A company called Yondr that sells lockable cellphone pouches is rapidly cornering the market in K-12 schools, Jennifer reports, as educators crack down on texting and social media use during class.

Why it matters: Banning cellphones in schools doesn't get students to stop using them there — but forcing them to use a Yondr pouch, which gets unlocked as they leave school, is working.

Driving the news: Quietly and with little marketing, Yondr has become the de facto standard for schools that want to solve the ubiquitous cellphone problem.

• Yondr was founded a decade ago by Graham Dugoni, a former soccer pro whose original goal was to banish cellphones from concerts.
• The magnetic pouch — which Dugoni first pitched door to door to Bay Area schools and music venues — requires a proprietary device to unlock.

"Everything we've done has been by referral and word-of-mouth," Dugoni said at a recent conference for school superintendents.

• "We've gone school to school, and schools have helped us develop a program that works."

How it works: Each student is assigned a Yondr pouch — "like a textbook," Dugoni said.

• When students get to school, they have to lock their phone (and smartwatch, AirPods, etc.) in the pouch.
• They get to keep it with them throughout the day.
• When they leave for the day, they unlock the pouch by pressing it against a device stationed near the exit.

🚨 In case of emergency, they can go to the school office to get it unlocked. (Some classrooms also have unlocking devices.)

• For children with medical needs who require a cellphone — say, for glucose monitoring — there's a version of the Yondr pouch with a Velcro closure.
• If a kid forgets their pouch, they have to leave their phone at the school office for the day — and their parents get a reminder call.
• Unlike a Faraday bag, the Yondr device does not block electronic transmissions.

What they're saying: With Yondr, "you're never confiscating the phone," Dugoni said. "It creates a really simple ground rule."

• "These are kids that have grown up in a world where they don't know the difference of not walking through the world without a cellphone," he said at the conference.
• "Creating a phone-free learning environment is a concrete solution that gives them eight hours a day without it."
• That experience "allows them to see: Is their anxiety or their social issues tied to the phone and their distractions? We're giving them a reprieve from that."

By the numbers: Yondr says it has "over 3,000 school partners" in 21 countries.

• That's "expected to grow significantly for the '24-'25 academic year," a Yondr spokeswoman said by email.
• Over the past eight years, "school districts in 41 states have spent $2.5 million to buy pouches from Yondr," NBC News reports, citing GovSpend, a government purchasing database.

Yes, but: There's pushback from students — shockingly!

• "Students have been abusing these pouches, by breaking them, writing on them and cutting them open," according to a Change.org petition from a Berkeley High School student who wants Yondr banned.
• Another anti-Yondr petition from a student at a Missouri school argues: "Collective punishment isn't necessary for the people who DO pay attention in class, which is extremely unfair."

What's next: As more states pass laws to keep kids from watching Netflix in class, a parent-founded group called the Phone-Free Schools Movement is urging them to take the next step: requiring that phones be locked away rather than stowed temptingly in backpacks.

Go deeper: A modest proposal: No smartphones for kids

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Boeing's largest union is in contract talks with the beleaguered airplane maker for the first time in more than a decade — and it's seizing the moment to push for cultural change, Axios Markets' Emily Peck reports.

Why it matters: The negotiations are taking place amid a full-blown corporate crisis, giving the union incredible leverage.

Driving the news: The International Association of Machinists (IAM) is taking the opportunity to negotiate beyond standard line items like pay and retirement benefits — it wants a real say in quality and safety standards.

• "It's very important to us that we build a safe, quality airplane," Jon Holden, president of the 32,000-member IAM District 751, said earlier this month as talks began.

Zoom in: As part of that effort, the union wants a seat on Boeing's board of directors, Holden told the Financial Times this week.

• Union representatives on the board "would serve as a check on the CEO," Leeham News, a trade publication, wrote in January.

What they're saying: "With what's going on these days, we are oftentimes the last line of defense," Holden told the FT.

• "We have to save this company from itself."

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Immigrants started new businesses last year at about double the rate of U.S.-born citizens, Axios Latino's Astrid Galván reports from a new analysis.

Why it matters: Entrepreneurship can lead to financial success for immigrants, especially those who lack legal status to work.

• They in turn help fuel the nation's economic growth — yet anti-immigrant rhetoric this election season often paints immigrants as straining resources.

Driving the news: About 670 out of every 100,000 immigrants, or 0.67%, launched a new business each month in 2023, according to a new analysis of federal labor statistics and census data by UCLA economist and professor Robert Fairlie.

• That's compared to 0.35% for the overall population.

Zoom in: Latinos had significantly higher rates of new business creation compared to other racial or ethnic groups.

• That number was 0.6% for Latinos, 0.34% for Black Americans, 0.31% for Asian Americans and 0.28% for white Americans.

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The MLB's Houston Astros are using facial recognition technology to accelerate ticket-checks at Minute Maid Park this season, Axios Houston's Jay R. Jordan reports.

Why it matters: The use of facial recognition and biometric data has exploded in recent years, including in police surveillance and at retail stores and sports venues nationwide.

The big picture: The Astros are one of four teams using the league's new facial recognition tech, called Go-Ahead Entry.

How it works: Ahead of each game, ticket holders can take a selfie in the MLB Ballpark app.

• That photo will be compared with pictures taken at biometric-scanning kiosks at several ballpark gates.
• If the tech recognizes the ticket holder's face, they can enter the park.

Yes, but: While it's an opt-in feature, any use of facial recognition raises data privacy and accuracy concerns.

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