wages stagnating..

the potential for insight exists. why not make it freely available?

dora is a DHCP server written in Rust using tokio. It is built on the dhcproto library and sqlx. We currently use the sqlite backend, although that could change in the future. The goal of dora is to provide a complete DHCP implementation for IPv4, and eventually IPv6. Dora supports duplicate address detection, ping, binding multiple interfaces, static addresses, etc see example.yaml for all options.

It is, however, an early release version and may contain bugs.

Richardson-based RealPage Is Facing a DOJ Investigation Into Its Rent Pricing Software
The real estate software company RealPage has been accused of using its rent pricing software to help landlords inflate market rents. Now it faces 11 lawsuits and an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

YieldStar uses data analytics to suggest appropriate pricing based on apartment availability. But property managers can let units sit vacant and off the market, which the algorithm interprets as a supply crunch that warrants higher prices. The program allows landlords to see anonymized, aggregated data showing competitor pricing. Many property managers that use the software control thousands of apartment units in individual markets, and the ProPublica story alleges that RealPage executives and developers were aware of the impact YieldStar had on pricing.

“We are concerned that the use of this rate setting software essentially amounts to a cartel to artificially inflate rental rates in multifamily residential buildings,” said the letter, which was also signed by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey).

Citing an unnamed source, ProPublica said the matter has also renewed questions regarding the merger between RealPage and its largest competitor, Rainmaker Group, in 2017. That source said that some DOJ staff flagged the merger for further scrutiny then but were overruled by Trump appointees who chose not to challenge the merger in court.

Social leaders trying to sell the american dream [Crooked bricks wall]

Simple Gemini browser for Android

Attendance and sick leave policies have led to widespread anger and frustration among rank-and-file railroad workers on major freight lines

One of the largest railroad unions narrowly voted to reject a contract deal brokered by the White House, bringing the country once again closer to a rail strike that could paralyze much of the economy ahead of the holidays, union officials announced on Monday.

The union SMART Transportation Division voted the deal down by 50.9 percent, the union said. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which represents engineers, announced 53.5 percent of members voted to ratify the deal. The two are considered among the most politically powerful of the 12 rail unions in contract discussions.

The move highlights months of tension between unions and companies across a variety of sectors, as companies have been dealing with labor shortages and workers have taken advantage of more leverage in the workplace to press for better working conditions, more sick pay and more flexible schedules in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The rejection of the contract adds new pressure to the White House, which had been closely involved in negotiating the contract between the unions and rail companies. A shutdown of the nation’s transportation infrastructure heading into the holiday season would spell a political disaster.

Already seven of 12 unions have voted to approve their contracts. But in recent weeks, three of the smaller unions have also rejected their contracts and are back in negotiations.

The main sticking points for rank-and-file members have been points-based attendance policies that penalize workers for taking time off when they are sick or for personal time, and contribute to grueling, unpredictable schedules that weigh on workers’ mental and physical health, they say. In June, a 51-year-old union engineer put off a doctor’s visit, and died of a heart attack on a train weeks later, his family said.

the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, have rejected their contracts and would be allowed to strike or companies would be able to impose a lockout even sooner, right after midnight Dec. 5, unless Congress intervenes.

If those unions strike on Dec. 5, all of the unions would likely move in solidarity, provoking an industry-wide work stoppage.

In late September, with less than 48-hours to spare before a railroad shut down, Biden and other top administration officials helped negotiate a last-minute agreement. Points-based attendance policies had been at the heart of that dramatic showdown.

The deal struck included a 24 percent pay increase by 2024 — the largest for railroad workers in more than four decades — and, for the first time, flexibility for workers to take time off when they are hospitalized or to attend three routine doctor’s appointments a year without penalty. The deal also included a single additional paid day off. Currently conductors and engineers do not receive a single paid sick day, but carriers have said their attendance policy allows workers “to take time off when needed.”

But discontent among rail workers continued to brew. They say these concessions did not meaningfully change the points-based attendance policies that carriers began rolling out in 2020 to maintain staffing levels that they said they needed to keep trains running during the pandemic. Union members say the changes have come at the expense of their health.