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    Samsung Recalls 1 Million Stoves That Started 250 Fires and Killed Pets

    Thirty models of Samsung stoves were part of the recall over fires started by accidental contact.A recall has been issued for more than one million Samsung stoves after hundreds of reports of them being turned on accidentally, leading to fires that injured dozens and killed at least seven pets, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement on Thursday.Customers who own one of the 30 recalled models of Samsung electric ranges that the company has been selling since 2013 will be able to get a free set of knob locks or covers to minimize the risk of ignition by accidental contact with humans or pets, the company said in a statement announcing its voluntary recall on Thursday.More than 1.1 million electric ranges were included in the recall. The ranges were involved in about 250 fires, which led to about 40 injuries. Eight of the injuries needed medical attention, and there were 18 instances of “extensive property damage,” the commission’s statement said.When asked exactly how many pets died, and why it took 11 years since the company started selling the flawed ranges before the recall was issued, a spokeswoman for the commission declined to comment, referring to Samsung and the commission’s website for questions.Christopher Langlois, a spokesman for Samsung, said consumers should be mindful of the risks of accidental contact with range knobs for any stove. They should keep their stove tops clean and clear, keep children and pets away, and make sure that stoves are turned off after cooking, the company said in a statement.Samsung is asking people who have aone of its ranges to contact the company to see if they are eligible for the free, self-install knob locks or covers that reduce the possibility of accidental ignition.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Samsung Workers Strike, the First in the Company’s History

    The South Korean tech giant is at odds with some of its employees as it is trying to reassure investors that its memory chip business can meet demand.For the first time, workers at Samsung, the conglomerate that dominates the South Korean economy, went on strike on Friday.The action comes as Samsung Electronics fights to regain its edge in the business of making memory chips, a critical component in the advanced artificial intelligence systems that are reshaping longstanding rivalries among global technology companies.Workers in Samsung’s chip division were expected to make up the majority of those who will not report to work on Friday for a planned one-day strike. Union representatives said that multiple rounds of negotiations over wage increases and bonuses had broken down.“The company doesn’t value the union as a negotiating partner,” said Lee Hyun Kuk, the vice president of the Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union, the largest among five labor groups at the company. It says that it represents 28,000 members, about one-fifth of Samsung’s global work force, and that nearly 75 percent voted in favor of a strike in April.Lee Hyun Kuk, vice president of the union, said the workers aimed “to send a message to the management that we have reached a certain level of maturation.”Tina Hsu for The New York TimesMr. Lee said that union workers received no bonuses last year, while some had gotten bonuses of as much as 30 percent of their salaries in the past. “It feels like we’ve taken a 30 percent pay cut,” he said. The average union worker earned about 80 million won last year, or around $60,000, before incentives, he said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More