Greetings from the Burgh, where we are trying to bring back the Payday Report newsletter to three times a week.
Bring Payday Newsletter Back to Three Times a Week
In recent months, we haven’t been publishing the newsletter as much as I have been focused on trying to fundraise from foundations, unions, and community groups. I’ve been distracted by the stress and not focused enough on the newsletter.
If readers could donate some more than normal, we could rebuild the reserve fund, reduce my anxiety, and get back to publishing three times a week.
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Trump Tells Lula “I Love You” As He Visits US
Relationships between Brasil and the United States have been quite strained.
In March, Lula banned Dennis Beattie, a Trump envoy with Neo-Nazi ties, from entering Brasil to visit Bolsonaro in prison. At the time, Lula accused Trump of using Beattie to interfere in the Brazilian presidential election.
Trump has also been pressuring Lula to label the Brazilian drug gangs PCC and Comando Vermelho as “terrorist organizations.” In 2025, the Trump administration requested that the Lula Administration designate them as such, but the Lula Administration refused.
Lula fears that labeling the drug gangs as “terrorist organizations” would let the United States apply economic sanctions against Brasil if they did not take actions that meet the extremist desires of the Trump administration.
The Trump Administration could also force international banks to stop participating in PIX, a popular Brazilian wire transfer service operated by the Central Bank that allows people to transfer money without having to pay any fee. Many small businesses love PIX because they are able to avoid the expense of credit card swipe fees.
However, Trump has long accused PIX of helping terrorists transfer money. Finance companies have long sought to enter the Brazilian money transfer market, but the free cost of PIX has made it nearly impossible for them to do so.
The terrorist designations could also mean that the Trump Administration could directly undertake military actions against groups within Brasil. Already, the Trump Administration is conducting military operations in neighboring countries, including Ecuador and Paraguay, and could easily expand its operations into Brasil.
Labeling the groups as “terrorists” would allow the Trump Administration to bypass the Lula Administration and take military actions directly with the military police forces controlled by right-wing state governors aligned with ex-President Jair Bolsonaro.
(For more on the dispute between Trump and the United States, check out our story here.)
However, none of these subjects came up in the meeting between Lula and Trump. Instead, things appeared to be quite cordial and warm as they focused mainly on issues of rare earth minerals in Brasil.
According to the leading Brazilian news outlet Globo, prior to the meeting, Trump called Lula and told him about how he had been researching Lula’s biography. Trump told Lula how much he admired Lula, telling him “I love you.”
(The comments continue an unusual fanboy mentality that the fascist US President has had toward the autoworkers’ union leader turned Brazilian President)
For three hours, Lula and Trump met behind closed doors with no reporter present. Afterwards, Trump praised Lula at length, calling him a “good guy” and “very dynamic.”
At the Brazilian embassy in Washington, Lula agreed that the meeting was very productive.
“I leave the U.S. with an important step forward in consolidating the democratic and historical relations with the U.S.,” said Lula.
50,000 German Students to Strike Against Conscription
In Germany, more than 50,000 students are expected to go on strike against plans to reintroduce mandatory military conscription. Students say they are intentionally striking tomorrow on May 8th.
“VE Day on 8 May [1945] was the day that German fascism was defeated in Europe,” Kramer, a student of educational science at the University of Göttingen told the Guardian. “We use this date to make clear the consequence of war and what the consequences of rampant militarisation can be.”
For more, check out the Guardian.
SoFi Stadium Workers to Strike If ICE Isn’t Banned from World Cup
In March, Payday Report covered how UNITE HERE was instructing members to refuse to work if ICE was present, citing provisions about workplace safety enshrined in their contracts. Now, UNITE HERE is threatening to strike at the SoFi Stadium if iCE isn’t banned from the World Cup.
From the LA Times:
Isaac Martinez has been working as a cook at SoFi Stadium for four years. He’s worked dozens of events including NFL games, a Super Bowl, Taylor Swift concerts, Wrestlemania and the college football national championship game.
And he’s never been afraid to come to work. Until now.
He’s not alone. With the World Cup kicking off at the Inglewood venue next month, Martinez says he and many of the people who work in food services and other jobs at the stadium won’t feel safe if federal immigration agents are present during the tournament.
“Most of the workers are afraid. They fear for their safety,” Martinez said in Spanish. “This is also about the fans. People come from everywhere, even from Iran. So we’re concerned about their safety.”
For more, check out the LA Times.
Alright folks, that’s all for today. Keep sending tips, complaints, comments, and cooking recipes to melk@paydayreport.com
[Donate to Cover Labor in News Deserts
Payday Report is an Emmy-nominated labor outlet that has published over 1,500 articles over 10 years.
Payday ReportMike Elk
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