Happy New Year 2025

Category: Business

DeepSeek is the newest front in the AI competition between the US and China

Ask Sage founder Nicolas Chaillan addresses the emergence of the Chinese A.I. app DeepSeek, its threat to American A.I. dominance and his skepticism over the model.

DeepSeek’s release of a high-profile new AI model underscores a point we at OpenAI have been making for quite some time: the U.S. is in a competition with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that will determine whether democratic AI wins over the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) authoritarian version of the technology. The U.S. must come out on top–and the stakes could not be higher.

As President Donald Trump rightly said on Monday, DeepSeek “should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win.”

We couldn’t agree more.

For those familiar with AI and how the models get built, it wasn’t a huge surprise that someone was able to replicate parts of OpenAI’s o1 model several months after it was released. What’s notable is that it was not an American one that did so.

THE DEEPSEEK AI CHATBOT BURST ONTO THE SCENE: ARE FEARS ABOUT IT OVERBLOWN?

CCP leader Xi Jinping has made clear China wants to be the dominant player in AI by 2030, and the country is plowing enormous amounts of money into the AI infrastructure to compete with the U.S. They’re giving developers unfettered access to data; building enormous amounts of energy (ten nuclear facilities came online last year with another ten on course for this year); and are seeking to develop their own chip-manufacturing capabilities.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar explains how AI is taking center stage at Davos, what the Stargate project means for the macroeconomy and details new products for key customers.

Though I suspect we will learn more about DeepSeek’s work that may ultimately impact how we understand the state of their technology (experts are already noticing that their system is slower to respond to user requests than other models), how new it actually is (some users have pointed out that the DeepSeek model says that it’s ChatGPT when asked), and what it cost (projects in of authoritarian countries have a tendency to be opaque), this weekend’s news shows that the CCP is all-in on the AI competition.

WHAT IS CHINESE AI APP DEEPSEEK?

It’s important to understand that the stock market panic over the release of DeepSeek’s R1 model is missing the big picture: when AI systems grow more efficient, we need more of the infrastructure that powers those tools, not less.

Think of it this way: in post-WWII America, just because companies in the U.S. and abroad designed more affordable cars over time did not mean that we stopped building highways. If anything, it made highways more valuable because people can travel farther and faster than they could before. In fact, the U.S. went big and built out the interstate highway system.

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The same holds true with AI. More efficient models make computers more valuable than ever because we can achieve significantly greater outcomes with the same hardware, as President Trump noted in his remarks about DeepSeek on Monday.

FOX Business’ Madison Alworth reports on what China’s DeepSeek is used for and how it raises cybersecurity concerns.

Scaling up our AI infrastructure will scale up our AI capabilities, powering bigger breakthroughs than would have been imaginable even a few months ago in everything from healthcare and biotech to energy and national security.

Moreover, the most pressing issue in AI is the push towards AGI and superintelligence, which is the evolution of the technology to a point where it is able to help humans solve problems in science, health, and education that just a short time ago would have seemed like a miracle. This is the Super Bowl of AI, and the U.S. has to lead if we want to maximize the technology’s economic gains and ensure the world’s AI is built on democratic values.

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The road to AGI and superintelligence requires investing in supercomputers, data centers, advanced chips, power generation facilities, transmission lines, human talent, and other key parts of the AI ecosystem. That’s the mission of the Stargate Project, the new venture that we unveiled at the White House last week that will immediately invest an initial $100 billion in new infrastructure, with activity already in the works on the ground in Texas. When it comes to accelerating the construction of democratic AI that can prevail over authoritarian AI, Stargate is a 21st century version of World War II’s Arsenal of Democracy.

Let’s make sure we understand the game being played, the nature of our competitors, and the stakes. If we do not accelerate our AI infrastructure build-out now, we’re effectively handing the future to the CCP.

The stakes are too high to let short-sighted market narratives or misinformation dictate our path. The game is on, and we need to play to win.

Chris Lehane is Chief Global Affairs Officer at OpenAI. Before joining OpenAI, he was Chief Strategy Officer and Operating Partner at Haun Ventures and previously led policy and communications at Airbnb from 2015 to 2021. He also co-founded a strategic consultancy, held various roles in the Clinton administration, and currently serves on Coinbase’s Board of Directors.

January 28, 2025
GOP chairman signals investigations over alleged debanking of conservatives

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., addresses claims of conservatives being debanked and weighs in on Joe Bidens last minute pardons

A leading House Republican is signaling that his committee is set to investigate claims that some individuals and entities were debanked by financial institutions because of their connection to conservative political causes.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., appeared on “Sunday Morning Futures” and addressed claims that conservatives have been debanked by leading financial institutions. The discussion occurred after President Donald Trump raised concerns about debanking during remarks to the World Economic Forum.

“We’ve heard numerous instances of conservatives being debanked and what we want to know is, is this a process of the bank’s ESG policy, or is this our government stepping in like what we found with Twitter and Facebook, where the government stepped in and said they wanted certain conservatives deplatformed and censored, and certain conservative content removed,” Comer said.

“We want to know, again, is this the government involvement – another dirty trick by Joe Biden’s administration – or is this just bad liberal policy that discriminates against conservatives by the banks,” he added.

TRUMP’S DAVOS COMMENTS REIGNITE DEBANKING CONTROVERSY

House Oversight Committee Chair Jamie Comer said his panel plans to look into debarning claims. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Bartiromo asked if Comer has evidence of banks cutting ties with conservative clients, and the chairman said he does.

“Yes, especially people that were involved in different energy-type businesses as well as very outspoken conservative activists. So there are numerous instances, enough to open an investigation,” he replied.

“Again, is this ESG policy – which is discriminatory and ironically, the Democrats have passed all this banking legislation that prohibits discrimination – is this discriminatory because of ESG, or is it the government, are the bank examiners, as President Trump hinted in his remarks you played earlier, are these bank examiners with a wink and a nod saying, ‘Don’t let this person bank at your bank,’” Comer said.

TRUMP CONFRONTS BANK OF AMERICA CEO FOR NOT TAKING ‘CONSERVATIVE BUSINESS’

President Donald Trump spoke to the World Economic Forum on Jan. 23, 2025, and criticized banks for what he said was politically motivated debanking. (Halil Sagirkaya/Anadolu via)

The chairman said banks are “going to be asked a lot of questions,” and added, “I will say this for the banks, during the Biden influence peddling investigation the banks were the one entity that did cooperate with us. So I expect that the banks will cooperate with our questions, and hopefully we can get some answers.”

“At the very least we want to change this,” Comer said. “We’re not talking about debanking meaning they denied a loan, that happens every day in the banking world. This is just opening up savings accounts and checking accounts. I mean this is unheard of to do this, and it’s against the law – the laws, ironically, that the Democrats created against discrimination.”

CONSERVATIVE GROUP TAKES AIM AT WALL STREET IN REPORT CLAIMING BIG BANKS HAVE UNDERCUT FIREARMS INDUSTRY

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently said banks should be able to more freely tell clients why their accounts were closed. (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

Federal laws and financial regulations can prompt banks to close accounts over concerns about things like money laundering or illicit financial activities.

Trump’s debanking comments at the WEF were directed at Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan as well as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Both banks have disputed allegations that politics contributed to decisions to close bank accounts.

“We serve more than 70 million clients, and we welcome conservatives,” a Bank of America spokesperson told FOX Business. “We are required to follow extensive government rules and regulations that sometimes result in decisions to exit client relationships. We never close accounts for political reasons, and don’t have a political litmus test.”

A JPMorgan spokesperson said in a statement that the bank would “never close an account for political reasons, full stop. We follow the law and guidance from our regulators and have long said there are problems with the current framework that Washington must address.”

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Dimon appeared on JPMorgan Chase’s “The Unshakeables” podcast and said in a discussion about challenges that crypto firms have encountered with debanking that banks are not allowed to tell clients why they were debanked and had their accounts closed.

“I think we should be allowed to tell you,” Dimon said. “When we report stuff, the federal government should probably know about it, and there should be far clearer lines about what we have to do and what we don’t have to do or things like that.”

January 28, 2025
Costco teamster workers set to strike this week as company embroiled in DEI controversy

Storch Advisors CEO and former Toys”R”Us and Target executive Gerald Storch reacts to a strong November retail report and explains how industry winners are ‘value-based’ players.

As Costco finds itself embroiled in a public battle over its controversial DEI policies, a much larger fight is looming with 18,000 store employees set to head to the picket lines if the grocery chain can’t agree to a new contract by Friday.

“If Costco actually respects its employees, it will give our 18,000 members the wages, benefits and work rules that they have been demanding for months,” a Teamsters spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The grocery wholesaler, who has long held a pro-worker image, has been locked in a protracted battle with the Teamsters Union, which represents 18,000 of Costco’s 219,000 U.S. worker base. The Teamsters are accusing the grocery club of not sharing its record $7.4 billion profits with its workers. The Teamsters have accused Costco of engaging in “illegal and reckless behavior” including kicking union reps out of stores, preventing employees from wearing Teamster buttons and changing the locks on union bulletin boards.

STATE AGS WARN RETAIL GIANT COSTCO FOR DOUBLING DOWN ON ‘DISCRIMINATORY’ DEI

Around 18,000 Costco workers may go on strike Friday. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Talks finally broke down in January when Costco refused to reach a card check agreement. Card check is a process that would make it easier for workers to join unions by eliminating secret ballots. Eighty-five percent of Costco’s unionized employees voted to authorize a strike. The strike would affect 50 stores across the US in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington.

As the Costco board voted overwhelmingly to reject an anti-DEI measure brought by activist investors at their shareholders meeting last Friday, workers rallied just outside their Washington offices – signaling the real fight was yet to come.

“Costco has two choices: respect the workers who made them a success or face a national strike. Costco Teamsters deserve an industry-leading contract that reflects the company’s massive profits. If Costco thinks they can exploit our members while raking in billions, we’ll shut them down,” Teamsters President Sean O’brien said in a statement.

WHY AN ACTIVIST INVESTOR SAYS THE BATTLE AGAINST COSTCO DEI REGIME ISN’T OVER

Costco is the first company known to have gone from $0 to $3 billion in sales in fewer than six years. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“What I can tell you is our contract with this company expires at midnight on Friday, and the reason Costco has made so much money over the past few years is its workers,” the Teamsters spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Costco didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The potential strike comes as 19 states’ attorneys general called on Costco to drop their DEI policies, writing that the grocery chain must “end all unlawful discrimination imposed by the company through diversity, equity, and inclusion,” in a letter sent to Costco CEO Ron Vachris.

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When asked if the Teamsters thought that the wholesaler was picking a public fight about DEI to deflect attention away from its labor dispute, their spokesperson told Fox News Digital “I can’t really speculate as to why Costco makes certain decisions.”

January 28, 2025
National Plan for Vacation Day encourages Americans to arrange travel plans

Genevieve Shaw Brown met with FOX Business at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT to talk about why Americans should make future travel plans and create memories.

The last Tuesday of January is National Plan for Vacation Day, and one travel expert is urging Americans to use their time off offered by their employers.

Genevieve Shaw Brown met with FOX Business at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT to discuss upcoming Disney events and attractions, both in California and Florida, while emphasizing the importance of making memories rather than banking vacation time.

“A lot of times if you don’t use them, you lose them,” she said of vacation days. “We really want to make sure that people are taking advantage of their well-deserved time off.”

“Right now people are doing more at their jobs than they’ve ever done before, and you don’t want to burn out,” she continued. “To be your best self, you need to have balance and to take vacations and to make those memories.”

DISNEY’S MAGIC KINGDOM HONORS 100-YEAR-OLD WWII VETERAN DURING FLAG RETREAT CEREMONY

Donald Duck poses at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT on National Plan for Vacation Day, Jan. 29, 2025. (Pilar Arias / Fox News)

As far as specific vacation ideas, Shaw Brown noted that Disney’s popularity has grown so much and there is “always something going on” at the parks, meaning low visitation days do not really exist anymore like they used to.

She considers Disney to have great value for those young and old, solo and traveling with loved ones.

DISNEY LOOKING TO ENTICE GUESTS BY OFFERING FREE SUMMER VACATION PACKAGES PERK

China Pavilion at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT. (Pilar Arias / Fox News)

Disney is a big business in Florida, with Walt Disney World Resort generating $40.3 billion in economic impact, according to a study from Oxford Economics.

While Disney does not share specifics on visitation and resort bookings, the most recent Theme Index and Museum Index Global Attractions Attendance report released by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA)/AECOM says 244.6 million people visited the top 25 theme parks worldwide in 2023.

DISNEY NAMES NEXT CHAIRMAN, NEW CEO TO BE ANNOUNCED IN ‘EARLY 2026’

Disney Experiences ranked No. 1 in the top 10 amusement/theme park operators worldwide, according to the report. Of all four Walt Disney World parks, a Disney spokesperson told FOX Business that Magic Kingdom is the most visited.

Vacation travel is expected to continue shattering records this year, and not all of it will be by land. AAA projects 19 million Americans will sail the ocean blue on a cruise in 2025, marking a third straight record year, according to a press release.

DISNEY THEME PARK GUESTS WILL GET TO SKIP MORE LINES THAN EVER WITH HIGH-PRICED OPTION COMING THIS MONTH

Droid inside Oga’s Cantina at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios in September 2024. (Pilar Arias / Fox News)

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Transportation Security Administration numbers from last year show the highest number of passengers screened at airport checkpoints was 3,088,836 on Dec. 1, 2024.

“You’re never going to regret the trip,” Shaw Brown said. “No vacation has to be perfect. It just has to be time away with your friends or your family, people you love or even by yourself, to just recharge and remember who you are outside of your work.”

January 28, 2025
White House economist teases the ‘biggest’ fiscal reform ‘America has ever seen’

National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett analyzes the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on ‘Kudlow.’

President Donald Trump’s economic plans are being set into motion, according to one of the newest top White House officials, who believes America will see the “biggest” fiscal reform on trade, energy, regulations and tax and spending cuts.

“When the people who are trying to cause panic over President Trump’s trade policy simulate what it’s going to do, they don’t account for all the other policies. So President Trump is drill, baby, drill and deregulate and tax cuts and reduce spending,” National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said in an exclusive interview on “Kudlow,” Monday.

“And if you look at tariffs as part of an overall strategy, you’re going to see, as President Trump says, a golden age,” he added. “And it’s going to be the biggest supply side reform that America has ever seen.”

On the presidential campaign trail, Trump repeatedly proposed tariffs on trade countries like Mexico, Canada, China and others to be used more as a negotiation tactic. This proved to work earlier this week when Colombian President Gustavo Petro swiftly backtracked on his refusal to accept deportation flights from the United States after Trump threatened tariffs and other measures.

ODDS OF U.S. RECESSION DECLINING: N.A.B.E. ECONOMISTS

“I think that you saw from the Colombia negotiation that the president is going to use tariffs if he needs to, in order to get people to make policy concessions that are good for America, that put America first,” Hassett reacted.

National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett talks President Trump’s top fiscal priorities, from taxes and tariffs to AI and energy. (Getty Images)

“The bottom line is that a tariff isn’t necessarily just a weapon, but economically, if you do the math, a tariff can be part of a supply side strategy that includes a big tax bill as well,” the director continued, while confirming that a universal tariff is something that Trump and House lawmakers will “negotiate” in a reconciliation bill.

Also under reconciliation negotiations is the 15% corporate tax rate, which currently sits at 21%.

Hassett also emphasized the impact that domestic energy and gas production has on minimizing inflation, claiming Wall Street analysts had hypothesized wrongly about the extra costs of Trump’s economy.

Trump senior advisor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro discusses the battle over TikTok and bringing ‘prosperity’ to the United States on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

“If you spend $1.5 trillion a year more on government spending, you’re going to get inflation. If you don’t let people drill, baby, drill, energy prices are going to go up… If you do, as Biden did over the last couple of years, kill 130 million chickens, then egg prices are going to go up. So the fact is that we’re doing micro things correctly, deregulatory things correctly, and we’re going to get the macro stuff right, too,” he argued.

The newly appointed economic director also pointed out: “Inflation under Joe Biden was just under 5% for his whole term, about a little bit less than it was under Jimmy Carter and way more than double what it was under President Trump. And we’re 100% on the ball going after inflation, but it’s going to require an all-of-the-above approach. And right now, we’ve inherited really high inflation.”

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Poland President Andrzej Duda joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to discuss the impact Trump’s presidency will have on the global economy.

Trump is also aware of the artificial intelligence (AI) race’s future impacts on the economy, according to Hassett, but remains immediately focused on reversing consequential effects from Biden’s “reckless spending.”

“One of the really fun things in the last week… is to walk around and to see the DOGE people, to see Elon Musk in the halls and to see all the great ideas that people have to make sure that Americans are not seeing their money wasted by a wasteful government,” he said. “There’s a heck of a lot for our team to fix, and I think we’re very optimistic about our ability to rein in spending.”

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Fox News staff contributed to this report.

January 28, 2025
Trump, Open AI CEO Sam Altman on Chinese AI startup DeepSeek

Constellation Research founder R Ray Wang discusses the capabilities of Chinas DeepSeek AI app on Varney & Co.

President Donald Trump and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman both joined in on the buzz surrounding Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek, which sent the technology sector into turmoil on Monday following its emergence as a potential rival to leading U.S.-based firms.

The president said the release of the lower-cost, high-performance AI models from a Chinese firm “should be a wake-up call,” while Altman conceded that DeepSeek’s R1 model was “impressive” – and vowed OpenAI will deliver models that are superior.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (R), accompanied by President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. ((Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) / Getty Images)

“Hopefully the release of DeepSeek AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing to win, because we have the greatest scientists in the world,” Trump told House Republicans on Monday night in Doral, Florida, during a speech at their annual retreat.

THE DEEPSEEK AI CHATBOT BURST ONTO THE SCENE: ARE FEARS ABOUT IT OVERBLOWN?

However, the president said the revelation that DeepSeek has developed a way to produce AI models at a much lower cost than other U.S. models “could be very much a positive development.”

President Donald Trump spoke at the House Republicans’ annual retreat on Monday night. (CHIP SOMODEVILLA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“Instead of spending billions and billions, you’ll spend less and you’ll come up with hopefully the same solution under the Trump administration,” Trump continued, adding, “We’re going to unleash our tech companies and we’re going to dominate the future like never before.”

WHAT IS CHINESE AI STARTUP DEEPSEEK?

Altman, whose company created the popular ChatGPT models, took to X to give his take, writing, “deepseek’s r1 is an impressive model, particularly around what they’re able to deliver for the price.”

The OpenAI CEO went on to say, “We will obviously deliver much better models and also it’s legit invigorating to have a new competitor!”

The quality of DeepSeek’s models and its reported cost efficiency have changed the narrative that China’s AI firms are trailing their U.S. counterparts, which began after the first Chinese ChatGPT equivalent was released by Baidu.

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The DeepSeek-R1 model was released last week and is 20 to 50 times cheaper to use than OpenAI’s o1 model, depending on the task, according to a post on the company’s official WeChat account.

The R1 model is also open source and available to users for free, while OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro Plan costs $200 per month.

American tech leaders are taking notice. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pointed to DeepSeek during an interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” saying the company’s models show how competitive the AI race has become, and stressed the importance of the industry having support from the federal government.

“We should want the American model to win,” Zuckerberg told host Joe Rogan.

“I think it’s easy for the government to take for granted that the U.S. will lead on these things,” Zuckerberg said. “But I think it’s a very close competition, and we need the help. We need them to not be a force that’s making it harder for us to do these things.”

FOX Business’ Eric Revell and Reuters contributed to this report.

January 28, 2025
Boom Supersonic XB-1 breaks sound barrier during test flight

Top Gun graduate Brig. Gen. Jim Demarest discusses the role supersonic flight will play in the future of commercial aviation on ‘Varney & Co.’

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 aircraft broke the sound barrier for the first time ever on Tuesday, ushering in a new era of supersonic flight.

The jet exceeded Mach 1 after taking off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for its highly anticipated 12th test flight.

That marked the first time the XB-1 demonstrator aircraft, soaring above 34,000 feet, has ever reached the staggering speed.

Boom Supersonic has described the XB-1 as the “first American civil supersonic jet” and the “foundation” for Overture, the jet that it is building for commercial supersonic flight. The company aims to “bring supersonic to everyone.”

XB-1 achieved Mach 0.95 during its most-recent test flight on Jan. 10, according to Boom Supersonic.

The demonstrator aircraft “leverages state-of-the-art technologies to enable efficient supersonic flight including digitally-optimized aerodynamics, carbon fiber composites, advanced supersonic engine intakes, and an augmented reality vision system for takeoff and landing visibility,” the company said on its website.

January 28, 2025
Nvidia CEO loses over $20B after stock tanks

SKTLs Space Crypto co-founder Cody Willard explains how A.I. will impact the future of business on ‘Making Money.’

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang saw his personal fortune tumble on Monday amid turbulence in U.S. tech stocks.

His net worth hit $103.7 billion by the end of the trading day, marking a $20.8 billion drop, Forbes reported.

The outlet, which tracks the fortunes of billionaires, linked the 11-figure decrease in his net worth to Nvidia’s stock falling 17% over the course of the day.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 6, 2025. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via / Getty Images)

Shares of Nvidia and other U.S. tech companies, particularly those with links to the artificial intelligence sector, fell on Monday after the popularity of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek raised concerns among investors over American dominance in the sector.

CHINA’S DEEPSEEK DERAILS NASDAQ, NVIDIA, AI DARLINGS

DeepSeek wrote in a paper last month that it trained its DeepSeek-V3 model with less than $6 million worth of computing power from what it says are 2,000 Nvidia H800 chips to achieve a level of performance on par with the most advanced models from OpenAI and Meta.

Shares of Nvidia and other U.S. tech companies, particularly those with links to the artificial intelligence sector, fell on Monday after the popularity of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek raised concerns among investors over American dominance in the sec (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Huang co-founded Nvidia over three decades ago and has a roughly 3% holding in the company, Forbes reported.

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Ticker Security Last Change Change %

NVDA NVIDIA CORP. 122.58 +4.16 +3.52%

Huang’s current net worth ranks among the 20 largest fortunes in the world, according to the outlet. His net worth crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time in May of last year.

WHAT IS THE CHINESE AI STARTUP DEEPSEEK?

The Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, California, on Aug. 28, 2024. (Loren Elliott/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

The company’s market capitalization hovered around $2.98 trillion as of Tuesday.

FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.

January 28, 2025
Workers at Philadelphia Whole Foods become first to unionize at Amazon-owned grocer

Circle Squared Alternative Investments founder Jeff Sica joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to discuss the impact of labor union strikes on the stock market.

Workers at a Whole Foods location in Philadelphia made history as the first group to successfully unionize under the grocery chain.

The workers at the flagship Whole Foods store in Center City, represented by UFCW Local 1776, voted 130-100 to unionize on Monday, calling it “a significant victory” in its fight for fair compensation, improved benefits and better working conditions.

The group initially filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board in November to hold a union election. Since then, the group claimed it has faced an “aggressive anti-union campaign” by Amazon management, which it said worked to prevent employees from exercising their right to representation.

DOCKWORKERS’ UNION, EMPLOYERS AVERT STRIKE AFTER REACHING TENTATIVE DEAL

“Despite a relentless onslaught of anti-union propaganda and intimidation, and multiple allegations of unfair labor practices (ULPs) committed by Whole Foods management, the workers have remained committed to unionizing. Today’s vote is a testament to the power of collective action and their determination to achieve a voice on the job,” the group said in a statement Tuesday.

UFCW Local 1776 President Wendell Young IV said in a statement that this “fight is far from over,” though he acknowledged that Monday’s win “is an important step forward.”

Ticker Security Last Change Change %

AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 235.42 +0.57 +0.24%

“We are ready to bring Whole Foods to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair first contract that reflects the workers’ needs and priorities,” Young said.

Amazon purchased Whole Foods in 2017, adding it to its sprawling grocery business, which includes Amazon Fresh and the Amazon Go convenience stores.

ECONOMIST WARNS THAT AMAZON, STARBUCKS STRIKES COULD ‘BACKFIRE’

This is the first time that a group has successfully unionized with Whole Foods, but the e-commerce giant has been fighting against unionization efforts for several years, including at its warehouses.

Whole Foods told FOX Business that the company is “disappointed by the outcome of this election” but is “committed to maintaining a positive working environment in our Philly Center City store.”

Whole Foods maintains that it offers competitive compensation, great benefits, and career advancement opportunities to all workers.

In November, the group said the physical demands of the job are making it feel like an impossible task “to balance our health, our safety, and our desire to satisfy and delight our customers with the company’s thirst for profits.”

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It also argued that its workers are also struggling “to afford rent, healthcare, childcare, and other basic necessities.”

January 28, 2025
CEO takes stand against fines for flying massive American flag: It creates ‘noise, unnecessary distractions’

Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis discusses his refusal to take down a massive American flag despite fines on ‘The Bottom Line.’

Daily fines won’t stop Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis from flying a huge Old Glory high and proud.

“This isn’t the first time this has happened. We’ve been dealing with this for years. And we have these flags around the country, and they’ve been part of my fabric since I was a little kid,” Lemonis said on “The Bottom Line” Monday.

“We dealt with it in Statesville; Morgan Hill, California; Onalaska, Wisconsin; and now Greenville, North Carolina. And I think this is a perfect example… of local and city and state municipalities putting regulations on businesses that don’t advance the business. They just create more noise and unnecessary distractions.”

If you’ve driven by one of 250 of Camping World’s RV dealerships, the massive and prominent American flags flying on their properties are hard to miss. But when Camping World’s Greenville location put theirs up in October, according to the New York Post, problems began with local zoning officials.

WHY AN ACTIVIST INVESTOR SAYS THE BATTLE AGAINST COSTCO D.E.I. REGIME ISN’T OVER

Camping World’s flag is allegedly 15 times the allowed size and its 120-foot flagpole is too large, as well. Since Friday, the company has racked up penalties amounting to about $1,150.

Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis says he’ll accept daily fines from local Greenville government over the company’s giant American flag on its dealership. (Getty Images)

Lemonis showed no interest in taking down the flag anytime soon.

In response to Fox News Digital, the city of Greenville clarified that an addendum to the sizing regulation was in the works, and will permit Camping World to continue flying its flag.

“I do it because I believe in it. I’m an immigrant in this country. This country gave me an opportunity to earn a living and to employ 13,000 people. I just choose to have a big flag because I’ve had one since I was a little kid,” the CEO explained.

Business executive and entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis addresses the lingering divisiveness and ‘warrior environment’ that’s brewing in Washington on ‘Making Money.’

“And I know that’s my way of expressing to the veterans and our customer base how much we believe in it,” he added.

He argued that the city’s crackdown on his patriotism actually hurts business and represents “a small example of why things [get] more expensive.”

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The Staten Island-based artist says ‘wokeism kills people’ as he protests a new driving tax that is forcing more NYC commuters and visitors to take the subway amid a string of horrific crimes there.

“The business of selling champers is to enjoy the outside,” Lemonis pointed out. “When you regulate business to the point where they have to add layers of expense, and they need to still maintain profitability, you have essentially created inflation to regulation.”

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January 28, 2025