LABOR
NLRB asks court to force Starbucks to stop anti-union activity
Federal labor regulators have asked a court to force Starbucks to stop what they say is extensive illegal activity in response to a nationwide campaign in which workers at more than 150 corporate-owned stores have voted to unionize. In a petition filed Tuesday with US District Court in Buffalo, officials with the National Labor Relations Board accused the company of firing and disciplining union supporters; intimidating and threatening workers to discourage them from voting for the union; and effectively offering benefits to workers if they opposed the union. The agency is also seeking the reinstatement of seven Buffalo-area employees who, it said, Starbucks had illegally forced out in retaliation for their union-organizing activities, and an order effectively recognizing the union in a Buffalo-area store where the union lost a vote despite strong initial support. Reggie Borges, a Starbucks spokesperson, rejected the accusations. — NEW YORK TIMES
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MEDIA
Murdoch and Hall to divorce
Rupert Murdoch, a media titan, and Jerry Hall, a model and actor, are getting divorced, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. The people would speak only anonymously to discuss a personal matter. Bryce Tom, a spokesperson for Murdoch, declined to comment. Representatives for Hall could not immediately be reached for comment. Murdoch’s divorce, his fourth, is unlikely to alter the ownership structure of businesses he holds stakes in, which include parent companies of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal. The Murdoch family’s shares in the companies that Murdoch founded reside in a strictly managed trust. Murdoch splits voting rights over that trust with his four oldest children — Lachlan, Elisabeth, James, and Prudence — and has arranged them so that he can never be outvoted. Some people close to Murdoch were surprised to hear of his split from Hall. Murdoch and Hall wed in March 2016 at a centuries-old mansion in central London. Murdoch marked the occasion by announcing on Twitter that he would stop posting on the platform, calling himself “the luckiest and happiest man in the world.” The October-December pairing — Hall is 65; Murdoch is 91 — made the couple the regular subject of rival tabloids, with paparazzi regularly catching the two smiling broadly on a pristine beach, in a wintry football stadium, or at a black-tie opening. Previously, Murdoch was married to Wendi Deng, an entrepreneur and investor, from 1999 to 2014. He divorced his second wife, Anna, a former newspaper reporter, in 1999, after more than three decades. Murdoch’s first wife was Patricia Booker, an Australian model, whom he divorced in 1965. Hall was previously married to singer Mick Jagger, but their marriage was annulled in 1999. — NEW YORK TIMES
INTERNATIONAL
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EU sets goal of reducing pesticides
The European Union’s executive arm on Wednesday proposed setting legally binding targets to reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50 percent by 2030 and a ban on all pesticide use in areas such public parks, playgrounds, and schools. The European Commission said the current rules limiting the use of pesticides were too weak and have not been applied consistently across the EU. A study by the group Pesticide Action Network Europe last month said the contamination of fruit and vegetables produced in the European Union with the most toxic pesticides has substantially increased over the past decade. To facilitate the transition from chemical pesticides to alternative methods, farmers would be able to use EU funds to cover the cost of the new requirements for five years, the European Commission said. The commission also wants to introduce a law aimed at repairing environmental damage by 2050. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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HOUSING
Tenants of rent-controlled apartments in NYC will pay more
New Yorkers in more than 1 million stabilized apartments face the largest rent increase in nearly a decade after a panel approved a 3.25 percent hike for one-year leases and a 5 percent rise for two-year leases. The Tuesday night decision by the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board of mayoral appointees reflects the political promises of Mayor Eric Adams, a landlord himself who has signaled strong support for small businesses and property owners, many of whom are facing mounting operating costs under soaring inflation. Under former mayor Bill de Blasio, the board kept rates at historic lows, voting for rent freezes in four of the past eight years. While most current board members are Adams appointees, some have carried over from his predecessor. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
Dutch farmers protest emissions rules
Thousands of farmers gathered in the central Netherlands Wednesday to protest against the Dutch government’s plans to rein in emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia, driving their tractors across the Netherlands and snarling traffic on major highways. The protest was organized earlier this month after the government published nationwide targets for reducing emissions, sparking anger from farmers who claim their livelihoods — and those of thousands of people who work in the agricultural service industry — are on the line. Calling it an “unavoidable transition,” the government mandated reductions in emissions of up to 70 percent in many places close to protected nature areas and as high as 95 percent in other places. The government has been forced to act after courts in recent years began blocking permits for infrastructure and housing projects because the country was missing its emissions targets. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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AUTOMOTIVE
Toyota to hike production for three months
Toyota aims to boost July-September production by 40 percent from the same time last year, despite continued fallout from COVID-related supply disruptions. The world’s top-selling automaker plans to make an average of 850,000 vehicles a month in the July-September quarter, up from 605,783 units a year earlier, it said in a statement Wednesday. While automakers around the globe have been hamstrung over the past few months by parts shortages worsened by the COVID lockdown in Shanghai, Toyota has shielded itself relatively well, outselling nearest rival Volkswagen AG by more than 1 million vehicles in the first four months of the year. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INVESTING
BlackRock criticizes SEC rules on greenhouse gas disclosures
BlackRock is pushing back on key parts of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s bid to get publicly traded companies to track and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. The agency’s approach threatens to increase compliance costs for firms and may unintentionally make it harder for investors to discern information that’s significant to a company’s bottom line, BlackRock said in a letter to SEC. The firm, among the leading advocates for sustainable investing, said it supports the overarching goal of having public companies disclose climate-related information. The letter is one of many filed with the agency last week in response to its March proposal to force companies to include the data in annual reports and other filings. The effort is a cornerstone of the agenda of SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who has argued the disclosures are a vital tool for investors to make informed financial decisions. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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