Things To Do In SW Florida

By Taryn Phaneuf | NerdWallet

Screenwriters have been on strike for more than 100 days. In a country where the majority of people live paycheck to paycheck, voluntarily going so long without a steady income requires conviction — and planning.

Similar to a layoff, a worker on strike has to grapple with a loss of income and benefits for an indefinite period. Unlike a layoff, most striking workers can’t collect unemployment. The risk of strikers depleting their savings or getting behind on bills has made long strikes, such as the one by the Writers Guild of America, rare.

» MORE: How long do strikes usually last?

But strikes have a long history of securing higher wages and better conditions for workers because of their financial impact on the employer. That makes striking a valuable tool for today’s workforce, which faces high inflation and concerns over new technology such as artificial intelligence (AI).

If it’s possible you’d be part of a strike, start treating it as inevitable. The more savings you can set aside, the better you’ll feel about supporting the cause when the time comes. read more

Aldi’s acquisition of Winn-Dixie could put the discount grocery chain in contention for the second most grocery stores in the Orlando area, but how many stores will actually be changed is not yet known.

Illinois-based Aldi already has more than 40 stores in Orange, Seminole, Lake, Osceola and Volusia counties, with Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie clocking in with about 30.

Lakeland-based Publix, meanwhile, dwarfs its competitors with more than 180 in those counties. Walmart has more than 60, which means how many Winn-Dixie stores convert to Aldi locations could determine Orlando’s second-largest grocer by store count.

Winn-Dixie stores tend to be in older parts of town and Aldi stores in areas that have grown, said Justin Greider, a senior vice president and Florida retail lead at real estate firm JLL.

“There’s a really cohesive nature to the merger between the two,” Greider said. “It’s going to allow Aldi to capture the scale of Winn-Dixie’s footprint … and meet a more value-oriented customer’s needs in a better way.” read more