Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard.
Life-or-death decisions at $10.60 an hour: Texas group homes suffer from staffing crisis
Group homes offer Texans with intellectual disabilities a place to live, with a few roommates and round-the-clock care. But providers say the quality of that care is suffering because group homes can’t find and keep enough staff. Advocates blame the low wages set by the state legislature.
As KERA’s Miranda Suarez reported this spring, group home workers have to make life-and-death decisions for their clients in a job that pays less than some fast food places.
Why we shouldn’t let AI come for our busy work
Busy work: those tedious, tiny tasks that seem to take up way more time than they’re worth. Supporters of artificial intelligence say AI will free workers from many such tasks.
But author Lauren Larson asks whether such a change is welcome. She joined the show in February to discuss her article in The Verge, “In defense of busywork.”
Tech subcontractors fight for better wages and job security
Labor unions have gained momentum in the U.S. recently, but Texas is still a right to work state – meaning that even if a workplace is unionized, employees aren’t required to join.
Lately, a lot of tech workers are getting in on the labor movement. The Texas Standard’s Patrick M. Davis reported in April that they’re finding out their industry comes with some unique challenges.
Austin blogger and tarot card reader seeks out a meaningful life through the gig economy
Addie Broyles had written for a major Texas newspaper for 15 years when the pandemic hit. She was the daily’s food writer and spent her days in the world of print journalism. Then, COVID-19 arrived and shook up her plans.
We heard from Broyles last year about what happened next.
Labor shortage on Texas livestock farms? Some ranchers are turning to dogs for help
Agriculture remains one of Texas’ most robust and profitable industries. In 2022, Texas farms sold more than $32 billion in agricultural products – and nearly half of that came from cattle farms.
Many Texans hold jobs in the agriculture sector. But there is one job on a few cattle farms – and many sheep farms – that is increasingly being done by dogs: herding.
Austinite shares tips on navigating a family business
Have you ever considered starting a family business? Or maybe you already run one, or work at one? Running a business can be tricky, and working with your family can sometimes make it even more so.
Andy O’Brien, an Austin-based entrepreneur and business coach, knows firsthand the difficulties that can crop up when you start a company with your relatives. He joined the Standard in May to discuss his book “WTF Was I Thinking,” a survival guide for those who are considering opening a family business.
Biden administration bets on Texas Instruments in the chip manufacturing race
In 1958, a new employee at Texas Instruments changed the world. While his co-workers were on vacation, Jack Kilby killed time by tinkering with what became the world’s first microchip.
Now the U.S. government is betting on Kilby’s old company to shore up domestic microchip production. Texas Instruments recently received a $1.6 billion Department of Commerce grant for new chip-building facilities. Bloomberg technology reporter Mackenzie Hawkins joined the show last month with the story.
