Daily Briefing – 344
Infrastructure Deal In Doubt at Today’s Deadline
A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators and senior White House officials is struggling to finish work on an infrastructure package that is now set to get its first vote today. Republicans warn there’s no chance they’ll get it all wrapped up today when Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer plans to force a vote on a motion to proceed to the bipartisan infrastructure legislation that isn’t written.
The senators have narrowed the number of outstanding disagreements in the talks to roughly a dozen, but the biggest problem of them all, how exactly to pay for $579 billion in new spending, remains unresolved. That number represents spending over current budget baselines. The total deal is estimated at $1.2 trillion over eight years or $973 billion over five years.
NYS Manufacturing Alliance/Council of Industry/Department of Labor to Host Advance Manufacturing Virtual Job Fair
We are excited to partner together to offer a modern job fair simulation where manufacturing businesses and job seekers can connect in a virtual setting in real-time, while keeping the familiar feel and positive outcomes of a physical event. The Virtual Job Fair will go live on Thursday, August 19, 2021 at 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Following receipt of exhibiting businesses registrations, businesses will receive an email containing deadlines, important links for accessing the event, login credentials to “create” your booth and a Virtual Career Fair Exhibitors Guide. This guide details information about the event, gives helpful tips and answers many frequently asked questions. Department of Labor staff will be available throughout the process to help you with overall technical assistance. If you are interested in exhibiting, please register at the link below, by Wednesday August 4, 2021.
GlobalFoundries Announces New Semiconductor Fab in New York
GlobalFoundries Inc. announced July 19 it would be making a $1 billion expansion in order to address the global semiconductor shortage. According to CEO Tom Caulfield, the new expansion, a ‘fab’ for making semiconductor wafers, will increase production by 150,000 wafers a year.
The investment will expand GF’s Malta campus and add 1,000 new high-tech jobs to the site, which currently employs about 3,000 people. In remarks delivered at the company’s headquarters in Malta, Caulfield said the semiconductor-manufacturing industry is poised to expand dramatically over the next few years.
IBM Shows Strongest Revenue Growth in Three Years
IBM shares rose as much as 4% in extended trading on Monday after the Hudson Valley firm reported second-quarter earnings that came in stronger than analysts had expected. Here’s how the company did:
- Earnings: $2.33 per share, adjusted, vs. $2.29 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
- Revenue: $18.75 billion, vs. $18.29 billion as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
Revenue grew 3% year over year in the quarter, according to a statement, the fastest growth in three years, as the company laps a quarter that saw meaningful impact from the coronavirus. In the previous quarter revenue had grown 0.9%. The company reiterated its expectation that revenue will grow, rather than decline, in the full year.
US COVID – Delta Variant Helps Push Cases Higher in Every State
Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations across the U.S. are growing steadily higher as the infectious Delta variant takes hold and the pace of vaccination subsides from highs reached in April.
The country has reported an average of 32,287 new coronavirus cases each day over the past week, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data, more than double what the seven-day average was 10 days ago. The uptick in cases has touched every state and Washington, D.C., with the seven-day average of newly reported cases exceeding the 14-day average in each place for the past four days, according to the data. Doctors and epidemiologists point to the Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, as a main cause.
NYS Vaccine and COVID Update –
Vaccine Stats as of Tuesday July 20th:
One Vaccine Dose
- 61.7% of all New Yorkers – 11,870,994 (plus 18,221 from a day earlier)
- In the Hudson Valley 1,259,684 (plus 1,885)
Fully Vaccinated
- 56.0% of all New Yorkers – 10,908,287 are fully vaccinated (Plus 17,168)
- In the Hudson Valley – 1,144,283 (plus 1,744) are fully vaccinated.
The Governor updated COVID data through Monday July 19th. There were 2 COVID related deaths for a total of 43,036.
Hospitalizations:
- Patients Currently in Hospital statewide: 424
Seven Day Average Positivity Rate:
- Statewide 1.31%
- Mid-Hudson: 0.99%
Useful Websites:
- Read the press release
- Visit the vaccine tracker site
- See the School Districts Dashboard
- See the SUNY Dashboard
- State Vaccine Information Site
Federal Judge: Indiana University’s Vaccine Requirement Should Stand
A federal judge has blocked a challenge to Indiana University’s requirement that students get vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to campus this fall. Indiana University is one of hundreds of colleges (including SUNY Schools) mandating COVID-19 vaccinations this year.
In their complaint, the students compared the vaccination policy to the Tuskegee syphilis study and argued the university’s mandate stood in opposition to modern medical ethics. The court denied the motion for a preliminary injunction. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Damon Leichty wrote, “The situation here is a far cry from past blunders in medical ethics like the Tuskegee Study.” It’s important to understand, he said, that the university isn’t forcing anyone to get a vaccine. It’s offering students and staff options: They can either get the vaccine, apply for an exemption or find a new school to attend (or, in the case of staff, a new job).
Top Pediatrician Group Recommends In-School Masks for All
Everyone older than age 2 should wear masks, regardless of vaccination status, when schools reopen in the fall, according to updated guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics released Monday.
The leading national pediatrician group said it recommends universal masking because so much of the student population isn’t yet eligible for vaccination. It’s not clear how quickly that will change, or how likely parents will be to get their younger children dosed when the federal government approves shots for kids under 12.
Working With COVID “Long Hauler” Employees
“Long Haulers” is a term that was coined to describe those people who apparently have not been able to shake off the symptoms they acquired after they were first touched by the Coronavirus, sometimes as long as a year ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially named this syndrome as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19. This condition also has become known by the names Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome, Long-Term or Long COVID.
Even as vaccines now appear to be wrestling the disease threat level down, and more people are returning to work, all of us—including employers—are still forced to deal with the ongoing reality of COVID-19, in some cases because it simply refuses to go away.
“Long Haulers” is a term that was coined to describe those people who apparently have not been able to shake off the symptoms they acquired after they were first touched by the Coronavirus, sometimes as long as a year ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially named this syndrome as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19. This condition also has become known by the names Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome, Long-Term or Long COVID.
Metro-North to Resume Ferry Service
Newburgh-Beacon and Haverstraw-Ossining ferry service provided by Metro-North Railroad will resume on August 30, Railroad President Cathy Rinaldi announced on Monday. Rinaldi said the ferry service has been suspended for over a year.
Both services provide Hudson River crossing alternatives for Orange County and Rockland County residents to access east-of-Hudson commuter rail service.
SUNY Ulster Launches Pre-Apprentice Program
SUNY Ulster has developed the Advanced Manufacturing Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program. This program prepares students to enter into the many entry level manufacturing jobs here in the Hudson Valley. This program runs on Thursdays which allows us to place students into jobs during the program if they are skilled ready as they could work Monday-Wednesday and go to school on Thursday.
It is critical that local manufacturing companies train with their local community colleges as we build the pipeline for the many jobs that we are seeing in the Hudson Valley.
SUNY Ulster Advanced Manufacturing Pre-apprenticeship Fall 2021
Q2 Hudson Valley Housing Market -Post Lockdown Surge Continued
Council of Industry Associate Member Howard Hanna Rand Realty reports that the regional housing market continued to surge through the second quarter with prices and sales reaching all time highs, fueled by rising optimism, improving economic conditions and low interest rates. Listings rose slightly, and the inventory shortage eased a bit, but we expect that continue string demand will continue to push prices up through at least the end of the year.
The Agency is conducting a Face Book Live event this morning at 11:00 to present the Q2 Report findings.
IEA: Emissions Set to Rise to Record Levels
Global CO2 emissions are on track to reach fresh records by 2023—and to keep rising—as governments’ financial commitments to clean energy falls far short of what’s needed, the International Energy Agency warned on Tuesday.
The IEA had previously warned that global CO2 emissions would jump by 5% this year alone, as economies recover. Much of that jump will be driven by a resurgence in coal demand in Asia, contributing to the largest single-year jump since the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.
