stars in the Milky Way hosting at least one world in orbit around them. That's something astronomers couldn't be certain of just 30 years ago. The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia, run by the Observatoire de Paris, has already passed the 4,000 mark.
