Los Angeles Times - 23.08.2019

BuSINESS

F RIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019::L ATIMES.COM/BUSINESS

C

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Qantas Airways Ltd. will

run marathon ghost flights

from New York and London

to Sydney, Australia, carry-

ing just a few staff members

to see how the human body

holds up on a 20-hour, non-

stop flight before commer-

cial service starts.

Qantas said Thursday

that it will simulate the

world’s longest direct flights

with Boeing Co. Dreamlin-

ers as soon as October. The

40 passengers and crew

members, most of them em-

ployees, will undergo a host

of medical checks and as-

sessments.

Qantas is trying to roll

out a network of super-long

direct services connecting

Australia’s eastern sea

Can you bear a 20-hour nonstop flight?

Qantas wants to know

before it starts flying

from Sydney to New

York and London as

soon as 2022.

By Angus Whitley

QANTAS AIRWAYSwill run ghost flights from New York and London to Sydney with just a few staffers to

see how people hold up on a 20-hour flight. Above, Qantas workers guide a Boeing 787 to its gate in London.

James D. MorganGetty Images

[SeeQantas,C4]

Markets await

word from Fed

Stocks ended mostly

lower ahead of a

widely anticipated

speech Friday by the

Fed chairman. C6

DoorDash gives

drivers a raise

The meal delivery

company will boost

pay and stop applying

tips to drivers’ base

salary. C6

Overstock CEO

calls it quits

Patrick Byrne leaves

company he led for 20

years after affair with

a Russian operative

and odd comments. C3

Kenneth
Osgood
studies
propagan-
da. So he
knew what
he was
seeing when
business
leaders
announced this week that
they don’t just care about
shareholders — they care
about customers, workers
and society.
“I raised my eyebrows
really high when I saw this,”
Osgood, a history professor
at Colorado School of
Mines, told me.
He said it instantly re-
minded him of the we’re-all-
in-this-together messaging
that emerged from corpo-
rate America during the
Great Depression and New
Deal, as a raft of regulations
targeted companies’ most
egregious and self-serving
practices.
“It seems pretty obvious
that CEOs are trying to
head off growing public
pressure on a number of
fronts, including how much
they’re paid and taxing the
rich,” Osgood said.
“Basically, they’re wor-
ried about undoing all the
things that the Trump
administration has done for
them.”
The Business Round-
table, an association of chief
executives, issued what it
called a “Statement on the
Purpose of a Corporation,”
intended to serve as a “mod-
ern standard for corporate
responsibility.”
The statement was
signed by 181 CEOs who
professed to be committed
to leading their companies
“for the benefit of all stake-
holders — customers, em-
ployees, suppliers, commu-
nities and shareholders.”
They emphasized that
this is a big deal because
past pledges placed share-
holders first, with the gen-
eral idea being that if share-
holders are doing well,
everyone is doing well.
You’ve seen that senti-
ment before: “What’s good
for General Motors is good
for America.”
Now we’re seeing a more
populist flavor of corporate
propaganda. The message
today is that what’s good for
General Motors (and GM
customers, employees,
suppliers, communities and
shareholders) is good for
America.
“There seems to be a
concern among the CEOs
that they’re becoming the
bad guys,” said Nicholas J.
Cull, a professor of public
diplomacy at USC who
focuses on propaganda
studies.
“This suggests that the
business community is

CEOs’

vague

populist

stance?

Pshaw

DAVID LAZARUS

[SeeLazarus,C5]

Amazon delivery drivers

were surprised to learn earli-

er this year that the e-com-

merce giant would at times

dip into their tips to cover

their promised wages.

That’s about to change,

according to an email the

company sent drivers on

Wednesday.

Amazon will start to give

a full breakdown of how

much Flex drivers, who de-

liver for the company’s

Prime Now, Fresh, or Whole

Foods services, are being

paid for each shift, including

how much of the total pay-

ment comes from the tip.

The Times has also con-

firmed that the company

will no longer use supple-

mental earnings or tips to

cover the minimum pay, and

will pay drivers their promis-

ed minimum out of the com-

pany’s own pocket.

The disclosure comes af-

ter The Times revealed in

February that Amazon

would at times use tips from

customers to contribute to

drivers’ guaranteed wages,

reducing the amount Ama-

zon needed to pay. At the

time, Amazon guaranteed

$18 to $25 an hour, but con-

tributed an average of $19 an

hour to that pledged min-

imum hourly pay.

“Amazon will always con-

tribute at least $15 per

scheduled hour to driver

pay, and often more, based

on location and demand,”

Amazon spokesperson

Rena Lunak said in re-

sponse to questions from

The Times. “As always, for

deliveries with tipping op-

portunities, drivers will re-

ceive 100% of the tips.”

In the email, the com-

pany characterized the com-

mitment to paying at least

$15 and up to $19 an hour out

of its coffers for all shifts as a

raise from its previous min-

imum contribution.

“While earnings vary by

region and block, with the

change to Amazon’s min-

imum contribution, we ex-

pect nationwide average

AMAZON

TO STOP

DIPPING

INTO

TIP JAR

The company will no

longer apply gratuities

toward delivery

drivers’ base pay.

By Johana Bhuiyan

[SeeAmazon,C6]

Climate change has come to the Los

Angeles County Fair.

The annual celebration of dizzying

carnival rides, livestock and diet-bust-

ing snacks is investing in ways to keep

visitors shaded and cool to help ensure

that increasingly steamy summers

don’t put a dent in attendance numbers.

In addition to such enticements, the

operators of the county fair, which runs

from Aug. 30 to Sept. 22, are adding a

dedicated weekend to celebrate gay

pride and are banking on admission

prices that are frozen at 2016 levels to

help them record the second year in a

row of rising attendance.

Fair attendance increased 5% last

year to 1.13 million visitors, following a

7% decline in 2017. It peaked in 2011 at 1.49

million visitors.

“We want people to come here and

have a great time and stay longer,” said

Miguel Santana, the former Los Ange-

les city administrative officer who took

over in 2017 as chief executive of Fair-

plex, a private nonprofit that operates

the fair.

The Orange County Fair, which

ended Aug. 11, drew 1.4 million visitors,

down 5% from

SHADE SAILSand plenty of ice may make the Los Angeles County Fair a more pleasant place to spend

a hot summer day. Fair officials have blamed the often-stifling September heat for dips in attendance.

Photographs by Robert GauthierLos Angeles Times

This L.A. County Fair

aims to be way cooler

It’s adding shade and mist to lure visitors despite the heat

ACREWputs up a concession stand near some of the shade sails

that will shield visitors. The fair will run from Aug. 30 to Sept. 22.

By Hugo Martin

[SeeCounty fair,C6]