Zelenskyy Sacks Defense Minister, Putin Meets Erdogan, Americans Celebrate Labor Day

What's this mean for the ongoing counteroffensive against Russia?

Russian leader Vladimir Putin will meet with his Turkish counterpart today.

Could the meeting revive a vital deal that allows Ukraine to export its grain to the

world?

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It also comes near the end of a grinding and costly summer counteroffensive that so far

has failed to bring major victories against Russia.

Hi, Brian.

So this is being called the biggest shakeup in Kyiv since the Russia invasion.

Why this shakeup now?

but he said change is needed.

He says there the current defense minister, Alexei Reznikov, served during the first 550

days of this war.

Then Zelensky says, I believe the ministry needs new approaches and other forms of interaction

with the military and society at large.

So clearly acknowledging some of that public dissatisfaction.

Let's talk about these corruption scandals.

What were they?

Journalists and government investigators found numerous cases where military contractors

were inflating the prices of food procured for the military, often charging two to three

times the market price for basics like eggs and cabbages.

And there's been evidence some defense ministry officials were involved in that scheme.

The government's also investigating a large number of cases where men allegedly paid bribes

to avoid military service.

Zelensky didn't blame Reznikov for those scandals, but he did make this announcement right after

talking about the need for Ukraine to keep cleaning up corruption and implementing better

policies to root out crooked officials.

Zelensky tapped a guy named Rustem Umarov.

He's a member of parliament.

He's also a Muslim Ukrainian, an ethnic Tatar with deep roots in Crimea.

That's one of the regions occupied by Russia since 2014.

Umarov's been involved in international negotiations surrounding the treatment of Tatars and Ukrainians

living in occupied territories for years.

Some of those talks apparently involved back-channel negotiations with Russians.

He also took part in failed peace talks that happened right after Russia's full-scale invasion

of Ukraine last year.

I should say this appointment needs approval by Ukraine's parliament, but that's expected

to be a formality.

It may really signal a new approach here.

As we mentioned, this change also comes near the end of the summer's big counteroffensive.

Ukraine hoped to score big gains pushing Russia back out of occupied lands in the East and

South.

But as we've mentioned, progress has been slow.

Did that play into this decision?

Zelensky's been doing a lot of cheerleading lately, telling Ukrainians their army is gaining

ground, promising that these sacrifices will pay off.

But there's anxiety over the pace of the war and the huge loss of Ukrainian lives.

I spoke late yesterday with Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesman for the Unified Military Command,

where most of the heavy fighting is happening.

He said Ukraine is gaining ground, but slowly and at a steep price.

This isn't going to be an easy walk for our soldiers, Shtupun said.

The enemy's defensive structures are quite dense and a large amount of ammunition is

needed to destroy them.

So this is what Yumarov's going to face when he takes over, a situation where progress

is really slow.

And we are close now to the autumn rains that are going to turn this battlefield to mud,

which means the chances for breakthroughs going forward will be even harder.

Thanks, Brian.

sea blockade.

For about a year, grain and fertilizer shipments were allowed to continue in a deal mediated

by Turkey and the United Nations.

In July, Russia canceled the deal, and now they're back at the table.

Hi, Peter.

Geographically, Turkey has long seen itself as a regional power, one that follows its

own path.

For instance, Turkey never joined the international sanctions against Russia after it invaded

Ukraine.

Turkey continues with relatively good ties to Moscow.

Its continued trade and other contacts, the Russian tourists are back in droves here.

In addition, Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has long sought to portray Turkey

as a regional mediator.

He took some credit for the agreement reached last year, the one Moscow pulled out of in

July.

So as things stand, Turkey remains a loyal, if sometimes difficult, NATO ally, supporting

a UN plan to ease this crisis, while at the same time maintaining ties with Russia.

What does it seem like Russia wants, and what can Turkey and the West offer?

of this grain deal.

Russia had high expectations that the deal would provide a big boost to its own agricultural

and other exports, which had been curtailed by sanctions.

But Russian officials have complained that even under the deal, sanctions against Russia

engaging in certain financial transactions, other restrictions, like shipping, insurance,

things like that, they've continued.

Some people point out that Russian exports are, in fact, quite a bit higher than they

were when the deal kicked in, but that doesn't seem to be good enough for Russia.

So what happens if it and other commodities don't get moving again?

to countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

The United Nations has called it a major success in reducing the spike in prices we saw at

the beginning of the war.

So should this deal somehow collapse, should Russia resume a tougher blockade of Ukrainian

cargo ships in the Black Sea, experts say the prospect of food shortages in those regions

would increase significantly.

And then beyond that, some wonder, if this grain deal breaks down, what else could that

trigger?

A push for more sanctions against Moscow?

Could Russia double down on its drive to occupy Ukraine, or part of it?

In that light, some analysts say a credible move to increase Russian exports beyond where

they stand now could be seen as a sensible course of action.

Others, of course, warn against appeasing Moscow.

So we'll have to see how that plays out.

That's NPR's Peter Kenyon in Istanbul.

Thank you so much for your reporting.

wins at the bargaining table.

Polls show public support for unions is close to its highest level in more than half a century.

Organized labor still faces big obstacles, though, and for people who do not belong to

a union, their bargaining power depends in large part on the overall health of the job

market.

Andrea Hsu.

Good morning, Andrea.

seen high-profile efforts to organize workers at Starbucks cafes, Amazon warehouses.

So what's been the result?

Workers petitioned for more than 2,500 union elections last year, the highest level in

seven years, and it has slowed down a little bit this year.

But last year, less than half of the union elections ended up in wins for the unions,

and even fewer resulted in collective bargaining agreements, a union contract.

And you know, Leila, unionizing efforts at Starbucks first got underway two years ago.

Since then, more than 300 stores have unionized, but not one of them has a contract, and I

think that is one reason.

We have seen some slowdown in new organizing at Starbucks because baristas just aren't

seeing that there's been much gain for all their efforts.

And meanwhile, they have seen the lengths that the company has gone to to dissuade people

from unionizing.

We've seen baristas fired, stores have been closed, and while this is illegal, the penalties

are so minimal, they don't seem to be a deterrent.

A lot of roadblocks for those trying to form new unions.

Yeah.

What explains this continued enthusiasm?

Not only are unions popular again, but a new Gallup poll found 34% of respondents believe

unions are getting more powerful.

And that's a huge jump from just five years ago, when only 19% thought unions were gaining

strength.

And you can kind of see what's behind this shift.

This summer alone, pilots won big raises.

UPS drivers got what the Teamsters calls the most lucrative contract in UPS history.

And of course, the Biden administration is happy about this.

Workers are gaining not only historic raises, but also big quality of life improvements.

Here's Acting Labor Secretary Julie Hsu.

I think that is continuing to inspire, you know, what people have called like a hot labor

summer, right?

You know, workers standing up.

And the more we see that, I think the more we will see the benefits of real worker power.

We should point out, though, that now is the perfect time for unions to be putting up big

demands as these companies have been enjoying record profits.

Unions have been feeling good about their wins, but how long their leverage lasts is

unclear.

So what kind of leverage do non-union workers have?

But the thing that workers all over the country have going for them right now is the strong

job market.

Unemployment did rise a little bit last month, but it's still very low.

Employers are still adding jobs, 187,000 jobs in August.

And competition for workers has pushed up wages, especially for low-wage workers.

And all of that's good.

But, Layla, it's proving to be not really any match for the power of collective bargaining.

The Treasury Department issued a report last week that found, on average, unionized workers

earn 10 to 15 percent more than workers who aren't part of a union.

And they have better benefits.

And, of course, as industries are undergoing so much change, workers who are unionized

are more likely to have a say in how those changes are made.

So whether it's the transition to electric vehicles or the adoption of AI, you know,

these are all things being discussed in union negotiations going on right now.

And by the way, that same Gallup poll I mentioned found broad support for the union workers

in these negotiations.

Thanks, Andrea.

Tens of thousands of revelers are stranded in the Nevada desert after heavy rainfall

turned the annual week-long arts and countercultural event into a mud fest.

Authorities are also confirming one death, which is under investigation.

of the experience.

concrete.

It's a really unique experience.

It sticks to your shoes.

It sticks to your feet.

It's very difficult to get off.

You can't ride a bike on it.

You can't really drive on it.

Just whatever it touches, it sticks on.

Organizers closed access into and out of the temporary site for the remainder of the event,

which officially ends today.

tent all day and just like, you know, mope around.

So I decided to just like, yeah, make some food.

It really encouraged me to like, you know what, like, let's be a part of this and help

everyone out.

that she will be back.

He agrees the festival's sense of community sets it apart.

That was not in the brochure.

But helping out your neighbors and being here for everybody, that was in the brochure.

We know that.

And I think everyone's really able to do that and excited to do that.

for the little things.

You know, when you live without them, you realize, oh, modern plumbing.

That is a marvel.

With more rain and thunderstorms drenching the festival area yesterday, organizers have

asked attendees to conserve water and food and shelter in place for now.

But there is one sliver of good news.

A social media account associated with the Burning Man project's website says the traditional

climax of the festival, the burning of a giant man-like structure, will happen tonight.

And that's Up First for Monday, September 4th, Labor Day.

I'm Leila Faulden.

Today's episode of Up First was edited by Raphael Nam, Mark Katkoff, and Peter Granitz.

It was produced by Shelby Hawkins, Chad Campbell, Taylor Haney, and Ziad Butch.

We get engineering support from Carly Strange.

And our technical director is Nisha Hynes.

Start your day here tomorrow with us.

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