February 15, 2007
Labor in Illinois News Digest
Week of February 12
Three Items:
1. Illinois Professors Sue Over Ethics Exam
The Southern Illinois University-Carbondale faculty union filed a lawsuit against the Illinois Inspector General, demanding the state drop disciplinary measures against 65 faculty members for their failure of the state-wide, online exam. The state holds that employees violated the testing rules by taking the exam too quickly, while the union holds that the minimum time required to take the test is not listed in the Ethics Act. Faculty Association President Marvin Zeman has argued that the inspector general’s office itself is in violation of Illinois’ 2003 Ethics Act. – 7 Feb 2007, The Courier News
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/
246063,3_1_EL07_A7ETHICS_S1.article
2. Teamsters Warn First Group that Bus Drivers are Organized
When FirstGroup, a Scottish transportation company, acquired Laidlaw, the largest private operator of yellow school buses in the United States and based in Illinois, Teamsters’ president Jimmy Hoffa and a delegation of the Service Employees International Union traveled to FirstGroup’s annual meeting in Scotland. They voiced concern over FirstGroup’s self- identified collective bargaining “neutrality,” or poor record of working with unions. Hoffa told the Scottish company that the buyout means FirstGroup will become a much more unionized company. He emphasized the importance of minimizing layoffs, for rebuilding current infrastructure would risk the company’s reputation and profits. Laidlaw and FirstGroup currently employ over 11,000 Teamsters. – 10 Feb 2007 (The Herald –United Kingdom) Web Issue 2758 http://www.theherald.co.uk/business/news/display.var.1184914.0.0.php
3. Bush Seeks “Fast Track” Authority on Trade Pacts
American Federation of Labor president John Sweeney and Teamsters’ James Hoffa blasted President Bush for his recent characterization of the Peoria-based Caterpillar as “reaping the benefit of US trade policies.” Bush used Caterpillar’s prosperity to rationalize the value of his Trade Promotion Authority, a presidential freedom to bargain on behalf of American businesses for overseas contracts, and only subject the contract to an up-or-down vote in Congress (without the option of amendments or discussion). Lori Wallach, director of the Public Citizen advocacy group, has argued that such presidential authority not only violates unions’ rights to collective bargaining but pits United States workers in a race to the bottom with wage-cuts worldwide. (3 Feb 2007) Workday Minnesota
http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_2877
Posted by higbie at February 15, 2007 5:22 PM