• 817 BIZ
  • Posts
  • đźš™GM strike expands; Library downsizes; Small biz ownership more costly

🚙GM strike expands; Library downsizes; Small biz ownership more costly

+More bite-size business news to keep you informed and make you smarterđź’ˇ

September 25, 2023

817 BIZ is a free newsletter bringing you a quick read of local business info every Mon, Wed and Fri. New here? Sign-up for free with this link. If this email isn’t looking quite right, click the link at top right.

🗞️NEWS OF THE DAY:

Union workers at General Motors’ parts distribution center in Roanoke have walked off the job as UAW expanded its strike. The center has 125 employees and distributes an average of 26,000 parts daily to dealerships. General Motors’ 5,000 workers at its Arlington assembly plant remain on the job. The Arlington plant is responsible for 35% of GM’s profits, according to Keith Crowell, president of UAW Local 276.

Tomorrow, the Fort Worth City Council will vote to spend about $215k a year to lease the ground floor of 100 Main St for its downtown library. Situated across from the Tarrant County Courthouse, the site is 8,700 square feet, 27 times smaller than the former downtown branch at 500 W. Third St. It was sold last December for $18 million.

The Texas Rattlers, our PBR bull riding team, and celeb Fort Worth chef Tim Love announced a collaboration for the Oct. 5-8 Rattler Days fan festival, which coincides with the Rattler’s team series events at Dickies Arena. Twelve top chefs will compete on Oct 6 by making dishes using rattlesnake in the Rattle Battle cook-off.

Tucker Powersports has been sold to Turn 14 Distribution of Pennsylvania and its corporate office and Texas distribution center on Alliance Gateway Freeway will be closed at the end of October. 165 employees will be let go by the new owner of the automotive aftermarket distributor.

Greg Cox, attorney, strategist and owner of Clearfork Strategies, is the son-in-law of local state senator Kelly Hancock, one of two Republicans to vote for the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton. Click to read a very inside story. (Free, with registration.)

Today’s daily digit: $78,645

Minimum salary U.S. workers expect at a new job, according to the New York Fed’s most recent Survey of Consumer Expectations. That’s up from about $72,900 a year earlier and $69,000 in July 2021.

Nothing to do with business: A Krispy Kreme donut van gets raided by bears.

The cost of being a small business owner is on the rise. That’s among the key findings of a Goldman Sachs survey of 1,556 small business owners conducted Aug 29 – Sep 7.

  • 68% of small business owners have outstanding business loans or lines of credit.

  • Of these, 58% have a fixed interest rate, while 42% have a variable interest rate.

  • 63% of those with outstanding loans or lines of credit say rising interest rates have impacted their ability to service their existing debt obligations.

  • 68% of those with outstanding loans or lines of credit say they would not be able to maintain current operations or grow their business without their business loan or line of credit.

Believe it or not: A coffee shop in London is offering lattes with your face on them to provide the ultimate personal touch. A special machine prints your selfie on foamed milk using flavorless food coloring. Customers can either take a selfie at the cafe or bring an existing photo. See how it's done.

The coffee shop sells more than 2,500 Selfieccinos a month.

🏆PEOPLE ON THE MOVE:

  • First Financial Bank: Hires Isabel Avalos as Bilingual Real Estate Assistant

  • BRIT: Leah Hersey earns her CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive)

  • FranFund: Announces Brandon Lusk as Financial Consultant

  • Valor: Promotes Hanna Howard to Chief Operating Officer

  • TPG: Appoints Ganen Sarvananthan as Managing Partner

  • Modern Art Museum: Announces retirement after 29 years of Terri Thornton, Curator of Education

“Now let’s have a moment of silence in memory of our portfolio.”

✂️SNIPPETS:

  • American Airlines flight attendant lists her three passenger pet peeves.

  • Here comes fright night: National Retail Foundation predicts record Halloween spending.

  • This year’s list of the 20 best franchises to open.

  • America’s biggest landlords can’t find houses to buy, either.

đź“–TODAY IN HISTORY:

  • 1639: The first printing press was set up in New England.

  • 1926: Henry Ford announces an 8 hour, 5-day work week for workers at the Ford Motor Company. Around this time, some people worked 100 hours a week. The changes came with no reductions to their salaries.

  • 1928: Paul Galvin and his brother Joseph founded Motorola as the “Galvin Manufacturing Co.” in Chicago, Illinois.

  • 2018: Designer Michael Kors purchased the luxury fashion brand Versace for $2.1 billion.

Some links may expire after initial posting or be paywall protected.