PTYD:
Post Traumatic Yoga Disorder, a big announcement, and the drink of Masters weekend
April 10th, 2026
In The News:
Forgive me for some self-indulgent behavior here as this isn’t in the mainstream news. Several of you wanted to know what my “Big Project” was all about and would I reveal exactly what I have been up to. Well, here it is. After retiring from PepsiCo at the end of 2024, I started up a small consulting firm I called Conlin Consulting. I know, very creative name. That firm had a pretty decent year simply through word of mouth and I was happy to partner up with my good friend and colleague, John Kavanagh. At the end of this past year, two other former team members also left PepsiCo and when I heard the news I made a couple of calls.
After some initial “What if’s” we got serious and began making some plans to launch a similar consulting firm but rebranded with even more expertise. This week we officially launched ManGar Solutions, a premier Labor and Employee Relations Consulting firm. ManGar? Well, that’s a play on their last names that we used to joke about when we all worked together. I am thrilled to have teamed up with Michelle Mantooth and Kirstin Casgar, two of the brightest minds when it comes to employee relations and employee treatment.
We are live on LinkedIn and our website is also live. You can access that here:
So that’s what took me a bit offline last week as we had a number of items to finalize and clean up. Conlin Consulting will continue to exist for current clients but will essentially partner with ManGar Solutions and going forward, clients will have access to all four of us which makes me extremely proud. Thanks for indulging me a bit.
What I am Following:
LA Teachers — April 14 or Else
Three unions representing nearly 68,000 Los Angeles teachers and staff could be headed for a strike on April 14 if LAUSD can’t get a deal done. United Teachers Los Angeles has been working without a contract for nine months. SEIU Local 99 and the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles could be walking out with them. Key sticking points include a 16% pay raise, mental health investment, and special education funding. The district says it’s already spending more than it takes in. Three unions striking simultaneously is rare. That’s worth paying some attention.
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/lausd-teachers-strike-negotiations-deadline/
JBS Meatpacking — Back to Work, But Not Done
After three weeks on the picket line, the largest meatpacking strike in over 40 years which occurred at JBS USA agreed to return to the negotiating table with UFCW Local 7 in Greeley, Colorado. Workers headed back to the plant April 7, but don’t mistake that for a complete resolution. The union’s core complaints remain: wages that haven’t kept pace with inflation and healthcare costs that are crushing workers in what the union says are some of the most physically demanding jobs. Negotiations were set for April 9 and 10. Stay tuned.
WGA Gets a Deal — AI Is the Real Story
The Writers Guild of America reached a tentative four-year agreement with Hollywood studios, ending the anxiety left over from their 148-day strike in 2023. The deal includes health plan improvements and, here’s the part I am watching: explicit protections against AI training on WGA members’ work. As AI continues to reshape how work gets done across every industry, expect to see contract language around AI become standard in negotiations everywhere. The WGA just set a template. Maybe...
https://onlabor.org/april-7-2026/
Something To Make You Think:
This is a bit out there but for those of you who know me well, I have been “practicing” (their term not mine) Hot Yoga for roughly the past two years. If you are unfamiliar with Hot Yoga, it is 26 postures (I call them self-torture poses) done over 90 minutes (There are 60-minute classes and that is what I do except once...more on that) in a hot room with the temperature around 105 degrees perhaps trending towards 110 degrees. Why is this something to make you think? Because, if you know me, most of my exercise routine has involved 12 oz curls and napping. So, there you have it. Old dog, new trick.
I did try a 90-minute class about a month ago with my wife who has been doing Hot Yoga for nearly 10 years, and it was an unmitigated disaster. It was not at our usual place. The instructor appeared to be hung over, and she had the room at 120 degrees. This was a 90-minute session, and the participants were dropping like flies. It was way too hot. I was hanging in there (though becoming disoriented and I think I started speaking in tongues) until I saw my wife start to opt out of poses. That was it. I was pretty much down for the count. When the class ended a much younger much more fit guy said to me “That was brutal.” I felt better from a mental standpoint. It was a morning class, and I was crushed the rest of the day. I went to our regular place yesterday and survived though I now think I have PTYD (Post Traumatic Yoga Disorder).
Tip of The Week:
Recent research has found that regular hot yoga practice significantly reduces perceived stress and improves mindfulness in participants after just eight weeks. The heat isn’t just misery, it forces you to slow down, focus on breathing, and be present. Turns out the torture chamber has a purpose.
The takeaway: Discomfort, when controlled, is often where growth happens. In yoga and probably everywhere else. I’ll keep reminding myself...in English.
Rant of the week! A.K.A. This week’s “Otto” moment:
A two for one here this week. Both involve shopping center parking lots. Here in Florida, we do have some older people, but we also have plenty of middle aged and younger people as well. Quite a few seem to have more money than they know what to do with and many drive either very expensive cars or very big expensive cars. In what is becoming an all too familiar situation, they tend to not be able to park their giant, expensive cars within the parking lot lines. It is rare, but occasionally this appears to be deliberate so they avoid a door ding or whatever else they are worried about (I do think it could lead to some mischief from annoyed shoppers but not me!). In most situations they just don’t care, or they don’t know how to drive well but it is still annoying when they take up one space and part of another because they could not be bothered to align their car within the two lines. They must be in a hurry. To be fair, this happens more than it should here, but when we lived in Connecticut, it was a daily occurrence. The long and the short of it...please try to park within the lines and if your car is so precious, maybe take the golf cart.
Part two: The other day, I was pleased to find a few open spots on my grocery run only to realize that of the 6 wide open spots, 3 were blocked by...empty shopping carts! Really? I’m sorry but here they have places to put the carts away and they are all pretty close by. Yet, two of the three were in a full-on parking spot and the third appeared to have been left to its own accord and was resting against a parked car. I just don’t get it. It is totally inconsiderate and rude. Wait...I do get it...be better people!
Friday Fun:
It’s Masters weekend, and while most of us won’t be strolling Magnolia Lane, we can at least drink like we are. The Azalea is the official cocktail of the Masters Tournament…a fun, semi-straightforward concoction of vodka, lemonade, and grenadine served over ice, garnished with a maraschino cherry and fresh orange slice. Think boozy pink lemonade. Simple, refreshing, and very spring.
The official Augusta National recipe:
Ice
1.25 oz vodka
5 oz lemonade
0.5 oz grenadine
Cherry and lemon wheel garnish
Hosting a crowd? Combine 1¼ cups vodka, ½ cup grenadine, and 5 cups lemonade in a pitcher. Stir well, pour over ice, and garnish with lemon wheels. Makes 8 cocktails.
Cheers — and may whoever you’re rooting for this weekend find the fairway.
https://golf.com/lifestyle/augusta-national-unveils-azalea-masters-cocktail/
Thanks for visiting. JC
Labor Pain is published by Jay Conlin, Founder and Principal of ManGar Solutions, a premier Labor and Employee Relations consulting firm. If you have labor and/or employee relations questions, issues or concerns, please reach out to me at Jay@mangarsolutions.com for a free, confidential consult. You can also contact us through our website below.
Unless I specifically indicate, I am not compensated for any endorsements I might provide in Labor Pain.
#MANGARorBust
Congrats.
If I may say - that MANGAR logo is a logo in search of some high end golf apparel....and I got a guy.
Azalea :). Yum