TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2019 The Boston Globe Business C
TALKING POINTS
LABOR Agenda
BOSTON AIRLINE
CATERING WORKERS,
UNION LEADERS
TO PROTEST AT
AMERICAN AIRLINES
HQ
A handful of Boston airline catering workers and union leaders plan to get arrested Tuesday
in Fort Worth as part of a protest at American Airlines headquarters. Around 100
employees of LSG Sky Chefs, along with Unite Here organizers, including the president of
Local 26 in Boston, are planning to block the road to American’s corporate campus as they
seek to draw attention to their fight fora $15-an-hour minimum wage and affordable
health insurance. Earlier this summer, more than 25,000 airline catering workers around
the country, including 650 serving 31 airlines at Logan Airport, voted to authorize a strike
against their employers, Sky Chefs and Gate Gourmet. The workers can’t strike until they
are cleared by the National Mediation Board, however, and Unite Here formally requested a
release to strike last month during a rally at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.,
attended by presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Airline catering
workers have been picketing at airports across the country this summer and talk has
swirled about a work slow-down that could potentially disrupt air travel. American, Sky
Chef’s largest customer, said in a statement that it is not involved in contract negotiations
and doesn’t control the wages of its contractors. “We would like the catering vendor and the
union to reach agreement as soon as possible,” theairline said. Progress is being made with
the help of a federal mediator, LSG Sky Chefs said in a statement. “We remain committed to
negotiatingingoodfaith,andwehopethatunionmemberswillactlawfullyasthey
exercise their right to demonstrate or protest.” — KATIE JOHNSTONFASHION
VERSACE, COACH,
GIVENCHY RUN
AFLOUL OF POLITICAL
SENSITIVITIES
IN CHINA
The luxury brands Coach and Givenchy joined Versace on Monday in apologizing to China
for producing T-shirts that were regarded to have undermined the country’s sovereignty.
The apparel, which identified the semiautonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau as
countries, set off an angry online backlash from Chinese consumers who perceived the
designs as violations of the “One China” policy. Millions of social media users across China
called for boycotts of the Western luxury companies’ products Monday, after images of the
three garments, which are no longer for sale, circulated over the weekend by users on social
media platforms such as Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging site. The furor
comes as pro-democracy demonstrations continued to grip Hong Kong. The protests have
heightened political sensitivities, particularlyaround China’s territorial claims and Hong
Kong’s status. — NEW YORK TIMESFOOD DELIVERY
AMAZON-BACKED
SERVICE PULLS OUT
OF GERMANY
Amazon.com Inc.-backed food-delivery service Deliveroo an-
nounced an abrupt retreat from Germany after more than four
years, a casualty of increasingly cutthroat competition tearing
through the industry. The service will cease operations in Europe’s
largest economy on Aug. 16, telling customers in an e-mail
Monday that it can no longer offer the desired “brilliant” service
standard. Instead, Deliveroo will focus on “growing our opera-
tions in other markets around the world.” — BLOOMBERG NEWSCOSMETICS
L’OREAL ORDERED
TO PAY CALIFORNIA
STARTUP MORE THAN
$91M IN TRADE
SECRETS CASE
L’Oreal SA must pay a California-based startup$91.4 million for stealing its trade secrets,
breaching a contract, and infringing two patents related to a popular system that protects
hair during bleaching treatments, a federal jury decided Monday. The jury, in Wilmington,
Del., also found that L’Oreal’s acts were intentional, leaving the door open for the judge to
substantially increase the damages if he chooses.Olaplex LLC had accused the French giant
of stealing the secrets in a meeting in California in 2015, when the companies were in talks
for L’Oreal to buy the startup. L’Oreal, during a weeklong trial, said it independently
conceived the use of a critical acid in August 2014 and developed its products on its own.
— BLOOMBERG NEWSINTERNET
APPLE GIVES A
PREVIEW OF NEW WEB
TELEVISION SERIES
Apple is giving a first look at its upcoming Web television
series that is centered on a behind-the-scenes view of
early morning TV news. The company posted a teaser
Monday of ‘‘The Morning Show.’’ It stars Reese
Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carell and is
set to debut will debut this fall on AppleTV+. Apple’s new
original video subscription service will feature original
shows, movies, and documentaries without ads and will
be available on demand. — ASSOCIATED PRESSSTREAMING
FRENCH
BROADCASTERS GET
APPROVAL FOR
PLATFORM TO RIVAL
NETFLIX
France’s main broadcasters won approvalfrom regulators to establish a streaming platform
to rival Netflix Inc. It’s taken more than a year for Television Francaise 1 SA, Metropole
Television SA, and France Televisions to get the green light from competition authorities to
set up on-demand video service Salto. The companies face a sustained competitive assault
from Netflix and Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime Video, and further audience losses could follow
when Walt Disney Co. begins its Disney+ platform in Europe later in the year. The French
broadcasters will start Salto in the first quarter of 2020, “pooling their resources in an
ambitious local response to changing audience expectations,” they said in a statement.
— BLOOMBERG NEWSSOFTWARE
ICAHN AWARDED
TWO SEATS ON BOARD
OF CLOUDERA INC.
Carl Icahn has reached an agreement with Cloudera Inc. that will see the
activist investor awarded two seats on the technology company’s board.
The billionaire disclosed his position in the enterprise cloud-software
company earlier this month, arguing it was undervalued. Icahn has been
building his position since and held roughly 18.4 percent of the company
as of last week, according to a regulatory filing. — BLOOMBERG NEWSFINANCE
PUBLIC PENSIONS
POST WEAKEST
PERFORMANCE
IN THREE YEARS
US public pensions posted their weakest performance in three years, falling a percentage
point short of their investment targets, andthe prospect of rock-bottom interest rates and a
trade-war induced recession could put a greater strain on state and city retirement plans.
The median US public pension returned 6.2 percent in the fiscal year ending on June 30
after paying fees to investment managers, according to Norwalk, Conn.-based Investment-
Metrics, which provides analytics to institutional investors. Pensions assume a median an-
nual investment return of 7.3 percent to cover promised benefits. — BLOOMBERG NEWSPHARMACIES
RITE AID NAMES
DIGITAL HEALTH
EXECUTIVE
AS NEXT CEO
Rite Aid Corp. said that Heyward Donigan, a digital health
executive with little retail background, will be the pharma-
cy chain’s next CEO. Donigan, 58, will succeed chief execu-
tive John Standley, 56, who the company announced in
March was leaving. Rite Aid has struggled with a falling
stock price and questions about its future after selling
about half of its stores to rival Walgreens Boots Alliance
Inc. last year. Donigan most recently served as CEO of Sap-
phire Digital, which sells services to help steer people toward health-care providers who
offer lower costs and good quality, and helps employers and health plans manage patients
who need complex procedures. Rite Aid isthe smallest of the big major US drugstore
chains, all of which are facing challenges from digital competitors like Amazon.com Inc.
that crave not only their retail customers, but increasingly also a piece of the back-of-the-
story pharmacy business. Amazon and Rite Aid already have a partnership through which
customers can pick up packages at some Rite Aid stores. — BLOOMBERG NEWSTuesdayNETWORKING
Make connections
Meet fellow women in business at a
networking “happy hour” hosted by She
Geeks Out, a group that supports
diversity and inclusion in the business
community, and 3-D printer manufacturer
Markforged. This event is open to all
women and nonbinary people.
Markforged will provide $20 in Lyft
credits to attendees. Tuesday, 6 to 8:
p.m., Markforged offices, 480 Pleasant
St., suite C-10, Watertown. $10. Register
online or go to the business agenda at
bostonglobe.com.NETWORKING
Invest in AI
Meet the financiers of the artificial
intelligence industry at this event from
local business nonprofit Boston New
Technology. Industry experts will answer
questions about investment. Tuesday, 6
to 9 p.m., CIC Boston, 50 Milk St., Boston.
$10 to $20. Register online or go to the
business agenda at bostonglobe.com.WednesdaySEMINAR
Building black wealth
Learn about life insurance as an African-
American in this installment of the
Building Black Wealth monthly series
from Roxbury Community College and
the Our Village initiative. Wednesday, 6 to
8 p.m., Roxbury Community College,
1234 Columbus Ave., building 3, student
commons, Roxbury Crossing. Free.
Register online or go to the business
agenda at bostonglobe.com.SOCIAL MIXER
Meet other
professionals
Mix with other businesspeople in a fund-
raising event for the Pine Street Inn.
Profits support Pine Street’s efforts to
move homeless men and women into
permanent housing. Wednesday, 6 to 9
p.m., Society of Arts and Crafts, 100 Pier
Four Boulevard, #200, Boston. $60.
Register online or go to the business
agenda at bostonglobe.com.Eventsofnote?E-mailusat
[email protected]