Labor in Illinois

Weekly Labor Report
Sept 28, 2007

General Motors Back to Work After Two Day Strike

The United Auto Workers came to agreement with General Motors after a two day strike. Central to the agreement is a provision of job security and the decision to house more than $50 billion in workers’ health care with the union. – The Guardian (27 Sept 2007)

Worker Allergic to Fragrances has no ADA Claim

An office employee at Morgan Stanley who is highly sensitive to perfume has no claim to compensation within the American Disabilities Act, the Northern District of Illinois ruled. The court ruled that though she is temporarily restricted from activities such as breathing and seeing when exposed to such fragrances, those “intermittent flare ups” do not substantially limit her life activity. – Daily Labor Report (11 Sept 2007)

Teamsters Charge Chicago Local Official of Insufficient Oversight

International Brotherhood of Teamsters president James Hoffa ordered internal union charges be brought against a Chicago official. The local officer allegedly allowed improper contact between one of his employees and his father, who is a former official who was expelled for misconduct in 2002. His decision came in response to investigations by an Independent Review Board commissioned to root out corruption within the union. The report charges Robert Hogan with failure to supervise Local 714 employee Robert Riley, who admitted to investigators that he had improper contact with Hogan’s father, William T. Hogan. According to the report, Riley maintained regular contact with William Hogan between 2003 and 2006. Robert Hogan currently serves both as secretary-treasurer of the Berwyn-based Local 731 and as Vice President of Chicago’s Joint Council 25, though Hoffa has announced that he “brought reproach on the IBT.” – Daily Labor Report ( 14 Sept 2007)