Wednesday, November 6

The United States election ballots were counted last night, with former President Donald Trump projected to take the win in this year's tight race for the presidency.

Trump currently has 276 electoral votes, 6 votes past the winning mark of 270, taking crucial victories in the swing states of Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. North Carolina's counting has come to an end, making Trump the definite winner, but Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are still red states that have a chance of flipping to blue in the coming days. Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada, the three remaining swing states, are currently undecided, but all three are leaning towards Republicans.

Assuming Trump takes the presidency, it seems like he will have the power to change the nation, as the Senate has been won by Republicans and the House is leaning towards them. At this point, it seems that the only way Democrats can avoid a massive turn of events in the next four years is if they win the House, preventing Trump from executing his full agenda.

Look out for a detailed US Elections article coming soon on the election.

Union workers have finally agreed to a deal with aerospace giant Boeing, ending the group's monthslong strike that sparked chaos in the aviation industry.

The strike was conducted by the International Association of Machinist (IAM) union. Boeing has over 150,000 employees, 33,000 of which are part of the IAM. The union had been demanding for higher pay for several months before the strike, and IAM and Boeing had finally agreed to a huge deal that would provide employees with a 25% raise over four years. Union officials said that it was by far, the best deal they had ever managed to negotiate with Boeing. However, 95% of union members voted against the deal, and 96% voted to strike on September 13.

Chaos ensued in America's aircraft industry-- Boeing supports over 1.6 million employees, including its 10,000+ parts suppliers. Over half of the world's airplanes are made by the company, making them the United States' single largest exporter. Many of Boeing's suppliers were forced to lay off staff, as Boeing's production line came to a complete halt during the strike. It also exacerbated Boeing's deep financial problems -- the company has a current debt of around $58 billion -- by stopping the sale of their planes, leaving them with working operations but no revenue. However, this strike has not just cost Boeing. In total, it has costed the United States economy over $11.5 billion-- a staggering number for a two-month strike.

Since then, Boeing has attempted to come to an agreement with the IAM several times, but they did not succeed until this past Monday. Workers were primarily angry over the loss of pension, a regular payment made from the company to retired workers, after a new contract was approved in 2014. Over the past few decades, the popularity of pension in the private sector has decreased significantly as profit margins for companies decrease, leading them to cut costs after they are put under financial strain. On October 23, Boeing proposed an initial deal to the union, but it was not taken well. Workers were looking for a plan that would compensate them similarly to a pension plan, allowing them to place the extra money in a 401(k) for retirement. However, Boeing's original plan did not meet these demands, leading 64% of IAM workers to reject the deal.

Then, Boeing proposed another deal recently, which was accepted by the IAM. The new deal includes a raise of 13%, effective immediately, and a gradual raise of 9% per year over the next two years, before a final raise of 7% in 2028. In addition, workers will receive a $12,000 ratification bonus for accepting the deal, increasing the appeal to IAM workers. However, the deal still marginally passed. 59% of the union's workers voted for the deal, while 41% continued to oppose Boeing's ideas. Many of these workers will continue to be unhappy until the pension plan is restored, but the return of pension seems more and more unlikely as Boeing sinks deeper into debt.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Donald Trump would be only the second US president to serve two nonconsecutive terms when he takes office, after Grover Cleveland in 1885 and 1893.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Any fool can know. The point is to understand. (Albert Einstein)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Psephology (noun)- Psephology is the scientific study of elections.

In a Sentence: Brianna was excited to learn that a course on psephology on the schedule for next semester will coincide with local and state elections.