• Boeing restarted 737 Max production last Friday, Reuters reported.
• It comes nearly a month after a seven-week strike restrained the already embattled planemaker.
• Returning to previous production levels could take months but is key to restoring trust.

Boeing restarted production of its 737 Max aircraft last Friday, nearly a month after a strike that lasted seven weeks, Reuters reported.

A slowdown in 737 Max production this year has annoyed customers — further delaying deliveries of aircraft in an industry hampered by supply-chain constraints.

Getting production back on track will likely go some way to restoring trust with both airlines and regulators. Other issues remain, like achieving certification of the 777X, and a judge rejecting Boeing's plea deal over two Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Boeing declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider.

The Federal Aviation Administration limited Boeing's output of the type to 38 a month following January's Alaska Airlines blowout. Boeing had slowed beyond that as it works to overhaul its production practices.

Then, in mid-September, Seattle-area workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) went on strike. The strike brought 737 Max production to a halt and saw Boeing raise up to $24.3 billion to boost its liquidity.

After tense and protracted negotiations, union members voted to end the strike in early November.

In an October earnings call, CEO Kelly Ortberg said it would likely take a couple of weeks to bring everyone back, given recertification and retraining efforts.

The FAA told Reuters last month that it "will further strengthen and target our oversight as the company begins its return-to-work plan."

Boeing has a backlog of around 5,400 commercial aircraft worth roughly $428 billion. Around 4,700 of those are 737 Max jets.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker previously told Reuters that he would be surprised if it took less than multiple months for the company to reach the 38 maximum production limit.

Boeing's share price has dropped 37% since the start of the year. As of 5 a.m. ET, it was up about 0.5% in premarket trading following Reuters' report.

More than 150 employees at the cloud services giant Digital Ocean protested last year after its CEO explained in an all-hands meeting that his former mentor was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, which he said shows how employees can work together despite holding different beliefs. The CEO’s comments led to widespread outrage among employees on Slack, in a formal open letter, and in an employee walkout that has not been previously reported.

The all-hands meeting was intended to address the fallout of an employee posting an anti-LGBT meme on LinkedIn after the company changed its logo to be rainbow colored during Pride Month. 

404 Media has obtained video of a July 2023 meeting in which the then-CEO of Digital Ocean, Yancey Spruill, tells employees that a company's "values," are not the same as an individual employee’s personally held beliefs. Digital Ocean is a huge, publicly traded cloud services and data center provider that has become particularly important with the rise of AI. Spruill has since left the company.

"Every time we leave our home we have to bend our belief system because we engage with human beings who are different than us in any number of dimensions. And this is really critical that beliefs are not our values, our behaviors. However, we all have to sign up for the [company's] values," Spruill said. "All the companies I’ve ever been in, I don’t remember the numbers, the EBITDA, the projects I worked on. What I do remember is—did that company live and honor its values? Did the employees?"

• Trump is nominating GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to be his Secretary of Labor.
• She's a political moderate who's backed a pro-union bill that many Republicans don't like.
• That's earned her some initial praise from Democratic senators — and skepticism from the right.

As President-elect Donald Trump builds out his prospective cabinet, one nominee has emerged as a potential favorite of Democrats — and a headache for Republicans.

Trump announced last month that he's nominating Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a first-term Republican who just lost a tough reelection fight in a Democratic-leaning Oregon district, to serve as his Secretary of Labor.

Unlike most Republicans, she's positioned herself as an ally of labor unions, has co-sponsored major Democratic pro-union bills, and has earned the backing of some prominent labor leaders ahead of her Senate confirmation battle next year.

"Oftentimes, you'll get a nominee out of a Republican administration who has had an anti-labor record," said Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. "Her track record would suggest she could be a good advocate."

Chavez-DeRemer is one of just three House Republicans who've cosponsored the PRO Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that would override state-level "right-to-work" laws that Republicans have long supported while strengthening workers' ability to form unions. She was also one of just eight House Republicans to cosponsor a separate bill that would guarantee public-sector employees the right to organize.

"I've only heard good things," said Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. "She's a supporter of the PRO Act, and that's like the holy grail of labor."

Several Democratic senators have offered conditional praise for Chavez-DeRemer, indicating that they're willing to support her nomination if she commits to strengthening labor unions in her new position.

Meanwhile, many Republicans are declining to weigh in on her support for pro-labor legislation, saying they'd like to meet with her first. But a handful of them, particularly those who are more supportive of right-to-work laws, have publicly expressed reservations about her.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, wrote on X that he needed a "better understanding of her support for Democrat legislation in Congress that would strip Louisiana's ability to be a right to work state, and if that will be her position going forward."

"I don't know her, don't really know much about her record, other than what I've read," said Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. "Some of those things she supports would give me some concern."

A spokesperson for Chavez-DeRemer told BI that she would reserve comment on her nomination out of respect for the confirmation process, but that she looks forward to advancing the Trump administration's policies.

An 'early test' of the GOP's relationship with labor under Trump

Chavez-DeRemer's nomination comes as the GOP's relationship with labor has begun to shifted, with self-styled populists like Sens. JD Vance of Ohio and Josh Hawley of Missouri pushing for the party to take a more worker-friendly approach than it has before. And in recent years, organized labor and labor unions have enjoyed a bipartisan resurgence of support.

Fetterman argued that it was "smart" for Trump to nominate Chavez-DeRemer, given the drift of union voters into the GOP in recent elections. "I think that means that he's making a move to continue to grab even more votes out of the unions," said Fetterman.

But Chavez-DeRemer won't have singular power of labor policy in America, and Trump's appointees to the National Labor Relations Board will likely be especially consequential for workers and organized labor.

Biden's NLRB — which weighs in on labor-related cases and can investigate different labor disputes — has, among other labor-friendly moves, ruled that captive audience meetings are unlawful and set new precedents making it easier for workers to organize.

By contrast, Trump's NLRB took steps that ultimately weakened workers' organizing ability, including curtailing organizers's abilities to leaflet at employers' property and restricting areas where union organizers could be.

"Donald Trump has not exactly been an ally of working families and and labor. So if she's confirmed, we'll see how she does," said Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who said he wanted to make sure his fellow Oregonian got a "fair shake" in her confirmation hearings. "I'll be listening closely to her testimony."

In a statement offering conditional praise for Chavez-DeRemer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts argued that Chavez-DeRemer's nomination offers an "early test" of whether Trump will "stand strong with workers or bow down to his corporate donors and the Republican establishment's opposition."

"If Republican Senators block Trump's labor nominee for standing with unions, it will show that the party's support for workers is all talk," said Warren.

Hawley, who supports Chavez-DeRemer's nomination, said that her confirmation will indeed be a "test of whether or not the party is going to follow this president on his agenda for labor and for workers."

For now, many Republicans appear to be in wait-and-see mode — and a GOP desire to show party unity could help keep Republican support from cratering.

"My bias is supporting President Trump in staffing his administration with the people he wants around him," said Johnson.

"I don't support the PRO Act. I think the PRO Act is not good policy," said Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. "But I'll assess every nominee on the merits."

• Being born in the year of the dragon is auspicious, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.
• Dragon babies are regarded as smart, successful, and natural leaders.
• Experts say that being born in this year can make life harder at work and in school.

Jackson Koh was born in Singapore in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. Growing up, he says he was his aunts' and uncles' favorite — and he knows why.

"When I was young, every Chinese New Year, my relatives would ask, 'What zodiac is your child?' And my parents would say, 'Oh, he's a dragon,'" said Koh, a 23-year-old student at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

"And then all the relatives were, like, 'Wow! He's going to grow up to be very rich and very successful,'" he added.

"Obviously, listening to all this every year, it'll build up your ego. You just think, 'Oh, I'm a dragon, I'm special,'" Koh said.

Why the Dragon Year is special

There are 12 Chinese zodiac animals, arranged in the following order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The cycle repeats every 12 years.

Under the lunar calendar, 2024 is the year of the dragon.

The dragon is the only mythical creature among the dozen animals. It's considered the most auspicious zodiac by the Chinese — and people in Asia make it a point to procreate, with hopes of birthing a child in those 12 calendar months.

According to Singapore's Department of Statistics, births went from 36,178 in 2011 to 38,641 in 2012, the most recent dragon year. The number of births in the following year, 2013, dipped back down to 35,681.

A similar trend of dragon-year birth spikes was observed in 1988 and 2000.

People born in the dragon year are said to be natural leaders, intelligent, and charismatic.

"Dragon babies are, for the most part, intensely desired and prized by their parents. Culturally, dragons are held in the highest esteem — they were symbols of the emperor," Ee Cheng Ong, an associate professor of economics at the National University of Singapore (NUS), told Business Insider.

Special attention, but more competition

Several dragon babies in Singapore told Business Insider they were a source of pride for their family elders, who showered them with more attention because of their birth year.

Melissa Anne Lim, a self-employed 23-year-old, said that, like Jackson Koh, she was doted on growing up.

"My grandma loves that I'm a dragon," said Lim. "Being a dragon baby kind of gave me a little more special attention, from the aunties especially."

Dragon babies are also likely to face more competition in school and in the workplace from their direct peers.

"Because schools have limited resources, including numbers of classrooms, facilities, and teachers, it is indeed correct that people born in such years may face disadvantages in terms of having larger class sizes and more competition in accessing 'top schools,'" said Kelvin Seah, a senior economics lecturer at NUS.

And it's not just schools. Seah said dragon babies will also have a tougher time looking for jobs after graduation.

"There are only so many jobs available in the economy. The larger cohort size means more competition for the limited number of jobs after graduation," Seah said.

In 2017, researchers from NUS published a study on the life outcomes of dragon babies in Singapore.

The study — which had a sample size of 4,608 and is based on local birth, employment, and university admissions data from 1960 to 2015 in Singapore — found that Chinese dragon babies earned 6.3% less than other Chinese birth cohorts upon entering the workforce.

The study also found that Chinese dragon babies were 2.3% less likely to gain admission to local universities in Singapore.

A numbers game

In other places where the lunar year is observed — and accorded cultural significance — people born in the year of the dragon also face a unique set of challenges.

In China, for instance, dragon babies taking the gaokao, the country's marathon university entrance exams, may face more intense competition with a larger cohort, said Stuart Gietel-Basten, a professor of social science and public policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

China also sees birth rate spikes in dragon years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in 2012, China's birth rate reached 14.57 births per 1,000 people. That was an increase from 13.27 births per 1,000 people in 2011. Births dipped the following year, to 13.03 births per 1,000 people in 2013.

But the latest crop of dragon babies may have it easier, with competition evening out as birth rates drop.

And cultural expectations may be changing, Gietel-Basten added. Dragon babies might have once been subject to great pressure to exceed expectations, but Gietel-Basten says he'd be "surprised" if that same level of pressure would be applied to 2024's dragon babies as they grow older.

"You could even say that if you're a dragon baby, you become more confident," Gietel-Basten said. "And so you could prosper not out of the pressure that's been put on you, but because of that confidence."

Dragon baby spikes aside, birth rates remain low

Whether it's hard to be a dragon baby or not, one thing is clear: Asian countries — including Singapore and China, both of which follow the lunar year — are facing a birth rate problem.

In 2023, China's population fell for the second year in a row due to record-low birth rates. Singapore recorded a total fertility rate of 0.97 in 2023, the first time it had ever fallen below 1.0.

Policymakers across Asia are resorting to a wide range of measures to try to convince people to have more children.

In 2016, China dropped its controversial one-child policy and allowed couples to have two kids. The government changed its rules again in 2021 to let couples have up to three children.

Tokyo's government said in June that it was investing $1.3 million to launch its own dating app for residents. Japan's total population has declined for the 15th straight year in 2023.

Seoul is offering up to $730 in incentives to people looking to reverse their vasectomies and tubal ligations. South Korea in 2023 recorded the world's lowest fertility rate, at 0.72 births per woman.

Some leaders are using the allure of the dragon baby in their messaging to encourage more children.

In February, then-Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his annual Chinese New Year message that it is a good time for families to "add a 'little dragon.'"

"I hope my encouragement prompts more couples to try for a baby, although I know that the decision is a very personal one," Lee said.

But higher than ordinary birth rates in a given year can also stress social systems.

"If there's still a bunching of baby deliveries in dragon years, that will create tension within schools and public educational resources," said Qian Wenlan, a finance and real estate professor at the National University of Singapore. Qian co-authored the 2017 study about life outcomes for dragon babies in Singapore.

"In some years, you just have to employ more teaching staff — such as adjunct teachers, for example — to accommodate and to educate more students," Qian added.

Still, even if the road is paved with challenges, sometimes being born a dragon is little more than a happy accident.

"At the end of the day, there are many other factors to take into consideration when we family plan," Lim, the 23-year-old dragon baby, said. "I have a niece and nephew who were both born in the year of the dragon. Did their parents plan for them to be dragons? Not exactly — but it was a pleasant surprise."