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Tech Nonprofit CodeCrew Receives Major Donation

CREDIT: bbb.co.uk

Courtesy of CodeCrew

Students practice computer coding with CodeCrew.

Memphis nonprofit CodeCrew was donated $50,000 by Verizon to help the tech startup continue to impact the city of Memphis. The donation also marked a partnership between Verizon and CodeCrew. Through the donation, Verizon has pledged to co-sponsor and fund CodeCrew’s after-school and summer programs at Lester Community Center and to establish four new after-school programs at local schools.

“We are proud to invest $50,000 into CodeCrew programs to further their impactful work in our most underserved communities,” said Sheleah Harris, local and state government affairs officer for Verizon. “With a hyper-local focus, Verizon will continue to cultivate relationships with grassroots organizations to actively address the digital divide in Memphis.”

CodeCrew was founded in 2015 as a summer camp program at Lester Community Center and, since then, has taught more than 2,000 thousand students across Memphis. Students in the CodeCrew program learn a wide variety of topics ranging from web and mobile app development to robotics and drone programming.

“CodeCrew is excited to partner with Verizon as they empower us to continue eradicating the digital divide through tech and computer science education,” said Meka Egwuekwe, CodeCrew’s Executive Director.

CodeCrew’s after-school program is geared around teaching kids in grades 5-12 how to use the entry-level coding language scratch, build Android apps, practice JavaScript coding, and work on entry-level game development. During their Hour of Code of events in December and May, students get the opportunity to show off their skills to friends and family. CodeCrew’s Summer Program functions in a similar light with students competing in an annual hackathon after the camp.

More information about the code crew program can be found here.

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Verizon Launches New 5G Network in Memphis

CREDIT: Verizon

Verizon


Verizon has launched its 5G Ultra Wideband network in Memphis, the company announced Thursday. 

The 5G network, 20 times faster than the current 4G network, is now available on certain devices in parts of Downtown, Midtown, Cooper-Young, and East Memphis near landmarks including the National Civil Rights Museum, Overton Square, the Medical District, the Liberty Bowl, Eastgate Shopping Center, and Oak Court Mall.

Memphis is the 22nd city in the country to get Verizon’s 5G network, which provides “near real-time mobile experiences with super-fast speeds.”

The network allows users to video chat with almost no lag, download large files quickly, and stream with virtually no lag, according to Verizon. The network also creates the capacity to support more devices in one place at the same time.

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Verizon said the network has the potential to affect “artificial intelligence, education, healthcare, robotics, virtual reality, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, wearables, and the Internet of Things (IoT).”

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said the addition of the 5G network will help the city recruit and retain companies.

“We’re experiencing economic growth like we haven’t seen in decades,” Strickland said. “Verizon’s new 5G network in Memphis adds another strong tool to recruit and retain companies. It will help us attract entrepreneurs who will use this technology to invent the next big thing we all can’t live without. It shows the world our momentum, and that Memphis is open for business.”


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Verizon 5G Network Hyped as Boon to Memphis Transportation, Agriculture, Manufacturing

CREDIT: Verizon/Facebook

Verizon/Facebook

“Feature-length HD movies can be downloaded faster than you can read this sentence.”

That’s a quote from the Verizon website about just how fast its 5G Ultra Wideband mobile service will be for consumers.

Verizon’s network is coming to 20 U.S. cities this year. And, as a surprise to the cynical Memphian inside some of us, Memphis made the cut, and the network is expected to radiate across the city soon.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s office announced Thursday that Verizon had chosen the city. The service is already live in Chicago and Minneapolis.

“Today’s announcement is just the start for Memphis and we’re excited to bring the game-changing power of 5G Ultra Wideband service to consumers, business, and government agencies in 2019,” Kyle Malady, Verizon’s chief technology officer said in a statement.

How big of a deal is this? Well, according to Strickland and Verizon, it’s a big deal.

Strickland seemed convinced that making the cut was “another testament that our momentum is real and will play a large part in continuing to advance equitable economic development throughout our city.” (The statement from Memphis City Hall ensured Strickland’s election-year buzzword “momentum” was introduced somewhere into the news cycle.)

Verizon said the new network has the potential to affect ”artificial intelligence, education, healthcare, robotics, virtual reality, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, wearables, and the Internet of Things (IoT).”
[pullquote-1] “With its gigabit speeds and unprecedented response times, 5G can be thought of as the ’secret sauce’ that will make driverless cars, cloud-connected traffic control, and other applications that depend on instantaneous response and data analysis live up to their potential,” reads the Verizon website on its 5G network. “The possibilities are limitless.”

Verizon website says 5G isn’t just another iteration of the wireless network. It’ll be 20 times faster than the current 4G network, “making lag times nearly impossible to detect.” With this, augmented reality and virtual reality applications can work “seamlessly,” Verizon said. Also, industrial and machinery and robotics can be controlled remotely, it said.

Verizon/Facebook

Verizon said 5G will create jobs (but it didn’t specify what kinds of jobs those are or where they’d be located).

“By 2035, 5G will enable $12.3 trillion of global economic output and support 22 million jobs worldwide,” Ronan Dunne, executive vice president and group president of Verizon Wireless said in a statement. “Much of that growth will come from the digitization of transportation, agriculture, manufacturing and other physical industries.” Transportation. Agriculture. Manufacturing. A whole lot of each of those exists in the Memphis economic region. But you’ll only be able to connect to the lightning-fast new 5G network with a 5G-enabled device. If you have one, and you leave the 5G network zone, you’ll be automatically handed off to the current 4G network, Verizon said.

The other cities to get 5G this year are: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Des Moines, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Little Rock, Phoenix, Providence, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Washington D.C.

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XPO Promises Jobs for Some in Closing Warehouse

CREDIT: XPO

XPO

An official with XPO Logistics said Monday that all of the hourly employees at its warehouse here that is set to close this spring will be offered new jobs at another one of the company’s local facilities.

The approximate 400 employees at the company’s Verizon-contracted warehouse here received letters earlier this month saying that the warehouse would permanently close because of an “overall business model change initiated and completed by our customer.”

Workers expressed concern that the closing was retaliation in response to the company recently gaining national attention after allegations of pregnancy discrimination, sexual abuse, and poor working conditions were brought forth by employees. XPO denied those claims.

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Now, the company guarantees that all the hourly employees working at the warehouse, which make up about 90 percent of the workforce, will be offered new jobs in one of the 11 nearby XPO-run facilities here, said Erin Kurtz, XPO’s senior vice president of communications. Kurtz said the company is also working to find jobs for the remaining salaried employees at XPO facilities here. The company will “make every effort” to accommodate employee’s location preferences.

“Getting our employees new jobs was our goal all along, but we had to take inventory to evaluate what was possible with our other sites in Memphis,” Kurtz said. “Happy to report, that we will offer all hourly employees a new role and will maintain the hourly wage rate.”

Kurtz also confirmed Monday that the independent investigation by Tina Tchen of Buckley Sandler’s, a Chicago-based firm that specializes in unique litigation, counseling, and crisis management skills, into the allegations is completed.

Buckley Sandler’s

Tina Tchen investigated XPO’s workplace culture and policies.

Tchen said in her report that the company did have a policy in place that requires providing reasonable accommodation for pregnant employees when medically required, but that she recommends additional procedures, education, and training of supervisors and workers.

She adds that XPO’s new Pregnancy Care Policy, which took effect in January, is “one of the most progressive in place around the country.”

“In particular the type of accomodations reportedly requested in the press accounts under the new policy can now be put into place automatically without medical documentation of need,” Tchen said. “The company has also been engaged in a robust training and education process to ensure all workers and supervisors know about this new policy and how to apply it.

“Overall, I found that XPO, as this response demonstrates, to be a company that is working to enhance workplace culture and support its employees.”

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The news came the same day U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen sent a letter to the company’s CEO Bradley Jacobs to follow-up on concerns raised last year regarding allegations of mistreatment of employees in light of the warehouse closing.

“We are also concerned about allegations that the Memphis warehouse closure could be connected to the aforementioned incidents,” reads Cohen’s letter. “It is our top priority to ensure that workers in XPO Logistics facilities are not put at physical risk or risk of discrimination.”

The letter asks for answers to six questions, some of which the company seemed to answer Monday:

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What are the results of Tina Tchen’s internal review of the company culture and policy?



•

 What is XPO’s new pregnancy policy and how does it differ from the policy that was in place when the alleged incidents took place?



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What policies are in place at XPO to prevent and adequately address sexual harassment and gender discrimination cases?



•

Who was responsible for deciding to close the XPO warehouse in Memphis?



•

What specific steps are being taken to assist workers being laid off in Memphis?



•

What steps will XPO take to ensure that workers are protected at the new facility planned to open here in May?


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Workers Call XPO’s Closing of Memphis Warehouse Retaliation

CREDIT: XPO

XPO

XPO Logistics is closing its Verizon warehouse here and some employees are calling it retaliation.

The employees were informed Wednesday via letters that they would be terminated as a result of the facility closing in June.

This is the same warehouse that’s recently gained national attention after allegations of pregnancy discrimination, sexual abuse, and poor working conditions were brought forth by employees.

About 400 employees currently work at the facility XPO plans to close.

In a letter to the warehouse’s employees, XPO said that it will be permanently closing the facility here because of “an overall business model change initiated and completed by our customer.”

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“Consistent with this change, we anticipate there will be a need to have employment separations at the facility, commencing on April 15, 2019,” the letter reads. “We believe that these plans, when finalized, will be permanent and the entire facility will be closed.”

Employees will be terminated during a 14-day period beginning April 15th. The letter also details that the terminated employees will not be able to “bump or displace” other employees working for the company.

The termination letter was handed to employees on the same day that XPO announced new free benefits for new and expecting parents.

Workers, including Lakeisha Nelson, believe the move is retaliation for exposing sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination at the facility.

“My co-workers and I stood up and exposed the terrible conditions at the XPO-Verizon facility in Memphis, including sexual harassment, dangerous heat, pregnancy discrimination and worker abuses,” Nelson said. “In return, XPO and Verizon are shutting down our facility and cutting our jobs. I will not be intimidated by these corporate bullies.”

A former employee at the Verizon warehouse, Tasha Murrell, had a miscarriage on the job and now she questions XPO’s previously stated intentions to change its policies.

“XPO wants to talk about how much it cares about pregnant workers, and then it lays off all the workers from the facility that brought these pregnancy problems to light,” Murrell said. “This should tell you how serious XPO is about changing its ways.”

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President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters General, James Hoffa agreed, calling the closing “disgraceful.”

We have stood by these workers since the beginning in their fight to improve their working conditions at this XPO Verizon warehouse,” Hofa said. “I have spoken to these women and seen the pain and suffering XPO has put them through.

“For XPO and Verizon to now close this facility is disgraceful. We will continue to help these workers in their fight to keep their jobs.”

However, a statement from XPO said the facility’s closure is a result of a “business decision” made by Verizon.

“Our presence in the Memphis community remains string, and we have jobs available for the majority of these employees in our 11 other local facilities,” the statement reads.


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Verizon Urged to Investigate Reported Misconduct at Memphis Warehouse

CREDIT: BerlinRosen

BerlinRosen

Action in New York City


Workers at XPO Logistics warehouse here, joined by ally organizations, rallied around the country last week to alert Verizon customers of the mistreatment of employees in the company’s contracted XPO distribution warehouse in Memphis.

XPO employees and members of the community greeted Verizon customers at over a dozen of its stores nationwide last week in an attempt to inform them of alleged poor working conditions and call them to action. Actions took place in Memphis, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C., and other large cities.

“My coworkers and I were sexually harassed all the time with nowhere to turn,” Lakeisha Nelson, a worker at the Verizon warehouse in Memphis, said. “Our warehouse is an essential part of Verizon’s business, and it is high time that the company’s leadership helps us end supervisor sexual harassment and misconduct at XPO once and for all.”

Organizers also sent a letter to the Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg and the company’s board of directors, urging action and an investigation into the claims of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Earlier this year, Verizon said they would investigate the claims of misconduct in the warehouse after receiving an initial letter from women civil rights groups asking for a meeting with Verizon officials to discuss next steps to end the mistreatment.

However, the stakeholders said Verizon has not met with them or updated the public since that time.

Now, in a second letter, the group is asking Verizon officials again for a meeting in order to discuss how the allegations will be addressed, as well as to receive an update into Verizon’s investigation into the sexual harassment allegations.

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Various incidents of pregnancy discrimination, including refusals to allow pregnant employees to take on less strenuous tasks, leading to several miscarriages were brought to light in October by the New York Times.

Prior to those claims, employees at the same warehouse reported sexual harassment and unsafe, hazardous working conditions, including extreme heat. In the last year, more than a dozen XPO employees have filed Equal Employment Opportunity claims against the company relating to unsafe conditions.

These incidents “paint a disturbing picture of how workers are treated in its supply chain,” the most recent letter to Verizon reads.

“These allegations run contrary to the company’s Supplier Code of Conduct that upholds “ethical conduct in the workplace, safe working conditions,’ and ‘the treatment of workers with respect and dignity,’” the letter continued. “We urge you to take immediate action to ensure that all workers in your supply chain are treated humanely and not exposed to illegal working conditions.”

The letter was signed by the Memphis and Tennessee branches of the NAACP, A National Women’s Law Center, A Better Balance, SisterReach, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

This wave of actions comes after 97 House Members, including Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen, urged the House Committee on Education and the Workforce earlier this month to investigate the many allegations of “disturbing treatment” of pregnant employees at XPO’s warehouses around the country.

Shortly after, XPO announced new policies and benefits that will provide increased support for pregnant employees, paid family leave, and 30 new types of wellness benefits for women and families.

Operating in 23 states, XPO Logistics is a $12 billion company that packages and distributes products for major retailers including Verizon.