The coronavirus pandemic has torn the economy down, but across the Bay Area, the hourly minimum wage is still going up.Several cities are sticking with plans to raise the hourly wage floor Wednesday. Across much of the Bay Area, the local minimum wage is higher than California’s, which is to $15 an hour by 2023.Some business owners said the increases bite into their cash flow as they are still reeling from the economic effects of the pandemic. Others said it is the least of their worries in the face of plummeting sales.“The central problem businesses are facing right now is they need more...…The coronavirus pandemic has torn the economy down, but across the Bay Area, the hourly minimum wage is still going up.Several cities are sticking with plans to raise the hourly wage floor Wednesday. Across much of the Bay Area, the local minimum wage is higher than California’s, which is to $15 an hour by 2023.Some business owners said the increases bite into their cash flow as they are still reeling from the economic effects of the pandemic. Others said it is the least of their worries in the face of plummeting sales.“The central problem businesses are facing right now is they need more...WW…

The national unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.7% in April, according to government figures released Friday that track a labor market deeply scarred by the coronavirus pandemic.The rate soared from the previous 4.4%, itself a level that reflected a listing March economy. The one-month jump from March to April set a record since the government began tracking the figures in 1948, and the rate itself was higher than the modern economy has ever seen.The Labor Department said 20.5 million jobs were lost in April. Job losses were not only deep but broad, affecting a huge range of industries:...…The national unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.7% in April, according to government figures released Friday that track a labor market deeply scarred by the coronavirus pandemic.The rate soared from the previous 4.4%, itself a level that reflected a listing March economy. The one-month jump from March to April set a record since the government began tracking the figures in 1948, and the rate itself was higher than the modern economy has ever seen.The Labor Department said 20.5 million jobs were lost in April. Job losses were not only deep but broad, affecting a huge range of industries:...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateWorkers are building cars again at Tesla’s Fremont factory in defiance of Alameda County’s shelter-in-place orders during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Tesla employee.Some production lines for the Model 3 car began operating this weekend, according to the worker, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation. More production lines will be churning out other types of electric vehicles as soon as Tuesday, the source said. A factory parking lot was nearly full on Monday.The person was granted anonymity in accordance...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateWorkers are building cars again at Tesla’s Fremont factory in defiance of Alameda County’s shelter-in-place orders during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Tesla employee.Some production lines for the Model 3 car began operating this weekend, according to the worker, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation. More production lines will be churning out other types of electric vehicles as soon as Tuesday, the source said. A factory parking lot was nearly full on Monday.The person was granted anonymity in accordance...WW…

Electric car maker Tesla is preparing to restart some car production in Fremont, potentially in violation of local and state shelter-in-place orders, The Chronicle has learned.Some workers returned to the company’s Fremont plant Wednesday to prepare for a planned reopening of some production lines between now and next week, according to a person familiar with factory operations who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. The person was granted anonymity in accordance with The Chronicle’s anonymous source policy.The person said that only a handful of employees have returned to the...…Electric car maker Tesla is preparing to restart some car production in Fremont, potentially in violation of local and state shelter-in-place orders, The Chronicle has learned.Some workers returned to the company’s Fremont plant Wednesday to prepare for a planned reopening of some production lines between now and next week, according to a person familiar with factory operations who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. The person was granted anonymity in accordance with The Chronicle’s anonymous source policy.The person said that only a handful of employees have returned to the...WW…

Former Google employees fired late last year for what they say was their activism at work will see their day in court.The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint Wednesday charging the company with violating federal labor law when it fired engineers Laurence Berland, Kathryn Spiers, and others.The complaint also charged the search giant with unlawfully surveilling, suspending and interrogating workers for their workplace organizing efforts. The case will now go to trial before an administrative law judge.Berland and Spiers along with their former co-workers could be reinstated...…Former Google employees fired late last year for what they say was their activism at work will see their day in court.The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint Wednesday charging the company with violating federal labor law when it fired engineers Laurence Berland, Kathryn Spiers, and others.The complaint also charged the search giant with unlawfully surveilling, suspending and interrogating workers for their workplace organizing efforts. The case will now go to trial before an administrative law judge.Berland and Spiers along with their former co-workers could be reinstated...WW…

Lime is expanding its electric scooter fleet by 1,000 in San Francisco after city approvals.Earlier this year, Lime acquired scooter company Jump and its permit to operate 1,000 scooters. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency approved the transfer of that permit to Lime last week.The company has already started putting the scooters out on city streets, said Karla Owunwanne, Lime’s director of government relations, southwest.The Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods will have Lime scooters available for rent for the first time as a result of the expansion. The Bayview, Mission,...…Lime is expanding its electric scooter fleet by 1,000 in San Francisco after city approvals.Earlier this year, Lime acquired scooter company Jump and its permit to operate 1,000 scooters. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency approved the transfer of that permit to Lime last week.The company has already started putting the scooters out on city streets, said Karla Owunwanne, Lime’s director of government relations, southwest.The Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods will have Lime scooters available for rent for the first time as a result of the expansion. The Bayview, Mission,...WW…

Airbnb unveiled long-anticipated plans to go public Monday, defying concerns that the coronavirus pandemic had permanently hurt its business of short-term rentals and revealing the underlying strength of the San Francisco company’s business.The stock offering, which could take place as soon as December, will likely make Airbnb’s founders and investors billions and turn many employees into millionaires. While taxes on their windfall and spending by the newly wealthy will bolster state and local coffers at a time when such revenue is badly needed, it is unlikely to cause more than a blip in...…Airbnb unveiled long-anticipated plans to go public Monday, defying concerns that the coronavirus pandemic had permanently hurt its business of short-term rentals and revealing the underlying strength of the San Francisco company’s business.The stock offering, which could take place as soon as December, will likely make Airbnb’s founders and investors billions and turn many employees into millionaires. While taxes on their windfall and spending by the newly wealthy will bolster state and local coffers at a time when such revenue is badly needed, it is unlikely to cause more than a blip in...WW…

A mass of cold air moving in from Western Canada and through the Great Basin is responsible for the extreme fire risk the Bay Area faces this weekend.Gusts up to 100 mph on some North Bay peaks, combined with unusually dry vegetation, could easily turn a spark into a wildfire.“What we have going on is a system that we like to call the inside slider,” said Brian Garcia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Bay Area, using a baseball analogy. That is because the “low and inside” air is cold and coming from inland, as opposed to off the Pacific Ocean, Garcia said.These are the and...…A mass of cold air moving in from Western Canada and through the Great Basin is responsible for the extreme fire risk the Bay Area faces this weekend.Gusts up to 100 mph on some North Bay peaks, combined with unusually dry vegetation, could easily turn a spark into a wildfire.“What we have going on is a system that we like to call the inside slider,” said Brian Garcia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Bay Area, using a baseball analogy. That is because the “low and inside” air is cold and coming from inland, as opposed to off the Pacific Ocean, Garcia said.These are the and...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateMichael Delgado was laid off twice this year because of the pandemic.Now that same health crisis has put Delgado back to work: In October, he started at San Francisco scooter rental company Spin, part of a hiring uptick at the company as it has expanded its citywide fleet by 500 vehicles.The pandemic has reduced the need to commute downtown and scared some away from riding public transit. That’s an opportunity for companies like Spin that style themselves as “micromobility” — providing open-air, single-rider options like scooters...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateMichael Delgado was laid off twice this year because of the pandemic.Now that same health crisis has put Delgado back to work: In October, he started at San Francisco scooter rental company Spin, part of a hiring uptick at the company as it has expanded its citywide fleet by 500 vehicles.The pandemic has reduced the need to commute downtown and scared some away from riding public transit. That’s an opportunity for companies like Spin that style themselves as “micromobility” — providing open-air, single-rider options like scooters...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateCorporate card startup Brex’s ads began blanketing billboards and bus stops across San Francisco not long after its founding more than three years ago in the city, broadcasting its presence from the rooftops to the local startups it hoped to attract as customers.Despite its ubiquity, Brex is moving to become less physically centered in the Bay Area. It’s the latest company to make changes forced by the coronavirus pandemic permanent by announcing to employees late last month the company will go “remote first.”“The biggest...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateCorporate card startup Brex’s ads began blanketing billboards and bus stops across San Francisco not long after its founding more than three years ago in the city, broadcasting its presence from the rooftops to the local startups it hoped to attract as customers.Despite its ubiquity, Brex is moving to become less physically centered in the Bay Area. It’s the latest company to make changes forced by the coronavirus pandemic permanent by announcing to employees late last month the company will go “remote first.”“The biggest...WW…