Strength in Unity: New millennial leadership has brought in an era of progressive political ideas at the NewsGuild union (which represents more than 25,000 journalists and media workers). These efforts have resulted in widely diversified management, the adoption of gender-nonconforming pronouns, and broader protections for regular staff, as well as freelancers.

The newly appointed union president, Jon Schleuss, has crossed a previously unimaginable boundary by asking the government for funding in an attempt to stave off mass layoffs threatening the industry.  While some are concerned that this unprecedented move will blur lines and taint the idea of a free press, union leaders argue that now is not the time for a philosophical debate as thousands of journalists face the threat of unemployment due to the ongoing pandemic, reports The New York Times.

A bank’s nightmare: Wintrust Financial has announced that they will not be paying the sponsorship deals they have in place with three separate Major League Baseball teams, including the longstanding contract they’ve had to advertise on the video board at Wrigley Field in Chicago. This comes as multiple banks across the country curtail their marketing and advertising spending or change their approaches to a more tailored message based on the current situation.

The pullback has also been apparent in the credit card business, which has close ties to the hard-hit travel industry. Read on more in the piece by American Banker for a detailed insight on the topic.

The food supply-chain is breaking: The Trump Administration recently invoked the Defense Production Act to secure meat production, and signed a controversial order for processing facilities to remain open during the pandemic. John Tyson, head of the largest meat processor in the U.S., took out ads in national newspapers to complain about a “breaking” food supply chain and to urge plants to continue running despite strong union criticism, reports Bloomberg.

Tyson further points out that the main meat producers in the U.S. have such a hold on output that the supply chain is left with few remedies to meet demand if just a few plants are not operational. The U.S. has since reported the closure of 12 slaughtering plants, which roughly wipes out 25% of pork-processing capacity and 10% of beef. Meat prices are expected to surge in upcoming weeks.

Post pandemic-era: As per the Financial Times, “the next few months are going to feel like an empty-chair economy, with new shift patterns at factories, half-full buses and trains, staggered opening hours and unusually roomy restaurants.” With no vaccines currently available for COVID19, life will be subject to continued social-distancing and travel restrictions as global governments navigate how to safely reopen their economies. Many businesses expect it to be a while before they are back to business-as-usual, and will need to reappraise their current business models to success in a post-pandemic economy.