Good morning. Wishing a Ramadan Mubarak to everyone observing the Muslim holy month that begins today. —Neal Freyman, Jamie Wilde
| | | |  | Nasdaq | 14,261.50 | | | | | S&P | 4,545.86 | | | | | Dow | 34,818.27 | | | | | 10-Year | 2.385% | | | | | Bitcoin | $46,315.67 | | |  | Oil | $99.42 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 8:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks ticked higher on the first day of Q2, and we'll take any positive movement following the US stock market's first quarter in the red in two years. Oil prices settled in below $100 in the aftermath of President Biden's decision to release 1 million barrels a day from the country's strategic reserves.
- Ukraine: Russia blamed Ukraine for a helicopter attack on a fuel depot inside the country, which would be the first strike by Ukraine on Russian soil during the war, if confirmed. Ukraine's security chief denied it was his forces that carried out the attack.
| | | | Andrea Renault/AFP via Getty Images Pete Davidson is no longer the most famous thing to happen to Staten Island. Employees at an Amazon warehouse there voted to unionize, making it the first facility to form a union in the company's history. It ranks among the biggest wins for organized labor in decades. - Employees cast 2,654 votes for the union, versus 2,131 against. In total, more than half of eligible workers cast votes.
This outcome, which few predicted, will likely send shockwaves across corporate America. Amazon is the second-largest private employer in the country and has staunchly fought unionization efforts in its workforce. But one foothold by organized labor could quickly set off a bigger movement that threatens to disrupt Amazon's closely guarded relationship with its employees. For evidence of the domino effect, just look at what's happening at another Seattle-based giant: Starbucks. - Last December, two Buffalo-area locations voted to unionize in a first for the company.
- Since then, more than 140 locations announced plans to unionize, and nine stores in total have taken the union leap.
Amazon employees' push for better treatment stands in stark relief to the earnings of its C-suite. Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy, who replaced Jeff Bezos last year, brought in $212 million in total compensation in 2021, the company revealed yesterday. Just $175,000 of that came from his base salary, and the rest is derived from an award of 61,000 shares of Amazon stock. He made 6,474x the amount of the median Amazon worker. Big picture: While this a stunning victory for organized labor, the union's success in Staten Island remains the exception, not the rule. A union drive at Amazon's Bessemer, AL, warehouse appears headed for defeat for the second time. And currently, only 6.1% of the country's private sector workers belong to unions, close to a historic low.—NF | | Robyn Beck/Getty Images  Will Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In a Friday statement, the actor wrote that he was "heartbroken" over slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, and that his actions "deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work." He said he will accept "any and all consequences" for his conduct.
 The March jobs report asks, "What pandemic?" The US economy added 431,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.6% from 3.8% in February. That means the economy has added at least 400,000 jobs for 11 straight months, something that has never happened in records going back to 1939.
 Markets go quiet in Q1. Global fundraising in capital markets dropped by $900 billion in Q1 2022 over the same period last year, with the war in Ukraine, soaring inflation, and wild market swings spooking dealmakers. Fewer than two dozen companies have IPO'd so far this year in the US, which is an awfully slow start to the year for public offerings.
| | Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: Zenkyphoto/Getty Images The House passed a landmark bill to federally decriminalize cannabis Thursday. If the legislation is passed in the Senate (and that's a big if), it would mean: - Nonviolent marijuana offenses would be expunged from criminal records, which House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said "can haunt people of color and impact the trajectory of their lives and career indefinitely."
- A nationwide sales tax could be placed on cannabis and used in part to open a fund that, among other things, would help small businesses in the industry.
- Plus, Veterans Affairs (VA) could recommend marijuana use to treat PTSD, and federal workers could partake without losing their security clearances.
The Senate has fewer Seth Rogans than the House, but the bill's backers remain hopeful it can get its 60 votes. Whether it gets the green light or not though, this bill, along with previous attempts to pass cannabis reform on Capitol Hill, represents a seismic shift from the anti-pot PSAs millennials grew up with. Six-in-10 Americans think cannabis should be fully legal, about one-third think it should be legal for medical use, and just 8% say it shouldn't be legal at all, per Pew Research. Looking ahead…it's unclear if and when this legislation will make its way to the Senate, though the Senate is expected to release its own take on the bill as soon as next month. No one would complain if they expedited it to 18 days from now.—JW | | | Sometimes you just need a breather—from the go-to spot where you've eaten dinner four times this week, from mindless social media scrolling, from the sweatpants you've worn all month long. And with this card, you've got a chance to kick back and enjoy a hiatus from credit card interest. Taking some time away can be a huge reprieve, especially when you're paying off a hefty balance. And when you move your existing credit card debt to this credit card, you'll pay 0% interest on your transferred balance for 21 months. Interest isn't the only thing you'll put on pause, either. There's also a long intro 0% APR on purchases. Oh, and say goodbye to annual fees—for good. Apply today. | | Lionsgate Stat: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, the new movie where Nicolas Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself, currently has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes after 24 critic reviews. That's the highest rating of all 170 movies with a Cage credit on the site. Quote: "It looks like we need to knock down Bruce's page count by about 5 pages." Mike Burns, the director of Out of Death, warned in a June 2020 email to the film's screenwriter that Bruce Willis's parts would need to be made smaller, as reported by the LA Times. According to the paper, the film industry had been concerned about Willis's diminishing cognitive abilities for years; it was just this week that his family announced that he would be stepping away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia. Read: Inside the virus-hunting nonprofit at the center of the lab-leak controversy. (Vanity Fair) | | - Pope Francis issued an apology to Canada's Indigenous people for the "deplorable conduct" of some Catholics in the country's residential school system.
- The Biden administration raised fuel economy requirements for cars, hoping to kickstart an efficiency program that lagged under President Trump.
- A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Kellogg of exaggerating the amount of strawberry content in its Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts.
- The US men's national team is in the same group as England for the World Cup. Winner gets to decide the name of the sport.
| | | This is the last straw! Sound familiar? Maybe you've had that thought while you were stuck working from home in your too-small apartment in a too-big city. Maybe you want more space and less stress. Maybe you're ready for a place like Ohio. Get started on your Ohio journey at OhioIsForLeaders.com. | | Cool YouTube channel: The Slow Mo Guys Weekend conversation starters: | | | Written by Neal Freyman and Jamie Wilde Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. WANT MORE BREW? Industry news, with a sense of humor → - Emerging Tech Brew: AI, crypto, space, autonomous vehicles, and more
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