Monica Nickelsburg, GeekWire
Monica Nickelsburg is GeekWire’s Civic Editor, covering technology-driven solutions to urban challenges and the intersection of tech and politics. Before joining GeekWire, she worked for The Week, Forbes, and NBC. Monica holds a BA in journalism and history from New York University. Follow her @mnickelsburg and read her stories on GeekWire.
Amazon is once again postponing Prime Day, the company's annual sales event, due to the coronavirus. Amazon informed sellers of the delay this week, according to reports from Business Insider and CNBC.
Amazon is tentatively targeting the week of Oct. 5 for the holiday.
<p>Prime Day offers sales on hundreds of items for members of Amazon's Prime subscription service. It began in 2015 and has become a reliable revenue boost for the company.</p><p>Amazon typically holds Prime Day in July but the company's e-commerce business has been disrupted by a surge in orders from customers avoiding traditional retail due to the pandemic.</p><p>Last year, Amazon <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/amazon-prime-day-2019-protests-political-battles-record-175m-items-sold/" target="_blank">sold more than 175 million items</a> on Prime Day, a 75% increase from the previous year. Amazon didn't say how much Prime members spent over the two-day period but it did note that "independent small and medium-sized businesses" sold more than $2 billion of items during the event.</p><p><em><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/amazon-reportedly-postponing-prime-day-october/" target="_blank">This story first appeared on GeekWire</a>.</em></p>
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Leaders from across U.S. technology industry are condemning new restrictions on employment-based visas imposed by President Donald Trump this week.
Tech employers say they use work visas to recruit employees for specialized roles when the U.S. talent pool runs dry. Leaders at Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Tesla, YouTube, Apple, Twitter, Salesforce, and other tech companies issued statements criticizing the executive order within a few hours.
<p>"Now is not the time to cut our nation off from the world's talent or create uncertainty and anxiety," said Microsoft President Brad Smith in <a href="https://twitter.com/BradSmi/status/1275232627453288450" target="_blank">a tweet</a>. "Immigrants play a vital role at our company and support our country's critical infrastructure. They are contributing to this country at a time when we need them most."</p><p>Tech companies are reliant on several of the visa categories that Trump banned through 2020 in an attempt to shift jobs to American workers as the country recovers from the pandemic-induced economic recession. Trump said the temporary moratorium on H-1B, L, and certain J visas will force companies to hire out-of-work Americans.</p><p>"Under ordinary circumstances, properly administered temporary worker programs can provide benefits to the economy," Trump said in the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-suspending-entry-aliens-present-risk-u-s-labor-market-following-coronavirus-outbreak/" target="_blank">executive order</a>. "But under the extraordinary circumstances of the economic contraction resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, certain nonimmigrant visa programs authorizing such employment pose an unusual threat to the employment of American workers."</p><p>Trump's latest move extends an April executive order temporarily blocking green card authorizations and adds additional employment-based visa categories. But the president's attempts to curb legal immigration the U.S. predate the pandemic, leading some in the tech industry to doubt the motivations of the executive order.</p><p>"The Trump administration has been ratcheting up work visa restrictions from the beginning, when unemployment was low," said Doug Rand, co-founder of the Seattle startup <a href="http://boundless.com/" target="_blank">Boundless Immigration</a> and a former Obama White House official. "The pandemic is just a pretext to continue pursuing an extreme agenda of restriction that most Americans oppose."</p><p>Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn is one of several tech leaders who expressed concern about the impact the order will have on American economic competitiveness:</p><div id="39529" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d64fe7dbbc437eef53bf45b9c8c453d7"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275256242202726400" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Imagine if Real Madrid Or Barcelona could only hire players from Spain. They probably wouldn’t be the best in the w… https://t.co/iLyMeaL1tm</div> — Luis von Ahn (@Luis von Ahn)<a href="https://twitter.com/LuisvonAhn/statuses/1275256242202726400">1592879755.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The policy suspends entry of immigrants on an H-1B, H-2B, and L visas. It also covers certain types J visas, like au pairs and camp counselors. The order applies to visa holders who are outside of the U.S. when it takes effect on June 24 and visa applicants whose work authorization has not yet taken effect. Fields deemed "essential" during the pandemic, such as the food and agriculture sector, are exempt, which could open the door for exceptions in some tech roles.<br/></p><p>The order is set to remain in place through Dec. 31, 2020. Trump instructed the Department of Homeland Security to review the policy within 30 days of June 24 — and every 60 days after that — to recommend any modifications deemed necessary.</p><p>Continue reading for more reactions to the visa ban from the tech industry:</p><p><br/></p><div id="61022" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4af1a1a3d0aff0defa9b6c9b420e8e48"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275192075214966784" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Immigration has contributed immensely to America’s economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Go… https://t.co/dnE6h9JG8U</div> — Sundar Pichai (@Sundar Pichai)<a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/statuses/1275192075214966784">1592864457.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><div id="9afda" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2b63e43a58ffcdb24c7e64ca59db25ab"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275264504725528576" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@nytimes Very much disagree with this action. In my experience, these skillsets are net job creators. Visa reform m… https://t.co/Oy3WaNYFbM</div> — Elon Musk (@Elon Musk)<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/statuses/1275264504725528576">1592881725.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><div id="4678a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aeeb9d66be5e501fbb14d76986c6c4eb"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275261388101828609" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Immigration is central to America's story, and it's central to my own family's story. My family escaped danger and… https://t.co/AKV2p0QVoO</div> — Susan Wojcicki (@Susan Wojcicki)<a href="https://twitter.com/SusanWojcicki/statuses/1275261388101828609">1592880982.0</a></blockquote></div><div id="432d6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1e0fc1e896afa37d3a60c0d5c9ec17bd"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275407136256712707" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Like Apple, this nation of immigrants has always found strength in our diversity, and hope in the enduring promise… https://t.co/3hYcZ0aIMj</div> — Tim Cook (@Tim Cook)<a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cook/statuses/1275407136256712707">1592915731.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><p><em>This story <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/tech-leaders-slam-trumps-temporary-work-visa-ban/" target="_blank">first appeared on GeekWire</a>.</em></p>
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Amazon warehouse workers in Chicago expressed outrage at a flyer advertising a chicken and waffles event to commemorate Juneteenth, a celebration of the end of slavery in the U.S.
An employee published a photo of the "insulting" flyer in a private Facebook group and CNBC obtained the image.
<p>"We stand in solidarity honoring the black community by supporting local black businesses," the flyer says. "We are happy to share an authentic meal crafted by Chicago's Chicken + Waffles."</p><p>Some employees said Amazon should have made June 19 a companywide holiday to support black workers, as other tech companies like Twitter and Uber have.</p><p>Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/amazon-plans-commemorate-juneteenth-oldest-known-emancipation-celebration/" target="_blank">encouraged employees</a> to reschedule meetings and "take some time to reflect, learn and support each other" on Juneteenth rather than canceling work altogether. Bezos said Amazon would offer "a range of online learning opportunities" throughout the day in an email to employees.</p><p>An Amazon spokesperson said that "the leader who put on this event had good intentions to honor Juneteenth by supporting a local small business owned by a member of the Black community."</p><p>"After receiving some feedback from team members at the site, they've since decided to remove the sign in question," the spokesperson said. The choice of restaurant and flyer were made by diverse local leadership, according to Amazon.</p><p>Bezos has been publishing messages of solidarity with the protestors to social media, including his responses to customers who are angry with Amazon's support for the Black Lives Matter movement.</p><p>But critics say the rhetoric doesn't always square with Amazon's policies. The ACLU and others are demanding Amazon stop developing products that aid in law enforcement. Amazon <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/amazon-bans-police-use-facial-recognition-software-one-year-amid-protests/" target="_blank">announced</a> it will stop selling facial recognition technology to police for one year, but the company's Ring subsidiary continues to work closely with police departments across the country.</p><p><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/amazon-takes-heat-chicken-waffles-juneteenth-celebration-chicago-warehouse/" target="_blank"><em>This story first appeared on GeekWire</em></a></p>
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