Austin, TX
YouTube Music workers laid off while speaking before Austin, Texas city council
On February 29, Google laid off its entire YouTube Music team of workers while they were speaking before a televised city council meeting in Austin, Texas. The workers were responsible for curating themed playlists and reviewing song metadata in support of the YouTube Music group. They worked for Google contractor Cognizant, although a court recently ruled that they were co-employed by Google.
The workers were active in the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU-CWA), informally known as the Google Union, which includes 1,400 workers across the US. They voted to join the AWU-CWA in April of last year and were particularly active against Google’s decision to end remote work. While Cognizant claims the layoffs were simply due to the end of their contract with Google, it is highly likely they were targeted for organizing against the tech giant.
However, the firings also come in the context of a massive jobs bloodbath across the global economy but concentrated particularly in the technology sector, which has laid off more than 310,000 people since the start of 2023, according to layoffs.fyi. Google alone has announced more than 13,000 layoffs, including 3,500 contractors from YouTube from Cognizant and Accenture in May of last year.
In January of this year Google announced it was laying off hundreds of workers in its Augmented Reality division, which produces hardware such as Google Pixel phones and Fitbit smart watches, as well as its personal assistant division.
No doubt, Google is hoping to automate the work done by human curators through new artificial intelligence technologies. Music analytics has been increasingly automated with artificial intelligence being used extensively at big name music streamers, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube and Sound Cloud.
Google has committed to investing $2 billion into the OpenAI competitor Anthropic, according to CNBC news. In January Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the company would “remove layers [of its workforce]” in order to free up funds for “investing in … [the company’s] big priorities.” This follows its December 2023 launch of its AI chatbot Gemini, which was intended to be the “biggest upgrade yet” to its AI chatbot Bard.
Cognizant is a multinational information technology company based in India and was first founded in 1994. It had a net income of $2.29 billion in 2022 and employs over 300,000 employees globally, 200,000 of which are in India. It has units throughout Europe, China, the Philippines, Latin America and elsewhere. It ranked 194 on the Fortune 500 list for 2022.
Cognizant has contracts with large corporations, such as Nike, the Volkswagen Group, Microsoft, with whom it is working to “infuse generative AI into healthcare administration,” according to the company.
It has also established its own “Advanced Artificial Intelligence Lab” in San Francisco, which, according to its website, “will focus on advancing the science and practice of AI through innovation and development of intellectual property and AI-enablement technologies.” The lab is part of Cognizant’s announcement last year to invest $1 billion in “generative AI.”
According to the AWU-CWA, workers at YouTube Music make as little as $19 an hour with minimal benefits. Many are forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
Jack Benedict, a YouTube data analyst and member of the Alphabet Workers Union, noted that YouTube Music workers had struck last year in opposition to YouTube’s “return-to-office” policy, which threatened the jobs of remote workers who did not live near the office. Benedict added that in September they launched an Unfair Labor Practices strike over YouTube’s refusal to bargain with the union. Google still refuses to negotiate a contract despite an NLRB ruling that this violates US labor law.
The city council passed a non-binding resolution calling for Google and Cognizant to negotiate with the YouTube Music Content Operations Team. The workers, who planned to stay and celebrate the passage of the resolution, instead had to go to their offices to retrieve their belongings.
As of this writing, the CWA has made no reference to the highly provocative firings on its website. Their Facebook page merely re-posted a release from the Alphabet Workers Facebook page without comment.
Cognizant has claimed that this was a routine contract expiration, that workers are still Cognizant employees, and that workers would receive seven weeks of paid time to “explore other roles within the organization.” It claimed the timing of the contract expiry was “purely coincidental.”
A Google spokesperson made similar claims. The far more likely explanation is that the company was making an example of the workers for their participation in last year’s strikes.
But in spite of the courage shown by Google workers, the CWA is concerned only with developing the same incestuous ties with management as it has long held at traditionally unionized workplaces. The bureaucracy has routinely sold out major strikes by telecommunications workers, including in 2016 at Verizon and last year at AT&T.
In recent years, the CWA has expanded its presence among tech workers and software developers. One major beachhead in the video game industry was established with the founding of the Game Workers Alliance, which has a significant presence at game publisher Activision Blizzard.
The CWA shut down a strike at one of the company’s subsidiaries in January of 2022. It then endorsed Microsoft’s takeover bid for Activision Blizzard in return for a neutrality agreement that it would not deter the union’s organizing efforts. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced it would cut 1,900 jobs at Activision Blizzard.
The World Socialist Web Site opposes the firings at YouTube Music and demands the workers be immediately reinstated. But in order to wage a serious fight against job cuts, workers must enforce democratic control over their struggle and fight any attempts at a sellout by the union bureaucracy through rank-and-file committees.
“We’re thrilled to expand our relationship with the team at NRP and our focus on the Affordable Housing market in
The transaction represents Safehold’s second transaction with NRP in
Safehold established a dedicated Affordable Housing team in 2025 and has continued to expand its investment into the sector. Additional information is available at www.safeholdaffordablehousing.com.
About Safehold:
Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE) is revolutionizing real estate ownership by providing a new and better way for owners to unlock the value of the land beneath their buildings. Having created the modern ground lease industry in 2017, Safehold continues to help owners of high quality multifamily, affordable housing, office, industrial, hospitality, student housing, life science and mixed-use properties generate higher returns with less risk. The Company, which is taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT), seeks to deliver safe, growing income and long-term capital appreciation to its shareholders. Additional information on Safehold is available on its website at www.safeholdinc.com.
About The NRP Group:
The NRP Group is a vertically integrated developer, owner, builder, and manager of best-in-class multifamily housing with a mission to create exceptional rental housing communities for individuals and families, regardless of income. Since its founding in 1994, NRP has developed more than 62,000 apartment homes and currently manages over 30,000 residential units. Through its disciplined approach to vetting opportunities, NRP has established a track record of delivering impressive returns for investors. The company’s formidable size and depth of talent provide the experience and infrastructure necessary to execute developments of varying degrees of complexity and scope in both urban-infill and suburban locations, including market-rate, affordable, mixed-income, and senior housing. The NRP Group has been consistently named a largest developer and builder in the U.S. on the NMHC “Top 50” lists, the Top 5 on the Multi-Housing News’ “Top Multifamily Developers” list, named a Top Affordable Housing Developer by Affordable Housing Finance, and has won three NAHB Pillar awards since 2020 for Development, Construction and Ones to Watch. The NRP Group has become the top multifamily developer in the U.S. that creates both affordable and market-rate housing at a national scale. Based on over 30 years of experience and expertise, NRP provides construction and property management services to outside owners and developers. For additional information, visit www.nrpgroup.com.
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SOURCE Safehold
AUSTIN (Nexstar) – During a Texas Senate Business and Commerce hearing Wednesday, lawmakers heard invited testimony examining soaring property and casualty insurance costs. Testimony focused on the need for more affordable options and the need to address the role of AI.
Increased costs
Amanda Crawford, the Commissioner of Insurance at the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), acknowledged the reality of rising insurance costs for everyday Texans.
“The past few years have been very, very difficult. The average annual homeowner premium in Texas has increased from under $2,000 in 2020 to over $3,500 today. It’s a 79% increase in six years. That is a tremendous burden for Texans, especially for a necessary product like home insurance,” Crawford told lawmakers Wednesday.
Crawford went on to clarify that this increase can be attributed to increases in home values and claim costs related to severe weather.
“Annual homeowners’ losses averaged 5.5 billion from 2015 to 2020, rising to 9.1 billion from 2021 to 2025.” Crawford went on to say that “Last year alone, the National Weather Service recorded 902 hailstorms in Texas. The next closest state, Kansas, had 375.”
Holding insurance companies accountable
Crawford clarified that the TDI requires insurance companies to elaborate on their filings to ensure that Texans are not subject to unfair practices and prices.
“My expectations are that every rate filing submitted to TDI gets a careful review. We examine every statutory filing for statutory compliance. We verify the math, we scrutinize assumptions, we make them show their work”
According to the Texas Insurance Code, the rate review process conducted by the TDI does not explicitly focus on affordability.
“There is not a purpose in there around affordability. It is about driving market competition. It’s about making sure they’re not excessive, but then they’re also adequate. And it’s about having market forces drive the rates that are filed. So I think that’s an interesting perspective when you look at it, because that really frames the whole rate review process as it has been put into law.”
Insurance company officials say they are also focused on affordable costs.
“Our industry is not just saying, hey, legislators go fix all this. We are working all the time to bring down costs. It’s a good business decision because it helps us be more competitive,” said Scot Kibbe, the Vice President for State Government Relations at the American Property College for Insurance Association.
Concerns of price surveillance
Senator Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, questioned whether insurance companies may be using technological advances, such as AI, to participate in price surveillance, a tactic to maximize profits.
“It sounds like, to some extent, every industry, with the advent of technological advantages we didn’t use to have, is able to create a special price just for you to find out your breaking point,” Johnson said.
David Bolduc with the Office of Public Insurance Counsel noted that there are protections in statute against companies charging different prices for the same coverage. But he added that the practice can be difficult to detect.
“I don’t know that TDI has the ability to monitor that. I mean, we hear about it,” Bolduc said in response to Johnson. “I think, if you could do something in statute that would allow us to report it, or would allow TDI to take action about it, that might be useful in terms of monitoring it,” Bolduc added.
Earlier this month, the TDI released a “use of artificial intelligence” bulletin to set expectations on how “regulated entities will govern the development, acquisition, and the use of AI technologies in their operations.”
Crawford says this bulletin will help address price surveillance concerns by reminding companies of Texas Insurance codes related to unfair discrimination and deceptive practices.
“That’s one of the reasons for putting out the AI bulletin, the expectations and the consumer protection around the use of that data, and what they are using that for,” Crawford said.
Potential solutions
Bolduc called on lawmakers to reexamine AI’s role in the industry. He also asked lawmakers to look into making coverage changes more transparent.
“It might be useful to continue looking for ways to be transparent about coverage changes. Notices of material change don’t seem to be working particularly well in the sense that we get a lot of phone calls from people saying they don’t understand what happened to them,” Bolduc said Wednesday.
Billy Crocker, Senior Vice President of Alliant Insurance Services, says the best way to fix pricing is to drive up competition between insurance companies.
“I think creating a lot of competition is the best way to drive this down, both for personal and business lines,” Crocker told lawmakers. “And then that brings the opportunity for access.”
Austin, TX
Forman Capital Provides $28.2 Million Lot Development Loan for a 253-Acre Mixed-Use Project Near Austin, Texas
Forman Capital, a leading private direct commercial real estate lender, has closed a $28,204,026 lot development loan for The Highlands, a planned 253-acre mixed-use community located along Manzano Mile at FM 1431 in Marble Falls, Texas, located on the edge of the broader Austin MSA. The borrower and developer is Rockspring, a Texas-based real estate firm with more than three decades of experience across the state’s most dynamic growth markets.
The Highlands stretches along Manzano Mile, encompassing single-family homes, rental apartments, and retail commercial uses on undeveloped land. The Forman Capital loan will fund horizontal development in advance of vertical construction, which will be performed by other developers and builders, and is expected to start in the fall.
The Forman Capital team that worked on the transaction includes Scott Mehlman, Ty Regnier, Brett Forman and Ben Jacobson.
“Forman Capital has always been drawn to developers who are doing something meaningful — not just building but genuinely adding real value to a community. The Highlands does exactly that, bringing much-needed housing and amenities to a city that has grown faster than its supply could keep pace with. We are proud to support Rockspring’s vision here,” said Brett Forman, Forman Capital Managing Partner.
“Marble Falls and the 71 Highway corridor are benefiting from the same powerful tailwinds driving growth across Texas, with the added advantage of a quality-of-life profile that is attracting both residents and businesses,” said Scott Mehlman, Forman Capital Partner and Chief Investment Officer. “The Highlands is exceptionally well-positioned to meet that demand, and we look forward to seeing this community take shape.”
About Forman Capital
Delray Beach, Florida-based Forman Capital provides private commercial real estate debt and equity financing for transactions ranging from $10 million to $100 million. The firm focuses on short-term construction financing, mezzanine debt, and preferred equity across various real estate asset classes and geographies. Company principals Brett Forman and Ben Jacobson have closed more than $3 billion in commercial real estate transactions since 2004. For more information, visit www.formancap.com.
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