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News Avatar: The Last Airbender Hold On to Your Cabbages! Netflix Released an Avatar: The Last Airbender Trailer Get your first look at the g(a)ang in the action-packed trailer for Netflix’s live-action Last Airbender series. By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on January 24‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed Pause Play More From adaptations See All Posts News Doctor Who Andor’s Varada Sethu Will Climb Aboard the TARDIS for Doctor Who’s Fifteenth Season By Molly Templeton January 24‚ 2024 News Academy Awards Here Are the Genre Films That Scored 2024 Oscar Nominations By Vanessa Armstrong January 23‚ 2024 News sci-fi tv Traveling to Outer Space Will Mess Up Your Mind‚ According to Constellation Trailer By Vanessa Armstrong January 22‚ 2024 Featured Essays Avatar: The Last Airbender A Quick Guide to the Avatar: The Last Airbender Extended Universe By Cole Rush January 24‚ 2024 Comment 0 icon-left-caret Caret See All Posts We’re less than a month away from the release of Netflix’s live-action rendition of the beloved animated series‚ Avatar: The Last Airbender. The lead-up to the show’s premiere has been one of cautious excitement‚ given that many fans still have a bad taste in their mouths from the M. Night Shyamalan iteration‚ and the news that the creators of the animated series left the Netflix project over creative differences. The trailer today appears to at least assuage worries that the new series would veer away from the original one. Several scenes in this clip mirror moments from the animated show‚ giving some fans at least (it’s me‚ I’m the fan) a feeling of déjà vu when viewing. Appa and Momo also look pretty great‚ which is no small feat given the adaptation of magical animated characters to live-action productions doesn’t always go so well—just ask the creative team on the Sonic: The Hedgehog movies. The casting here all looks fantastic as well‚ and the actors—including Gordon Cormier‚ who plays Aang—are also optimistic that fans‚ new and old‚ will enjoy the new show. “Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action I feel like is going to bring everything you know and love about the original series back to life‚” Cormier said during a fan event in Brazil earlier this year. “And hopefully [it will] just bring a bunch of new fans who have never heard [of] the show before into this universe‚ and to me that’s pretty exciting. I’m a fan of the show personally‚ and I’m just as excited for this as you guys are.” If you’re one of those potential new fans‚ here’s the official synopsis of the show: Water. Earth. Fire. Air. The four nations once lived in harmony‚ with the Avatar‚ master of all four elements‚ keeping peace between them. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and wiped out the Air Nomads‚ the first step taken by the firebenders towards conquering the world. With the current incarnation of the Avatar yet to emerge‚ the world has lost hope.But like a light in the darkness‚ hope springs forth when Aang‚ a young Air Nomad—and the last of his kind—reawakens to take his rightful place as the next Avatar. Alongside his newfound friends Sokka and Katara‚ siblings and members of the Southern Water Tribe‚ Aang embarks on a fantastical‚ action-packed quest to save the world and fight back against the fearsome onslaught of Fire Lord Ozai. But with a driven Crown Prince Zuko determined to capture them‚ it won’t be an easy task. They’ll need the help of the many allies and colorful characters they meet along the way. All episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender premieres on Netflix on February 22‚ 2024. [end-mark] The post Hold On to Your Cabbages! Netflix Released an <;i>;Avatar: The Last Airbender<;/i>; Trailer appeared first on Reactor.

Excerpts Read an Excerpt From Marie-Helene Bertino’s Beautyland A wise‚ tender novel about a woman who doesn’t feel at home on Earth. By Marie-Helene Bertino | Published on January 24‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed More From Beautyland See All Posts Rereads and Rewatches Military Science Fiction Hope Amid Horrors: Redliners by David Drake By Alan Brown January 23‚ 2024 Comment 0 Book Recommendations A Vicious And Enthralling First Contact: Seth Dickinson’s Exordia By Charles Bonkowsky January 23‚ 2024 Comment 0 Rereads and Rewatches Star Trek: Enterprise Star Trek: Enterprise Rewatch: “Terra Prime” By Keith R.A. DeCandido January 22‚ 2024 Comment 3 Excerpts Nisi Shawl Read an Excerpt From Nisi Shawl’s Kinning By Nisi Shawl January 22‚ 2024 Comment 0 icon-left-caret Caret See All Posts We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino‚ out now from Farrar‚ Straus and Giroux. At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space carrying its famous golden record‚ a baby of unusual perception is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. Adina Giorno is tiny and jaundiced‚ but she reaches for warmth and light. As a child‚ she recognizes that she is different: She possesses knowledge of a faraway planet. The arrival of a fax machine enables her to contact her extraterrestrial relatives‚ beings who have sent her to report on the oddities of Earthlings.For years‚ as she moves through the world and makes a life for herself among humans‚ she dispatches transmissions on the terrors and surprising joys of their existence. Then‚ at a precarious moment‚ a beloved friend urges Adina to share her messages with the world. Is there a chance she is not alone? In the beginning there is Adina and her Earth mother. Adina (in utero)‚ listening to the advancing yeses of her mother’s heart and her mother in the labor room‚ vitals plunging. Binary stars. Adina‚ swaying in zero gravity. Térèse‚ fastened to the operating table. The monitor above the bed reports on their connected hearts: beating heart‚ heart‚ beating heart‚ beating. Térèse’s blood pressure plummets as Adina advances through the birth canal; she has almost reached Earth. At this moment‚ Voyager 1 spacecraft launches in Florida‚ containing a phonograph record of sounds intended to explain human life to intelligent extraterrestrials. It is September 1977 and Americans are obsessed with Star Wars‚ a civil war movie set in space. Bounding to the stage after hearing her name‚ a Price Is Right contestant loses her tube top and reveals herself to a shocked Burbank audience. In the labor room of Northeast Philadelphia Regional‚ no one notices Térèse’s plummeting blood pressure. Something lighter and more conscious detaches and slips beneath the body on the table‚ underneath the floor and sediment‚ landing in a corridor of waist-deep water. Behind her‚ unembodied darkness. Far in front‚ over an expanse of churning waves‚ a certain‚ cherishing light. Térèse wants the light more than she wants health‚ more than she wants this baby’s father to become a shape that can hold a family. She forces one leg through the water then the other‚ trying to paddle herself like a vessel. * * * The contents of Voyager 1’s record were chosen by Carl Sagan‚ a polarizing astronomer who wears natty turtleneck-blazer combos and has been denied Harvard tenure for being too Hollywood. Carl and his team have assembled over a hundred images depicting what they decided were typical Earth scenes: a woman holding groceries‚ an insect on a leaf. The sounds include Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode‚” the sorrowful cries of humpback whales‚ and recordings of the brain waves of Carl’s third wife. Footsteps‚ heartbeats‚ and laughter. Destinationless‚ Voyager 1 will travel 1.6 light-years: farther than any human-made object. At a press conference Carl says that launching this bottle into the cosmic ocean is intended to tell “the human story.” * * * The astronomers hoped to include the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun‚” but Columbia Records asked for too much money. It’s hard to make human beings believe in things. Also not included is 1977’s top hit “Barracuda‚” though every story hummed that year over the upholstered dividers of United Skates of America or yelled between cars pinned atop Auto World pistons or delivered through the eldritch mists of Beautyland’s perfume section is told over the twinned guitars of the two-sister band from Chicago. It plays on the radio in the nurses’ station at Northeast Regional. A speck of Panasonic rustle between songs. Buy the Book Beautyland Marie-Helene Bertino Buy Book icon-close Beautyland Marie-Helene Bertino Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget The current is too strong; Térèse makes no progress. The light remains distant. She cries out. The fright of a huge suck pulls Adina through to big white. Térèse regains consciousness under unfriendly lamps‚ baby on her naked chest. The baby is too small. Her skin and eyes appear lightly coated in egg. She is placed under a phototherapy lamp. Lit blue-green by the mothering light‚ yearning toward its heat‚ she appears other than human. Plant or marine life‚ maybe. An orchid or otter. A shrimp. * * * Adina: nobleGiorno: day * * * Térèse watches through the nursery window as her new daughter fails to reach the light. Adina will hear this story several times in her life and in her imagination Térèse will wear a strapless red corset and capelet like Ann Wilson on the cover of Little Queen‚ only Sicilian‚ and with roller skates‚ humid late-season wind blowing through the doors. Her hair will glisten darkly with Moroccan oil‚ too coarse to relent to the popular feathering style. In reality‚ Térèse has been arranged into a wheelchair by the nurses‚ feeling retracted to Earth by an unkind thread. The collar of her hospital gown falls beneath her collarbone. Her baby unrolls a tiny fist and she thinks of her unchained friends‚ Adina’s father among them‚ on their way to the club. She is too tired to realize that pursuing him is following the promise of a dead star. The nurses chat about the Price Is Right contestant. Did it on purpose‚ one says. The first part of Térèse’s life is over. He will never again beg to hold her perfect nipple in his mouth. She will never again be wild Térèse dancing on the lit floor at Bob and Barbara’s. Her parents will not support her. She is this tiny baby’s mother‚ mother‚ mother. The she in Adina’s head. In Adina’s imagination‚ her mother will gaze through the nursery window‚ electric guitar chevroning behind her. In reality‚ Térèse is perforated by exhaustion‚ parentless‚ barely returned from death’s corridor. Even the hospital gown refuses to help; its foolish smile exposes half a perfect breast. * * * But the womb is Adina’s second lost home. The first has already tumbled three hundred thousand years away. A planet in the approximate vicinity of the bright star Vega‚ in the northern constellation of Lyra. Intelligent extraterrestrials have sent their own probe in a form and to a location no academic—not even Carl Sagan—could anticipate. It is an interstellar crisscross apple sauce. Two celestially significant events occurring simultaneously: The departure of Voyager 1 and the arrival of Adina Giorno‚ early and yellowed like old newspaper. If like a newspaper Voyager intends to bring the news‚ this baby is meant to collect it‚ though no one knows that yet‚ including her. Even as the spacecraft breaches the troposphere‚ the delicate probe stretches her fist toward a heat lamp in the pediatric ward of Northeast Regional‚ having just been born—or landed—depending on perspective‚ premature. Wriggling‚ yearning‚ recovering in heat‚ full head of thick black hair‚ at the moment she is still mostly salt and feeling. * * * This family‚ trying‚ lives across from Auto World in Northeast Philadelphia. Their apartment comprises the bottom floor of a two-unit brick building attached to another brick building‚ attached to another brick building‚ and so on‚ et cetera-ing down the highway. These are starter row homes. This is a starter family. The complex’s lawn‚ newly mowed‚ emits a pleasant fecund smell to the cars speeding by and to Adina’s father‚ where he crouches‚ glaring at a screwdriver. If he keeps his city job they’ll move to the suburbs where within years he will not rent but own an unattached house. They’ll have a yard that’s only theirs‚ a grill‚ a tree‚ and enough space for each family member to do things alone. There is no solo activity in the row home across from Auto World. Being a father is alien to this man but he’s trying. Today‚ he will use metal to add wood to wood and produce a swing‚ the way a man plus a woman and baby makes a family. Each row home is designed like a cadaver lying flat on a table: at the prow of the apartment is an abbreviated entryway that normally holds Adina’s kicked-off boots and her mother’s neatly arranged work pumps‚ hallway like a throat leading to the open kitchen‚ the torso a family room big enough to hold a couch and a half-moon table covered in the open faces of their books‚ a fart of a bathroom‚ two small back bedrooms. Wood paneling. Everything possible painted beige. In front of Auto World a flying man twists and gyrates‚ making Adina and her mother giggle as they pull into their driveway. Four-year-old Adina wakes from a nap and moves through the apartment‚ surprised to find the family room empty. Where are they? She believes she is the nucleus of every interaction and while she sleeps her parents pray for her to wake. She is still inactivated. She is still upturned to the sun. She cannot stop thinking about the bunnies she saw on the lawn the previous day under a bush‚ heads pressed together in a soft shamrock. There are no cookies in the jar and the fridge is filled with off-limits bottles. Kid math: if her mother is rustling in her bedroom then her father must be in the backyard. There is still as much chance Adina will go to her father as her mother. She pauses. The home itself—every crock on the shelf‚ every bill—seems to pause. The swing wins. Adina longs to sit weightless on a piece of oak fastened to rope. The vehicle of upward thrust. There is no reason to have a swing. This makes the swing an anomaly because in addition to its intended purpose every object in the apartment must also function in two or three other ways. Everything repurposed‚ everything salvaged. Even she‚ the child‚ was meant to fulfill several things at once: to be silent‚ useful‚ hardworking‚ a credit to her father. That morning‚ her mother pulled a fax machine from a neighbor’s trash and‚ holding it aloft like a prized marlin‚ engaged in conversation with herself. “Why would anyone throw this out? Probably because they want the latest model. But it could clearly be a planter!” (Anything about to be trashed was first tried as a planter.) “It even comes with paper!” (She unearthed the roll from the trash‚ brandishing it in front of herself and Adina.) “I’ll bet it works. Paper! People are crazy.” (People were always crazy.) Her father said it was ugly and no one he knew had one in their home and it should stay in “the child’s” room. “Fine‚” her mother said in her not-fine voice and carried the fax machine to Adina’s room where it claimed most of her bureau’s top. Except for the paper tray‚ city-pigeon gray‚ the machine was the color of the orthopedic shoes the employees wore at her mother’s job. A slim phone posed beside a bank of flat buttons with scripted numbers that glowed when her mother plugged it in. Portals to the business world. Adina’s mother slid a sheet of paper into the tray. “Who should we fax?” Adina didn’t know any phone numbers except her own. Her mother dialed: 215-999-1212. The machine whirred to life‚ trembled pleasantly as it pulled the paper through itself‚ went silent. “What happens now?” Adina heard her father in the backyard‚ readying his tools. The woosh of cars on the street. A clicking sound from a private place inside the machine. A sheet of paper launched from an internal chamber Adina and her mother had not anticipated. An error message: no answer. Adina’s mother’s eyes were wide. “Incredible.” * * * It is impossible to be unhappy on a swing. Even at four‚ Adina knows this. She wants it to be finished so she can be as happy as she needs to be. She wants her father to swing her until she is high enough to reach the porch’s tin ceiling. “Is it finished‚ Daddy?” But some immeasurable slanted expression over breakfast has dug a divot into him. Her mother thinks he’s weak or unable to build a swing. She thinks she’d be better off alone. He is. He is. She would be. Even though the plates are his‚ the table his‚ the yard‚ the everything is provided by him. The nail’s failure to find purchase in the flaccid wood has dug that divot even farther. Now this brown berry kid wants to check his progress? Is he finished. Thank you‚ how about. Her father’s neck bulges with veins in an unmatchable shade of red. He pushes Adina out of his space. Maybe he forgets the five concrete steps leading to the shared yard when he pushes her again. The concrete and the trimmed grass offer little to cushion her brief fall. Falls. In the kitchen her mother lifts a glass of water to her mouth. She drinks eight a day‚ soundlessly‚ one after the other. She hears a neighbor call her name and hurries to the backyard where Adina is a quiet lump on the pavement. How long does Adina stay outside the realm of human voices? Seconds? A century? She wakes to her mother shaking her‚ screaming go back inside to a constellation of worried neighbors. Earth to Adina. Come in‚ Adina. Adina reboots. Some things return immediately and some take time. A tin taste sours her mouth. Her mother’s steel grip on her shoulders‚ helping her stand. Her father’s gaze locked on the abandoned tools on the ground. Adina is activated. * * * That night‚ Adina “wakes” in a room designed to appear as a classroom. The English alphabet borders the walls. An aquarium with blinking blue fish and a shelf filled with globes. The scene is stitched from what she has seen from classrooms on television and the visit she made to the grade school she will attend the following year. They are using human objects so she will understand. Her superiors are an area near the front of the class that shimmers and evokes the sense of the singular plural. Multi-souled‚ multi-personed Shimmering Area. The closest human word for how they communicate is intuiting. They intuit toward Adina and she receives the message. This is her native tongue. It makes sense that she dreams in it and that using it fills her with ease. She intuits the Shimmering Area is both a location and a doorway. The lights dim. An ivory screen descends from the top of the chalkboard and fills with projected images. A switchboard operator pulls a line from a connection. Two housewives talk on the phone. A formally dressed man ducks into a telephone booth to make an emergency call. Adina consults the Shimmering Area for whatever is next. A familiar object flashes onto the screen‚ the fax machine her mother pulled from the trash. A disembodied hand feeds a sheet of paper with nondescript handwriting into it and presses the large green key. The paper churns through the mechanism. As it emerges on the other side‚ the machine and paper glow. Joyful sparks beam out. Excerpted from Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino. Published by Farrar‚ Straus and Giroux. Copyright © 2024 by Marie-Helene Bertino. All rights reserved. The post Read an Excerpt From Marie-Helene Bertino’s <;i>;Beautyland<;/i>; appeared first on Reactor.

While it’s possible to find the Pals that bosses use in the towers‚ they are slightly different. Furthermore‚ these bosses have a human connected to them‚ so finding them in the wild is not possible. But thanks to the ever-growing community‚ players have found out how to catch tower bosses in Palworld. It should be stated before anything else that this is a bug in the game. If you try to catch a tower boss without performing these upcoming steps‚ you won’t be able to catch it. This bug still works as of version 0.1.2.0 of Palworld‚ and we want to credit Reddit user Krossbloom for the fantastic findings of this bug. Be sure to check back here for updates on whether Pocketpair patched this unique glitch. Can you catch tower bosses in Palworld? Screenshot: PC Invasion Players can catch tower bosses in Palworld thanks to this interesting bug that players have discovered. The bug requires you to become wanted before enter...

Game Pass continues to be one of the best deals in gaming‚ but only if it has good games. Being that Enshrouded is a good game‚ is it on Game Pass? Is Enshrouded available on Xbox‚ PC‚ or Ultimate Game Pass? At the time of writing this‚ Enshrouded is not available on Game Pass. Whether you have Xbox‚ PC‚ or Ultimate Game Pass‚ you won’t find Enshrouded available in that library. Related: How to create a dedicated server in Enshrouded My thought on why Enshrouded isn’t on Game Pass is that it’s a Steam exclusive right now. It can’t be because Enshrouded is in Early Access because Palworld is also in Early Access and it’s on Game Pass. I think it comes down to Keen Games only making Enshrouded work on PC via Steam for now. Keen Games has made it clear that Enshrouded will come to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 in the future. In fact‚ you can play Enshrouded right now on PC via Steam with a controller and it works w...

If you’re playing a Druid in Diablo 4 Season 3 like I am‚ you’ll probably need to know about the best Seneschal Construct builds for Druids. Although there are many good general builds for your robot friend‚ there are certain builds that better support your class. Let’s go over the best Governing and Tuning Stones to use for Druids. Best Seneschal Construct Governing and Tuning Stones for Druids in Diablo 4 Depending on your Druid build‚ you may prefer different types of Governing and Tuning Stones for your Seneschal. You can hold two Governing Stones for abilities‚ then three Tuning Stones per ability to enhance them. Without further ado‚ let’s dive into the best Druid Seneschal Construct builds in Diablo 4. The Governing and Tuning Stones you choose depend on whether you’re in the endgame or early-game. We’ll categorize them accordingly so you can figure out which Seneschal Construct build works best for your ...

Having to constantly craft resources and travel across the map to sell items in Palworld can get tedious. Thankfully‚ there is a relatively easy solution to this problem. We’re going to take advantage of a “feature” in the game and figure out how to have merchants at a base in Palworld. How to assign merchants at a base in Palworld Screenshot: PC Invasion While there is a Traveling Merchant who may visit your base from time to time‚ this isn’t a guarantee. Furthermore‚ there are some locations that the Traveling Merchants won’t visit. So if you’re base is located within these areas‚ you might not have even known about Traveling Merchants. All the more reason to have one at your base. Merchants are found throughout the map of Palworld. There are varying levels of merchants‚ as well as varying shop items for you to purchase. Our guide will show you how to transfer one of these merchants to your base. This not only ...

In their latest attack on the integrity of the U.S. Supreme Court‚ House Democrats are urging Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from a case involving former President Donald Trump’s eligibility to appear on Colorado’s Republican primary ballot. Their reasoning is simple‚ but dangerously misguided: Because Thomas’ wife‚ Ginni‚ has expressed opinions about Trump and the 2020 election‚ he should be barred from adjudicating any case involving Trump and elections. Such reasoning is unfair‚ unsound‚ unwarranted and strikingly hypocritical. In 2011‚ Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to recuse himself from a constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8 on same-sex marriage even though his wife had spoken publicly about the case and her organization‚ the ACLU of Southern California‚ had filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing for the law to be struck down. Saying that his wife’s views “are hers‚ not mine‚ and I do not in any way condition my opinion on the positions she takes regarding any issues‚” the now-deceased Reinhardt declined to recuse himself and ruled against the ban. There was‚ of course‚ no left-wing outrage over Reinhardt’s decision. In fact‚ liberal ethics professor Stephen Gillers supported Reinhardt’s decision‚ arguing “a spouse’s views and actions‚ however passionately held and discharged‚ are not imputed to her spouse‚ and Judge Reinhardt is not presumed to be the reservoir and carrier of his wife’s beliefs.” Similarly‚ all one could hear from the Left was the quiet sound of crickets at night when Judge Nina Pillard of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit refused to recuse herself in cases including a challenge to the conditions of confinement of detainees at Guantanamo Bay‚ in which the ACLU took a position‚ even though her husband was that organization’s national legal director. Ginni Thomas’ relationship to the Trump case is‚ of course‚ far more attenuated than those instances. She has no involvement or direct interest in the case and has just as much of a right to comment on public matters as anyone else. Ginni Thomas did not lose her First Amendment rights when her husband—who was recently (and accurately) described by constitutional law professor Steven Calabresi as “incorruptible in every sense of that word”—became a judge. In addition to using Ginni Thomas as a cat’s-paw in a desperate attempt to try to change the balance of the Supreme Court‚ the Left has shamelessly smeared her character. Even a cursory view of the facts disproves House Democrats’ unfounded‚ thoroughly outlandish claim that Ginni Thomas “was instrumental in planning [the Jan. 6 rally] and bringing the insurrectionists to the Capitol.” Ginni Thomas fully cooperated with the Jan.  6 Committee‚ complying with document requests and participating in a thorough four-hour interview. Her name does not appear even once in the 845-page committee report. The Democrats’ “by any means necessary” attempt to tarnish Ginni Thomas with the events of Jan. 6 is a transparent ploy to inject politics into the Supreme Court‚ undermine its independence‚ and affect policy outcomes to achieve their political objectives. All of this comes atop their months-long effort to impose arbitrary and unreasonable ethical standards that would undermine the court’s independence. All the justices—both liberal and conservative—have made clear that they have long adhered to a Code of Conduct‚ which they reiterated in a recently released statement. Many of the guidelines to which the justices adhere go beyond those followed (or not‚ as the case may be) by members of Congress‚ exposing to anyone who cares to look that what the Democratic members who have been decrying false claims of judicial improprieties really want is “rules for thee‚ but not for me.” The latest attacks on Clarence Thomas are merely a continuation of the Left’s dangerous political campaign to exert pressure on the justices and to destroy the legitimacy of the Supreme Court because they are displeased with some of the court’s opinions. But however hard they try‚ and however much they squawk‚ they will once again fail. Clarence Thomas is not going anywhere. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post The Left’s Calls for Justice Thomas’ Recusal Are Baseless‚ Hypocritical appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The percentage of workers who belong to unions in the U.S. notched down to a record-low 10.0% in 2023‚ from 10.1% in 2022. The peak for unionization in the U.S. was about 35% in the mid-1950s. Even more noteworthy is the shrinking gap between union and nonunion wages‚ which fell to a record-low of 15.0% in 2023. That’s roughly half the peak of 29.3% as recently as 2007. Among private sector workers‚ the decline is wage differences is even more stark. The gap between union and nonunion wages fell by two-thirds between 2007 and 2023‚ from 24.9% to 8.4%.   Historically‚ union wages have been significantly higher than nonunion wages. That’s because unions function like cartels to drive up wages for the workers they represent‚ which restricts the number of workers companies can employ and creates upward pressure on company prices. Selection bias‚ such a union’s seniority-based pay scales and “last-hired‚ first-fired” layoff rules‚ can also elevate union wages above nonunion wages. Until recently‚ the wage differential between union and nonunion workers in the U.S. was around 25%. That gap has plummeted in recent years as nonunion workers’ wages have grown faster than those of union workers. Between 2019 and 2023‚ nonunion wages rose 22.2% (before inflation) while union wages rose only 15.8%. Consequently‚ the difference between union and nonunion wages fell from 21.3% in 2019 to 15.0% last year. Unions’ wage advantage has declined across nearly every industry over the past four years‚ with the exception of the education and leisure &; hospitality sectors. In some industries‚ the decline in union wage advantages has been especially steep. In health care and social services‚ the union wage advantage was cut in half from 2019 to 2023‚ from 18.2% to 9.2%. In the wholesale and retail trade‚ the difference between union and nonunion wages disappeared‚ from 4.4% to 0%. And in manufacturing‚ unions’ wage advantage reversed‚ from 3.1% in 2019 to -4.0% in 2023‚ with nonunion manufacturing wages now exceeding union pay. So‚ why have unionization rates and union wages been falling despite significant union-organizing efforts at places such as Starbucks‚ Amazon and Trader Joe’s‚ as well as President Joe Biden’s “whole of government” approach toward increasing unionization? Primarily‚ it’s because unions aren’t providing things that workers want or need. Many workers don’t like unions spending their dues on politics instead of representation‚ their not infrequent deception and coercion to gain support or their rigid structures that impede flexibility and prohibit performance-based pay. Meanwhile‚ by engaging directly with their employers‚ workers have been able to achieve stronger wage gains (albeit entirely erased by inflation)‚ increased workplace flexibility‚ expanded benefits (such as paid family leave) and a multitude of educational opportunities. Those direct relationships allow workers to express their unique needs and desires‚ as opposed to having to go through a union whose singular voice does not necessarily represent their own. And while nonunion workers can approach their boss anytime regarding their compensation or schedule‚ unions’ contract negotiations are limited to once every three or more years.    The labor market will not stay as strong as it has been in recent years‚ and a slew of labor market regulations are poised to make it harder for workers to achieve rising wages and flexible work that meets their needs. That’s why it’s important that policymakers take action to protect workers’ rights and maximize their opportunities. The Employee Rights Act includes many important protections and much-needed labor law modernizations. And if unions want to attract more workers‚ they should offer new models of worker organization and use members’ dues on things that workers want. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.  The post Despite Biden’s Efforts to Empower Unions‚ Membership Rates and Wage Advantages Fall to All-Time Lows appeared first on The Daily Signal.