Illinois Labor NewsJune 22, 2008Weekly Labor ReportWeek of June 20,2008 Kroger Ratifies New Labor Agreement Grocery store Kroger Co. has agreed to a new labor agreement with United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 700 of Indianapolis. The agreement called for Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, but both sides currently celebrate the bargain as a win. The new agreement covers 4200 Kroger associates in sixty stores throughout Indianapolis and parts of Bloomington, Crawfordsville and Kokomo. They also cover some workers in stores with the banner names Scott’s, Owen’s, Hilander and Pay Less. One of the nation’s largest retail grocery chains, Kroger operates 2486 supermarkets and multi-department stores nationwide. It also owns 42 food processing plants which are headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. – (Earthtimes.org 19 June 2008)
John Deere machinery of Moline, Illinois has contracted to open a research center on the grounds of the University of Illinois. They hope to expand the university’s research in advanced electronics, advanced sensors, systems technology and mechatronics. These subcategories fall under mechanical and electronic engineering. Said university Chancellor Richard Herman,
St.Louis- based Schnuck Markets, Inc. has selected RedPrairie’s Workforce Management Solution to help run its human resources. RedPrarie consults Schnucks in future planning and workforce training. They operate 103 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Mississippi. – (PRS Businesswire 19 June 2008)
Mary Gade, a Midwest EPA official, has been in dispute with Dow Chemicals about delayed plans to clean up dioxin-saturated soil and sediment that dumps into Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. Its toxic dumping into local rivers extends 50 miles beyond its Midland, Mich., plant. She has been placed on “administrative leave” but protests that she stands by all of her decisions in her relations with Dow. Dioxin was a byproduct of the herbicide Agent Orange and is measured in trillionths of a gram because its toxicity. The Chicago Tribune reports, “Company documents show Dow knew by the mid-1960s that it could make people sick or even kill them. Citing years of independent studies, the EPA says dioxin causes cancer and disrupts the immune and reproductive systems, even at very low levels.”—( Chicago Tribune 2 May 2008)
The Illinois Education Association and its affiliate union, the Southern Illinois University – Carbondale (SIUC) Faculty Association, have announced an agreement with the Illinois Executive Inspector General and Illinois Ethics Commission over a recent lawsuit. The state failed 10,000 state employees not for failing the test but for taking the timed, online test too quickly. The lawsuit released the employees from further disciplinary action, but the Illinois deputy inspector general said nothing has necessarily changed for the future. – (Daily Labor Report 1 May 2008)
The Northern District of the State of Illinois Courts has not dismissed retirees’ claims that the company may have used unreasonable methods of calculating employees’ estimated compensation. In creating pension projections, Allstate assumed that employees received 6 percent pay increases each year between 1951 and 1988 and that during this time employees were continuously covered by Social Security. So far, the courts have granted warrants for discovery investigations of the company. (Daily Labor Report 10 June 2008)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Winter’s Architectural Roofing Co. of Carbon Cliff $244,000 for eight citations of safety violations. The federal agency started its investigation after an employee fell 16 feet through a skylight and was killed in October of 2007. The company has been noted for negligence on low-sloped roofs, failure to cover skylight openings, and failure to train employees about fall hazards. (Daily Labor Report 16 April 2008) Posted by IRX at 5:09 PM June 3, 2008Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report Teamsters Wins First Student Bus Company Employees’ in Three States Across Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 729 new bus drivers have voted to join the Teamsters. Alaine Peterson, a three year driver in Crest Hill, Illinois, and one of 438 drivers and monitors who joined Teamsters Local 179 of Joliet, was especially excited when her husband, a rail employee, became a Teamster the same day. These wins come from a nationwide initiative to organize private school bus and transit workers across the country. The Teamsters have called this initiative the Drive Up Standards, and have won more than 9300 new members since 2006. – Sun Herald (2 June 2008)
Both the Teamsters, a growingly popular union of bus drivers, and the Illinois Education Association (IEA), a “professional association” of teachers and alternative to the Illinois Federation of Teachers, are each trying to represent the more than 200 bus drivers in the Durham School district. The IEA has struggled to represent the district’s teachers and argues that future contracts will be stronger if all of the school district’s employees work together. The Teamsters claim that the IEA has delayed negotiations. They have recently been very effective in representing school bus drivers around the country. – Daily Herald (13 May 2008)
Caterpillar’s new ban on smoking has won the ire of many employees and started rumors of a wildcat strike because of recent workers’ suspensions. However Bill Scott, chairman of the United Autoworkers Local 974, has argued that officially the union is against a wildcat strike. “Our official position is that because we have a no strike, no lockout clause in the contract, to stay on the job. But I don’t know how we can stop them from a spontaneous walkout if htat is what they choose.” Caterpillar has stated that the recent smoking ban is simply part of the Healthy Balance initiative. They claim, “We remain dedicated to creating and maintaining the healthiest and safest work environment possible for our employees.” However, Caterpillar employees and the UAW maintain that their contract allows them to smoke on Caterpillar property. They have even filed a petition with the NLRB against this violation. Some non-smokers have been reported to start smoking out of solidarity for protesting a violation of their contract.—Peoria Journal-Star (2 June 2008)
Fifteen city employees of Metropolis, Illinois have signed up for a grant-funded initiative to help them quit smoking: they will earn $1000 if they successfully quit smoking for one year. City officials claim that this will lead eventually to healthier workers and lower insurance premiums. The program, though only several weeks old, will be enforced with random nicotine tests. Patches and gum are not prohibited. – Chicago Tribune (2 June 2008)
Belleville Teachers’ Association Local 434 filed a complaint against the school district to test the air quality for toxins in the Belleville East buildings. Teachers, they say, experience chronic dizziness, respiratory problems, and burning eyes. The Illinois Department of Labor has recently checked the air quality and found it satisfactory, but the teachers complain that the district had the doors and windows open all weekend long so the test was under an unusually favorable condition. School superintendent Greg Moats agrees that the extra testing will be a good idea. Union attorney Chris Kolker said that if the teachers did not file a lawsuit with the county, the Illinois Department of Labor would put off a re-testing to the summer, when the conditions would once again be unusually favorable. Union leaders complain that classroom ventilation has not worked properly in years. –Belleville News-Democrat (15 May 2008)
Senate Republicans and Democrats have begun to rally behind Governor Blagojevich’s Illinois Works, a proposed $31 billion comprehensive capital infrastructure plan to build and rebuild roads, schools and mass-transit. It is also hoped to address recent job shortages. In support of the proposed plan, among many others, are Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan, President and CEO of Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce Larry Ivory, President of Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Tod Faerber, and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. The plan calls for motor fuel taxes to support bonded road projects, a partial use of the state lottery system for funding, and Capital and Educational Trust Funds with “lockbox” accountability guarantees. It also calls for an increase in gaming licenses to raise $550 million in debt service for environmental and water, energy, economic development, health care, state facilities, and other purposes. – Illinois Press Releases (28 May 2008)
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have organized 40 protests recently to attain better job contracts for the state’s workers. They have been in negotiations for six months but they still have not come to an agreement to replace the contract that ends June 30. AFSCME demands that it not have to swallow “a decrease in take-home pay, higher health insurance premiums, mandatory overtime, and bigger paycheck contributions for retirement.” The union’s executive director Henry Bayer said, “Every Illinois resident relies on the public services AFSCME members provide…. State workers aren’t asking for a lot—decent wages, affordable health care and a secure retirement. And they’ll do whatever it takes, bargain as long as it takes, picket as much as it takes, to achieve a fair contract.”– Quad Cities Online (29 May 2008)
Union officials of the Service Employees’ International Union have argued that 24 hour call centers would better handle the volume of workers’ concerns so that union representatives could focus on organizing new members. Some member of the SEIU are less comfortable with this change, for the argue that union representatives should know their constituents and be accountable to them. Eva Lozada has said, “Sometimes you can’t get through to these centers… It’s like talking to an A.T.M.” Sal Roselli, president of the United Healthcare Workers West, has held that this change further centralizes union power in a bureaucracy and takes it out of the hands of local workers. Andrew L. Stern, the SEIU’s president, has insisted that these changes are vital to empowering, not disempowering, rank-and-file workers. “We have a 1930s teletype model of representation in a 21st century world. You can Google almost anything. But then you call your local union office and you have to push 1 or 2 and then you can’t find someone who speaks the language you speak.”—New York Times (1 June 2008)
Chicago area labor leader William E. Dugan, a former Republican appointee to government boards that oversee Illinois casinos, the CTA and the state’s tollway system, has been accused of of illegally using union resources to truck corn from Illinois to his buffalo farm in Hancock, Maryland. His Chicago union represents 22000 heavy equipment operators but they have so far defended Dugan and argued that the accusation is part of a re-election battle. He is using Joseph Duffy, the same lawyer who is defending political fundraiser Tony Rezko, to defend him. – Chicago Sun Times (31 May 2008) Posted by IRX at 3:56 PM May 8, 2008Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report
The state of Illinois has promised retired and former employees health, dental, vision and life insurance benefits, but has not consistently put aside money to pay for these “other post employment benefits,” or OPEB. Illinois’ top fiscal officer John Filan has argued that the state’s $43 billion liability will be settled through labor negotiations with the state’s unions. “This is a combined liability [for both employer and employee],” he said, “and we will work on it in collective bargaining.” Filan has pushed for the auctioning of 50 year terms to the state lottery to corporations as a way to raise at least $10 billion quickly. The state would retain a 20% investment in the lottery over the lease term. – Bond Buyer (22 April 2008)
For the last five months, Illinois’ job market and unemployment rate of 5.5% has been more stable than the national average. As employers cut 80,000 jobs nationwide in March, state payrolls only declined .03 percent with 1600 cuts. Mitch Daniels, a labor market economist with the Illinois Department of Labor Security, said, “Given the national economic picture, steady is good.” However, what seems like a stable picture overall may hide the differences among Illinois’ economic sectors. While the state has seen growth in professional, educational, health service sectors and especially the agricultural sector, construction and manufacturing sectors have taken a dramatic hit. Daniels expects job growth in Illinois in 2008 to be between one and two percent, especially concentrated in the professional health service sector. – Medill Reports-Northwestern University (17 April 2008)
In the wake of the construction industry shortfall throughout the nation and especially in Illinois, day laborers in Chicago have seen wages drop from $12 an hour to $10 an hour and even down to $8 an hour for those hungry enough for work. Furthermore, reports the Latino Union, a labor organization and employment agency for day laborers in Chicago, workers continue to get hurt on risky jobs. Jessica Aranda, the executive director of the organization, calls the laborers international businessmen, and looks forward to helping workers attain more skills, especially in language and technology. – Chicago Tribune (26 April 2008)
The AFL-CIO announced April 17 that it formally allied with Enlace, a coalition that represents 300, 000 low wage workers in Mexico. The AFL-CIO has no formal relationship with Mexico’s official union federation, which is essentially controlled by the country’s Industrial Revolutionary Party. – People’s World Weekly (22 April 2008)
While the overall number of union petitions and elections declined in 2007, health-care related unions have fared better than most. According to recent statistics from the National Labor Relations Board, while unions in non-healthcare related industries won 62 percent of the time, they have won 72 percent of the time in health associated fields. The Service Employees’ International Union and California Nurses Association/ National Nurses Organizing Committee won 79, 80 and 83 percent of the time. The SEIU and UNITE-HERE celebrate great success over the past year in beginning to organize Aramark, Cintas and ServiceMaster employees. – Reuters (18 Mar 2008) http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS140744+18-Mar-2008+PRN20080318
Currently only patrol officers and sergeants, officers who are officially not managers, are represented by the Police Benevolent and Protective Agency, Unit 6 (of Rockford, Illinois). Five of the six of the city’s lieutenants want membership in the union because they say they are fearful of losing their jobs. They have petitioned the Illinois Labor Board to determine whether Rockford’s lieutenants are managers, while city leaders contend that they will fight the lieutenants’ request. Said Rockford’s Legal Director Patrick Hayes, “Management ought to stay management and with regard to our employees, if they want to organize that’s fine and works very well, but there needs to be a division and a clear delineation between management and labor.” – News 23 (5 May 2008)
The Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council recently ratified a three year contract with Southern Illinois University-Carbondale for dispatchers and parking service employees. Bob Behrtens, a FOP field representative, was very happy about the contract. “This is unprecedented for dispatchers and parking service agents to get fixed raises into the future like this. The university is not too keen on pay raises. But, with all the new emergency and medical response systems, dispatchers are becoming more and more important.” Pay will increase by approximately 12.5 percent over the next three years. – The Southern (6 May 2008)
Opponents of the proposed Children’s Museum in Chicago’s Grant Park argue that park has always been public property set aside for the people of Chicago. A coalition of environmental, consumer and labor groups have argued that in 1836 the park was declared “forever open, clear and free.” When the Citizen Action Illinois’ board recently took a vote, neither the Chicago Federation of Labor president Dennis Gannon nor the Service Employee International Union’s Illinois Council president Tom Balanoff were in attendance. They have declared that they are not taking a position on the plan. The final vote before the City Council is expected in June. – Chicago Tribune (22 April 2008)
Keith Kelleher, president of SEIU Local 880 of Illinois, has joined with a few other SEIU presidents to demand an apology from United Health Care Workers-West president Dan Martin for excluding rank and file members from delegate elections to the next SEIU convention. The UHW-W had rationalized that they wanted to hand-pick delegates to the convention who “know the most about the Union and are most actively involved in it.” However, the SEIU Local presidents demand that this attitude expresses “contempt…for your own rank-and-file membership…These hardly sound like the deliberations of a ‘bottom up’ organization.” – www.prsnewswire.com (17 April 2008) Posted by IRX at 11:29 AM April 14, 2008Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report (backlog)
More than 30 percent of the roughly 45 employees at the Cambridge Lakes Charter School in a subdivision of Pingree Grove, Illinois have signed union cards with the Illinois Education Association. Other workers at the school, including bus drivers and food service workers, have also begun to organize for a collective voice against the non-profit organization Northern Cane Educational Corporation. The educators have filed their petition for union representation with the Illinois Educational Labor Board and await the first election. –Daily Herald (25 March 2008) One of the anti-union scare tactics that teachers report is an administrative form which requires teachers and staff to report any engagement with union discussions. The form requires teachers to pledge that he or she has not engaged in discussions “against the interest of my employer without regret or remorse and intend to assert my personal interest over those of my employer,” or that they did not participate in talks “and regret and repudiate any actions I have taken. I will, of my own free will, publicly apologize to the clients we serve and my peers, (and) withdraw any expression of interest given to a UniServ representative.” – Suburban Chicago News (4 Mar 2008)
Firefighters in New Lenox, Illinois have argued that their district improperly reassigned 55 part-time firefighters last April while they were in the process of unionizing. The Service Employees International Union Local 73 which represents the firefighters has argued that the district “privatized” the department’s entire firefighting ranks in direct response to union organizing. – Suburban Chicago News (1 April 2008)
Hamilton Sunstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies, announced layoffs of 65 manufacturing workers at their Rockford, Illinois plant. Over the past few years, the division of about 2200 people has shifted hundreds of production jobs to Singapore. The company that now advertises itself as experts in aerospace engineering has made plans to hire about 150 more engineers to its Windsor Locks, Connecticut plant this year.—Boston News (2 April 2008)
Ford said that cutting shifts in Chicago, a Louisville sport-utility plant and a Cleveland engine plant is part of an onging plan to prevent expensive equipment stockpiles. “We’re trying to plan conservatively,” Ford sales analyst George Pipas said, arguing that a reduction in demand is an ideal way to reduce the falls in prices. “We will operate on one shift as long as we have to,” he continued. General Motors has recently offered retirement offers to 73,000 UAW members, and Chrysler LLC is offering similar packages at its UAW-supported plants. – Chicago Tribune (4 Mar 2008)
Several Illinois-based businesses, including Caterpillar, have joined with Walmart, Citigroup and other major corporations in supporting the controversial treaty with Columbia that would support free-trade. Director of the National Association of Manufacturers Douglas Goudie has argued that opportunity will benefit small businesses too, and cites Quality Float Works of Illinois as an example. “We’re not General Motors, we’re just the little guy,” said Sandy Westlund-Dennihan, Quality Float’s owner. Meanwhile, both Democratic presidential hopefuls, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and AFL-CIO president John Sweeny have argued that they promote the growth of good jobs in the United States. Treaties like this encourage corporations to exploit cheap labor overseas for the sake of corporate profiteering, but to the loss of potential sources of income for Americans.—Wall Street Journal (10 April 2008)
Graduate students at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where student employees teach one third of all credit hours, have protested the administration for higher stipends and lowered fees. Students have argued that the administration uses the imposition of higher fees to offset what seems like modest gains in pay. These graduate students join those at the University of Chicago who have been rallying against the administration since February. One of the challenges they find is that while stipends for newer graduate students have been raised, those of already enrolled graduate students have not significantly increased. – Chicago Flame (14 April 2008)
First Transit workers in McHenry, Illinois have voted 29-4 to join the Teamsters and become Local 731. This addition to the Teamsters, orchestrated through the joint efforts of Teamsters Joint Council 25, Teamsters Local 731 and the Teamsters. It is part of an ongoing effort to organize private school bus and transit workers. Ron Langton, a First Transit driver, reflected on the merger, “If you look in the paper, other bus driver positions are starting at $14 a hour. Here it’s a little over $10. All we want is fair play for the responsibility. I voted for the Teamsters to better our lives.”—Fox Business (8 April 2008)
The Illinois Education Association has filed a claim with Huntley Unit District 158, arguing that the district has overburdened elementary music teachers with seventeen classes. According to music teachers’ contracts, says the union, teachers are allowed 300 minutes of planning and grading time per week. Issuing a seventeenth class, they claim, cuts into planning time without any extra compensation. The union argues that the teachers should either be compensated extra for the class or not expected to teach it. Superintendent John Burkey has rejected the teachers’ request, arguing that to grant music teachers extra pay for this class would be unfair to the teachers who teach 1625 minutes per week without receiving extra pay. The Illinois Educational Labor Board is currently investigating the charge.—Daily Herald (8 April 2008)
Andy Stern, SEIU president and one of the country’s most dynamic and controversial labor leaders, has argued that locals should merge locally and even across states to gain the strength to take on major corporations. The leaders of many locals are concerned that this merge would only further centralize union bureaucracy. Paula Jones, member of Local 2000 in Florissant, Missouri, for example, has argued that “Workers have lost their voice” and that further merging of union locals would only exacerbate this problem. Some locals, however, already span cities and even state-lines. SEIU’s Local 1 is based in Chicago but spans janitors and building service workers in St. Louis, Kansas and Milwaukee. Stern was one of the primary leaders of the AFL-CIO’s Change to Win Federation, a coalition of major unions that have argued the union movement needs to focus more on organizing. Some union leaders who object to Stern sometimes argue that heightened organizing within unions can be accomplished without such bureaucratic merging of unions. For example, Sal Roselli of the United Healthcare Worker’s West has argued that his unit has grown to 150000 workers “without compromising the ability of workers to be in control of their union.” Stern’s allies contend that Roselli’s criticisms hurt the collective voice of the SEIU at a moment when they are already united by national political goals such as the nomination of Barack Obama for president. – St. Louis Today (20 Mar 2008)
As faculty in Wisconsin have won the attention of legislators in their fight for a collective voice, many in Champaign-Urbana have reflected on the potential of faculty unionization at the University of Illinois. Field service director of the Illinois Federation of Teachers Jon Nadler has argued that the interest among faculty for a unions has generally been low. Labor education specialist Joe Berry has reflected that “Like any other employer, universities prefer to not have to deal with a union and deal with an employee individually.” John Murphy, executive vice president of the University Professionals of Illinois, has stated that “The faculty at the University of Illinois has not suffered enough to be clamoring for representation as a collective union.”— Daily Illini (7 March 2008)
Residents of the rural Southern Illinois town of Vandalia have protested against the shut-down of their local prison facility over the last four years. Residents have joined with others who are upset with the state’s plan to close the maximum security wing at the Stateville Correctional Center north of Joliet, Illinois. Vandalia officials have protested that the shuddering of the local prison will cut as many as 400 paying jobs and relocate 1600 inmates to other prisons. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Council 31 has argued on behalf of the inmates that such a transition for the alleged sake of efficiency in Illinois will uproot inmates from steady access to visitation from their families. Many would be moved to the Thomson Correctional Center. Will County Center for Economic Development also opposes the shut-down of the prison facility. They contend that the change would strain local businesses who have served employees off the job. – Chicago Tribune (3 March 2008) Posted by IRX at 4:14 PM February 21, 2008Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report
The Employee Classification Act, passed by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by Governor Blagojevich last summer, ensures that workers in the construction industry are protected by labor laws and not misclassified as “independent contractors.” The law presumes that an individual performing services is an “employee” unless he or she passes the “ABC Test.” That is, the individual must be free from direction or control over the performance of the service for the contractor; the service performed is outside of the usual course of services, and that the individual is an independently established trade, occupation or business. Sole proprietors must meet all twelve conditions specified by the act to use the tax status of independent contractor. The Illinois Department of Labor is willing to cooperate with unions to understand the new act and how it may apply to them. For additional information, see www.state.il.us/agency/idol - The Labor Paper (17 Jan 2008): 2.
As a result of the override of the Water Resource Bill over President Bush’s veto, the Peoria and LaGrange Locks will both be expanded to 1200 feet. This change will minimize delays on the Illinois River when freight travels between St. Paul and St. Louis. The bill provides $16 million to construct three islands on the Illinois River to increase water flow through the Peoria Lakes area. Furthermore, the act appropriates $1.5 billion for the restoration of the ecosystem along the waterways. This includes 105,000 acres of habitat and 35,000 acres of floodplain. Each barge replaces 15 rail cars or 58 semi trucks. Hence, enhanced waterways decrease dependence on fuel. – Labor Paper (6 Dec 2007)`
President John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO and the Transportation Trades Department recently found that DHS secretary Michael Chertoff is in conversation with Council of the European Union president Louis Amado about what data to collect from international passengers in the identification of terrorist suspects. Chertoff said that the United States’ agency would be willing to use personal data, such as trade union membership, if “the life of a data subject or of others could be imperiled or seriously impaired.” Sweeney has put pressure on Chertoff to ensure that union membership not be identified as suspicious behavior. – St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune (5 Dec 2007)
The WCIBCTC (see above) met with utility companies, Caterpillar and local hospitals in a roundtable on the construction needs of West Central Illinois in the months and years ahead. Director Dan Silverthorn explained, “We want to make sure we can supply the manpower they need.” Said Don Gorman, executive assistant for the Regional Council of Carpenters, “We have to hear what the key customers need and what their concerns are.” – The Labor Paper (17 Jan 2008): 1. Posted by IRX at 11:01 AM November 29, 2007Weekly Labor News ReportWeekly Labor Report
Postal Workers Protest Relocation of Priority Mail Court Sets Method of Proof in Class Action Sex Suit The US District Court for Northern Illinois ruled that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may not seek punitive damages for a “class,” with regard to sex, without providing evidence that such damages indeed affect every member. The decision comes in a case of sexual harassment and unequal treatment case brought by EEOC in 2001 against the International Profit Associates Inc. in Buffalo Grove. – Employment Discrimination Report (7 November 20007): UA, Contractors and Corporations Discuss Future Labor Demands Posted by IRX at 11:49 AM November 2, 2007Weekly Labor News ReportWeekly Labor Report
A series of bills were passed in the Illinois State Assembly. The first provided a 4000-position landbased casino in the City of Chicago, two river boats in unspecified locations and an expansion of 6000 gaming positions made available by bid to the nine existing casinos. Another piece of legislation provides $25.2 billion to fund the construction of Illinois’ roads, bridges and new schools. Meanwhile, a long-term funding solution for the Chicago Transit Authority is still pending. Currently, unions in Chicago have not backed any of the proposed plans.—Fox Valley Labor News (27 Sept 2007): 3.
The Chicago Teachers Union reached an agreement with the Chicago Board of Education that increases teachers’ salaries by 20 percent over the next four years, and provides additional salary steps for teachers and paraprofessionals in school-related personnel. Furthermore, teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards will receive a $1750 yearly bonus. Teachers at ten Chicago Public Schools will be eligible for performance-based bonuses as part of the Recognizing Excellence in Academic Leadership program. These bonuses are available to include janitors and clerks, and range from $1000 to $15000. – Chicago Federation of Labor (November 2007): 4.
Under the terms of the newly ratified agreement the Chicago Federation of Musicians has reached with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, in the first year of the contract workers will receive a 2.7 % increase in weekly base salary for the first six months, followed by a 4.4% wage increase for the next six months. –Chicago Federation of Labor (November 2007): 5.
Both Illinois Senators, Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, along with Labor Committee Chairman Ted Kennedy and Washington Senator Patty Murray, in collaboration with the AFL-CIO, Change to Win, Teamsters and National Employment Law Project, have drafted national legislation modeled on that recently passed in Illinois to refine the definition of an independent contractor. Dick Durbin reflected, “When you walk down the streets of Chicago, and in the suburbs and towns throughout Illinois, you can see the construction workers hard at work building new homes, office buildings and roads. These workers deserve a fair share from employers who are not trying to cheat the system. Improperly labeling workers as independent contractors is cheating of the worst kind. Companies resorting to this dishonest practice avoid paying the taxes they owe and deny their employees their legal rights, including the right to a safe workplace, the right to the minimum wage, and the right to overtime.”—The Labor Paper (18 Oct 2007):2.
Gov. Blagojevich announced a plan to extend $6 Million in grants to the Employment Opportunities Grant Program, a fund that works with thirteen community-based organizations and educational institutions in Cook County and statewide. It is a part of Operation Returns, the Governor’s initiative in creating new jobs within the state. The fund will be administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Capital Development Board, the state’s primary “construction management agency.” Some of the grant recipients include the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues, Chicago Public Schools, Coalition for United Community Action, Construction Careers Council, Dawson Technical Institute, OAI, Saint Paul Church of God in CHirst Community Development Ministries, Lincolnland Community College, Neighborhood Housing Development Corporation, Peoria Educational Region for Employment and Career Training, and Southwestern Illinois College. –Lasalle County Labor News (Sept/Oct 2007): 5.
Introduced by House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL), as well as the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pension Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy, the “Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business and Bankruptcy Act of 2007” would bar a company from shielding executives’ pensions and health benefits while cutting those of wage workers. Rich Pascarella, a 19 year Local 1759 member and United Airlines Ramp Serviceman at Dulles Airport reflected, “We could have used this bill five years ago, but legislation like this wouldn’t have had a chance in the last Congress.”—IAM Journal (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO): Fall 2007, 33.
The United Association of Plumbers, Pipe-Fittters, Sprinkler Fitters and HVACR Service Technicians joined with some of the nation’s largest corporations at a conference in Mokena, IL to address the rising demand for skilled workers in the current construction boom. One of the most important national needs, according to US Secretary of Labor Samuel Bodman, is a body of highly skilled workers to build safe nuclear plants. One noted plan for continuing to train highly skilled craftsmen is the Helmets to Hardhats program that provides returning soldiers retraining opportunities, in cooperation with unions. Currently, the Illinois Pipe Trades Association Advancement Program (IPTAPP) provides cutting edge training by collaborating with 23 local unions and 1500 union contractors in Illinois and parts of Iowa and Indiana. – The Labor Paper (18 Oct 2007): 2.
In the Illinois State Police ranking system, master sergeants fall above sergeants and troopers and below lieutenants and captains. They have been the only non-managerial level of officers in the system without union representation. In the process of organizing these private sector workers this past year, the state of Illinois filed objections to their rights to collective bargaining, holding that they have supervisory status. Soon after, the Fraternal Order of Police tried to organize these officers. However, the Teamsters, specifically t he Teamsters Law Enforcement League, won local elections. Not only are opportunities now open for union support in the case of promotion to master sergeant, but Teamster police officers automatically qualify to participate in TeamLegal, a national program that provides legal assistance for civil and criminal incidents, as well as preparation for grand jury hearings. – Teamster (International Brotherhood of Teamsters ): September/October 2007, 16-17.
President Tom Buffenbarger of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) announced that the union endorses both New York Senator Clinton and former Arkansas Governor Huckabee in the presidential primaries. He explained, “Our endorsement carries with it something priceless—a blue collar union’s seal of approval. And make no mistake about this. Blue collar families are the key demographic battleground in 2008.” Because 1/3 of the IAM self-identify as Republicans, the union decided to endorse a candidate on both sides of the aisle. “I was impressed with former Governor Mike Huckabee,” he continued. “He didn’t tell us what we wanted to hear. He told us what he believed, even when not a single one of us would have agreed with him. That took guts. That took conviction—not a bad combination.” About Clinton he reflected, the IAM is “looking for a strategic partner who will work with our union over the long haul, can amass over 70 million votes in the general election, can compete for 350 Electoral College votes, and can govern this nation in a time of multiple crises.” Under the Clinton Administration, “this union had a friend in the West Wing—and a friend in the East Wing. We fought with the Oval Office on NAFTA and PNTR. We worked with the East Wing on health care reform. We worked with the White House on the Family Medical Leave Act, a patients’ bill of rights and the creation of new JOBS. ..” Endorsements were made by voting of the membership. – IAM Journal (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO): Fall 2007, 10-21. Posted by IRX at 4:19 PM October 4, 2007Weekly Labor News ReportWeekly Labor News Report
Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 655 in St. Charles, Illinois accepted what they called “one of the best contracts in the nation.” The three-year contract covers almost 10,000 Local 655 members working at supermarkets Dierbergs, Schnucks and Shop ‘n Save. It includes a gradual $1.20 increase in wages over the next three years and a weekly health care premium cost-sharing plan in the second and third years of the contract. Among the other benefit increases include: dental and vision benefits; holidays of Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas; maintenance of the current ratio of full-time to part-time workers; increased disability and life-insurance pay, and the formation of an industry-wide Labor and Management Committee that meets quarterly to address ongoing worker concerns. – St. Louis Labor Tribune (19 Sept 2007)
State Representative Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville) called the Illinois General Assembly to approve a $24 billion comprehensive capital program to create new jobs in the state by upgrading roads, bridges and schools in the Metro-East. Most of the jobs would be in construction, so he called upon the Southwestern Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council to support his legislation. Some of the projects he proposes to fund include constructing a science building at Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville, building a new Mississippi River bridge, widening Illinois Route 159 in several places, complete Interstate 255, expand Governor’s Parkway and provide millions of dollars for elementary school construction. – Labor Tribune (26 Sept 2007)
The Chicago City Council Aldermen Freddrenna Lyle, Toni Preckwinkle, Leslie Hairston, Ray Suarez and Joe Moore sponsored a resolution to require Comcast to appear before a hearing of the Committee on License and Consumer Protection. Over 100 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are currently disputing a contract with this largest cable company in the country. The city’s Cable Ordinance bans discrimination in the payment of wages. – Federation News (Oct 2007)
A law that went into effect July 31, 2001 provides a $150,000 lump sum reimbursement for medical expenses to qualifying workers who continue to suffer because of radiation exposure. During the Second World War and the Cold War, the Department of Energy employed thousands of workers in nuclear processing and testing facilities. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department issued a final ruling on July 10, 2007 that establishes a 180 day period for the agency to finally evaluate whether an individual qualifies for compensation related to radiation exposure. An additional law provides $50,000 for workers suffering from uranium exposure. – Boilermaker Reporter (July-Sept 2007) Posted by IRX at 11:48 AM September 27, 2007Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report
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)
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)
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) Posted by IRX at 11:45 AM September 20, 2007Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report
Carhartt, a clothing manufacturing company based in Dearborn, Michigan, has announced layoffs for 33 employees, all of whom are union members. The family owned company has handled the sewing of cotton canvas outerwear. However, it will be converted to a distribution and warehouse center for irregular and overstock items. John Mozena, public relations manager for the company, said that the facility is committed to “the most efficient mix of domestic and international manufacturing and processing facilities.” Twenty five jobs—17 union and eight management—will remain at the plant. – Peoria Journal Star (20 Sept 2007)
While employment in corporate research and development—“where science is harnessed to pursue profit”—increased 16 percent nationally between 2001 and 2006, it fell almost 28 percent in Illinois. The state, which used to be ranked second to California in such jobs, is now in seventh place. According to the Chicago Tribune, the culprit may be the shutting down of telecommunications research labs in suburban Chicago. In the last ten years, Lucent Technologies ended 7000 jobs, G.D. Searle & Co. in Skokie layed off 1000 more. Motorola has also closed plants, not excepting the facility in the University of Illinois’ research park. Meanwhile, China and India have some of the world’s fastest- growing major research and development markets. While the average Illinois employees in this field make over $100,000 per year, labor is cheaper overseas. Some executives in the field are encouraged that small high-tech companies, especially those who could have settled in more expensive locations, do favor Illinois a basis of operations. A Japanese drug firm Astellas Pharma opened a research center at the old Searle site earlier this year. Even though Baxter International saw a net cut in jobs over the last decade, North Chicago’s Abbott Laboratories has close to 150 research and development job openings, and its spending in this area rose 44 percent between 2001 and 2006. – Chicago Tribune (26 August 2007) Posted by IRX at 11:46 AM September 13, 2007Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report Tougher Penalties for Motorists in School/Construction Zones Governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation increasing penalties against drivers who kill school personnel, construction workers or students while driving through construction and school zones. If motorists drive faster than ten miles over the posted speed limit in these marked zones and kill someone, their sentence can be judged as “reckless homicide.” According to Blagojevich, 181 Illinois Department of Transportation employees have been killed since 1951. – Occupational Safety and Health (6 Sept 2007): 779-80.
Illinois Senator Barack Obama and Representative Danny Davis sponsored and passed a bill in the senate to provide increased funding to “predominantly black institutions.” The College Cost Reduction and Access Act will set aside $15 million for institutions that are not categorized as Historically Black Colleges and Universities but have a predominant number of African American students. The funding is expected to apply to 75 institutions in 17 states, including four year and two year schools. In Illinois, the institutions that could benefit from these include: City Colleges of Chicago– Kennedy-King College ; Chicago State University; South Suburban College; City Colleges of Chicago – Harold Washington College; City Colleges of Chicago – Malcolm X College; City Colleges of Chicago – Olive-Harvey College; East-West University ; and Robert Morris College. Lobbyists who had pushed for the bill hail from the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), the United Negro College Fund and the American Association of Community Colleges. – Baltimore Sun (7 Sept 2007) http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2007/09/obama_davis_boost_a_new_type_o.html
Sponsored by Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council, a federation of business, labor, government, education and community leaders, Austin Polytechnical Academy has opened as a new public high school under the approval of the Chicago Public Schools’ Board of Education. Dan Swinney, executive director of the Council, is also executive director of the Chicago-based Center for Labor and Community Research. Requiring uniforms for all 130 freshmen, the experimental Renaissance 2010 public high school cooperates with local businesses to prepare students for the high tech industry. It shares space with the Austin Business and Entrepreneurship High School, a two year pre-engineering academy. – Chicago Tribune (5 Sept 2007) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-schoolday_05sep05,1,3252974,full.story Posted by IRX at 3:36 PM September 7, 2007Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report
Governor Blagojevich signed legislation requiring hospitals to ensure that staffing levels within each inpatient care unit to align with the specific needs of patients in those units. The new law also requires criminal background checks for several groups of private workers: health care workers with direct contact with patients, carnival workers, and employees of non-public schools. The law requires that each hospital implement a written, facilitywide staffing plan that enumerates minimum levels of direct care registered nurse-to patient staffing requirements for each inpatient care unit. – Daily Labor Report (28 Aug 2007): A-5.
Union workers rallied outside Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital in East St. Louis to protest 120 job cuts and the possibility of the facility’s closing. The Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation says they hope to combine the services of this hospital with those at Touchette Regional Hospital in Centreville. Under the consolidation plan now proposed, Kenneth Hall would retain only an emergency room and acute mental health care programs. Reverend Ken McCoy of the Metropolitan Organizations Strengthening and Empowering Society has solicited Governor Blagojevich to not let suburban interests overpower the 31,500 people who live in East St. Louis, many of whom are served and employed by the hospital. East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks said, “Every day there are 13,000 people between 10th Street and the Mississippi River, and I'm just talking about employees — not to mention all the people who visit the Casino Queen on a regular basis, not to mention all the people who come to the federal courthouse on a regular basis," Parks said. "We need a hospital in East St. Louis." – St. Louis Post-Dispatch Today (7 Sept 2007)
In what might set a precedent for the country, Governor Blagojevich signed a law prohibits the construction industry’s use of “independent contractor” status to dodge liability and payments of taxes and benefits. The law declares that a construction worker is an employee unless the worker is “free from” employer control, “providing a service outside the usual course of business” for the employer, and “engaged in an independently established trade.” Currently, thousands of construction workers, including one in every twelve employed in Illinois, are illegally declared independent contractors. – The Labor Paper (16 Aug 2007): 13.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration refined the protocol for whistleblower complaints filed with the Department of Labor. Now, the rule covers complaints brought under the Clean Air Act of 2005; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; Federal Water Pollution Control Act; Safe Drinking Water Act; Solid Waste Disposal Act; and Toxic Substances Control Act. The rule is aimed at making consistent the procedures for handling complaints under the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974(amended in 2005) and more recent acts. – SafteyNet (28 Aug 2007):121. Posted by IRX at 11:27 AM August 30, 2007Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report United Transportation and Sheet Metal Union Merge Members of the United Transportation Union have voted to merge with the Sheet Metal Workers International Association to form a new, 230,000 member union called the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART). The new merger will create a new transportation division combining the SMWIA’s union shipyard workers and the UTU’s air, bus, and rail contracts. – Daily Labor Report (8 August 2007): A-11.
Since approximately 35 percent of its membership identifes as Republicanns, the International Association of Machinists plans later this year to endorse a presidential primary candidate from each party. The final endorsement of a single presidential candidate will be made following input from elected delegates to the IAM convention of September 2008. – Union Labor Report (10 August 2007): 122.
Delphi Corp., which has filed for bankruptcy, reached agreements with four unions: the International Union of Electrical Workers, Communication Workers of America, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Association of Machinists, and International Union of Operating Engineers. The agreements are subject to bankruptcy court approval. – Labor Relations Week (9 August 2007):1133.
Despite allegations that the president of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, Bill Dugan, accepted monthly kickbacks from his employees, union members have voted against the claim to unseat him. The union, located in Countryside, Illinois, represents workers who operate backhoes, cranes, bulldozers and other heavy equipment. – Chicago Tribune (28 August 2007)
Judge Approves FLSA "Collective Action" by Mortgage Lender Hourly Workers Posted by IRX at 2:38 PM August 14, 2007Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report
Griffin Goetz, assistant director of Laborers’ Midwest Region Organizing Committee, has announced the pleasant surprise that Southern Illinois Miners “are strong believers in workers’ rights.” Miners Vice President Erik Haag reflected, “Union labor is what got this ballpark done on time and looking like it does. We have a good relationship so far and I don’t expect that to change.” The union is also working to organize custodial and concession services at the ballpark, workers for ARAMARK. – The Southern (8 August 2007)
Tenneco Inc., headquartered in Lake Forest, has reached a tentative agreement with the IUE-CWA to buy a plant in Kettering. The plant currently employs 700 workers, but Tenneco plans to reduce the workforce to between 350 and 375. New work for the plant will come from General Motors and include struts, strut modules and shock absorbers. Workers are expected to take pay cuts. Production workers, who currently earn between $11 and $23.99 per hour, will now earn $10 per hour for the same labor. Skilled trade workers, who currently make $26 per hour, will now earn $21 per hour. – Dayton Business Journal (8 August 2007)
Springfield firefighters have joined other city employees in a petition to stop a proposed ordinance that would grant alderman access to all city documents, including those that might vilify city workers. The current debate is over access to an in-depth Illinois State Police report of alleged police misconduct. Many Springfield city employees hold that the ordinance, now passed by the city council but not yet signed by Mayor Tim Davlin, violates collective bargaining agreements. Davlin has said that it is not necessary for council members to view personnel documents in order to perform their jobs. If Davlin vetoes the ordinance, it would be his first in five years as Mayor of Springfield. – Springfield Journal Register (14 August 2007)
Located in Saline County, the Galatia mine, owned by the American Coal Company, a subsidiary of Murray Energy Corporation, has been cited by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration with 869 violations so far this year. It has accumulated unpaid fines of more than $3 million dating back to 1999. The company holds that they protest many of these as unfair. The United Mine Workers of America has run campaigns against Robert Murray, the chairman of the mining company and board member of the National Mining Association. This association has cited Murray’s support for the federal Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act which was passed last year. He maintains that despite what federal inspectors have found, his mines are “not particularly better or particularly worse than any other mine operator in the country.” – Forbes.com (9 August 2007)
Members of United Electrical Workers Union Local 1174, workers for Quad City Die Casting, were locked out of their jobs after rejecting contract offers on July 8th and 29th. After talks with a federal negotiator, however, they have announced that they may return to work soon. Tim Curtin, international representative of the electrical workers’ union, said that workers are still concerned with the company’s plans to employ temporary and part-time employees. On top of fears of depressed wages, electrical workers fear that temporary workers face safety hazards when handling molten aluminum without proper experience. – WQAD (Moline) (13 August 2007)
Nurses at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago have rejected the National Nurses Organizing Committee in a vote 293 to 152. Fernando Losada, the union’s director of collective bargaining for Illinois, has reported that the union swayed the vote by exerting pressure and misinformation on the election. The union targeted 508 registered nurses at he hospital. The loss comes as a setback for the union after the successful organizing of 1800 Cook County Bureau of Health Services workers in 2005. – Chicago Business (7 August 2007) Posted by IRX at 3:39 PM August 7, 2007Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report
Thomas McCoy, assembly line worker at Maytag’s plant in Herrin, Illinois, injured his shoulder and received short-term disability payments from the company. When he applied for workmen’s compensation under the state workmen’s compensation agency, however, Maytag at first disputed the claim and then agreed to pay a lump sum of $8,856.69. He and the company did not communicate over his monthly health status while he was off on disability, and four months later found that the company would not take him back to his previous job. He alleges that the company fired him in retaliation for his workmen’s compensation claim and deserves job protection under his United Auto Workers contract. The U.S. District Court ruled for Maytag that he was discharged because he failed to provide Maytag with monthly status reports, one of the provisions of his union agreement. – Daily Labor Report (2 August 2007): A-8.
Domestic partner benefits are not included in the current collective bargaining agreement between UPS and IBT. However, UPS recently agreed to extend spousal health benefits to workers in civil unions. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine urged the company to consider same-sex couples who enter civil unions under the same status as married couples.—Labor Relations Week (2 August 2007): 1095.
The Illinois General Assembly and various Illinois utility companies (including AmerenIP, AmercenCIPS, AmerenCILCO, and ComEd) have reached an agreement to reduce the cost of electricity within the state. ComEd and its parent company Exelon will contribute $800 million, Ameren $150 million and other small power generators in the state will front the remaining $50 million for the relief bill. Ameren customers will receive a rebate check in early September. An estimated 40-70 percent of the increases imposed this year will be rolled back, and a 34.5 percent rate hike will be phased in over the next three years. Attorney General Lisa Madigan argued, “Critical to this agreement is not just immediate relief, but also long-term relief to ensure that customers are protected in the future.” – The Labor Paper (2 August 2007): 1.
Firefighters, Police Officers, and Emergency Medical Service Employees would be allowed to unionize, bargain over working conditions and sign legally enforceable labor contracts under the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act just passed in the House. This national law would protect the rights of public employees to bargain in 21 states which do not currently protect collective bargaining. Unions supporting the bill include the International Association of Fire Fighters, International Brotherhood of Police Officers, International Union of Police Organizations, National Association of Police Organizations, and Fraternal Order of Police. Two states, North Carolina and Virginia, explicitly prohibit public safety employees from engaging in collective bargaining. Four more states allow bargaining as a local option but prohibit legally enforceable contracts. Eleven states allow it only as a local option. Finally, four states allow bargaining only for firefighters and not for police officers. – Government Employee Relations (24 July 2007): 850.
Oakbrook, Illinois-based McDonald’s announced yesterday that restaurant and full-time office workers in China will be paid 12 to 56 percent over the Chinese minimum wage. An official sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the company has spread up its expansion and caught up with KFC, subsidiary of its rival Yum! Brands Inc. – Shanghai Daily (8 August 2007)
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of women truck drivers and operators of other heavy machinery is increasing. In 2006, the Bureau counted 182,000, 5.2 percent of the country’s 3.5 million truck (and similar) drivers are women. This is up almost two percent from figures in 1983. Greenbay, Wisconsin-based Schneider National Inc’s Ellen Voie has noted how the industry has become more female-friendly over the years, but still does not often provide basic facilities such as toilets, showers and a secure place to sleep that are friendly to women. Chairman Ray Kuntz of ATA, the largest US trucking lobbying group, spoke of the need for trucking companies to invest the necessary infrastructure to make it easier for females to join the workforce of heavy machine operators. He said, “If we don’t reach a broader audience, the lack of drivers will bring the US economy to its knees.” In World War II, thousands of women joined the trucking industry but the number plummeted in the immediate postwar years. – www.stuff.co.nz (6 August 2007) Posted by IRX at 4:35 PM July 31, 2007Weekly News ReportJuly 31, 2007
Working without a contract since July 1, 100 workers of Local 1174 at Quad City Die Casting in Moline were notified of a lockout Thursday night. The company told workers in a letter, “you are not to report to work for your next scheduled shift and you will not be allowed to work even if you desire to work until the Union agrees to the Company’s last, best, and final offer for a new labor agreement.” They explained to workers, “contrary to what you have been told by the Union, (our proposal) does not affect your wage rate or your job security. Temporary employees can only be used when 75 employees are scheduled to work and no employees are on layoff and they will not have seniority rights.” A federal mediator began working July 21 but failed to resolve the dispute after the union rejected his last offer. Union President Richard Nordholm said that workers had not had a raise in three years, but is most concerned over the hiring of temporary and part-time workers. He said, “I’m afraid all our full time people will be training the temporary people to take over their own jobs, like training your own executioner.” The company letter told them to pick up their tools and belongings on August 1, and that they would receive a COBRA notice with further information on how to continue their health insurance. – WQAD.com (27 July 2007)
S.B. 500, the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, will eliminate the current patchwork of local laws and ordinances that place limitations on smoking. Smoking is now prohibited in all enclosed public places, workplaces, and government vehicles. The ban covers all restaurants, bars, and casinos and will extend to dormitories and public areas of public and private institutions of higher education. Smoking will be permitted outside and inside particular hotel rooms, retail tobacco shops, and private nursing home rooms. – Daily Labor Report (24 July 2007): A-8. Chicago Metal Conduit Technology This March, Local 134 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Chicago cosponsored a training program for metal conduit benders with the National Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (NJATC). Conduits are steel pipes through which run electrical wires. They are grounded to prevent electrical shorts from erupting into fire. Hence, the week long seminar, made possible through cooperation between the training and professional associations, represented a worker-led move for higher safety and professional standards. Members also hope that the training makes union workers more competitive against nonunion contractors. IBEW Director of Construction and Maintenance Mark Ayers said, “We always focused on having our members be able to do everything well before they got started on a job, but that is not necessarily the most realistic option if we want to compete. If a job needs pipe benders, then we will start training new members on pipe bending first sot hey have productive skills the first day on the job.” --- IBEW Journal (Summer 2007): 10-11.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 21 lobbied hard in Springfield for the passage of SB 678, Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007. The law, passed on June 30, will allow competitors in the market for cable television. Michael Carrigan, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, and Dennis Gannon, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor have publicly expressed their hope that the law will open new union jobs to Illinois families. AT &T, for example, plan on entering the market as soon as possible. The new legislation requires companies to get local clearance for their building infrastructure in public rights of way, and requires them to pay a franchise fee to the communities in which they do business. – Labor Letter (Spring 2007): 6.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined American Airlines $231,000 for 22 significant safety violations found through an inspection of the company’s operating procedures at O’Hare International Airport. The Administration inspected two hangars, a cargo building, a baggage room, ramp services, and ticket and gate services, and found both careless and “willful,” or repeat, violations. Repeat violations include fall protection, electrical and fire hazards, machine guard issues, hygiene issues and “lockout/tagout” procedures. OSHA claimed that American Airlines inspectors should be checking their heaters from unprotected catwalks 80 feet above the ground, jet bridges and de-icing trucks without proper fall protection. – Chicagotribune.com (28 July 2007)
Beginning on August 20, the village of Algonquin will conduct an analysis of its Algonquin Corporate Campus, a 1000-acre swath of land in the northwest Chicago suburb. The village will work with Nortillo & Associates, in association with Carter & Burgess Inc., to complete the study about wages and fringe benefits, work force availability and quality, and training and education data. They will interview about 25 local employers, workforce training providers and community leaders. – www.suburbanchicagonews.com (29 July 2007) Posted by IRX at 3:17 PM July 26, 2007Weekly Labor NewsWeekly Labor News Weekly Labor News Caterpillar Contends that UAW Should Pay for Healthcare Lawsuits Because Caterpillar’s branch of the United Auto Workers participated in negotiations for worker and retiree health insurance, the company contends that the union should pay for lawsuits brought by dissatisfied employees. To that end, Caterpillar has filed a lawsuit in Tennessee against the UAW International and seven locals to reclaim legal fees. – Peoria Journal Star (26 July 2007) State Intervenes in Labor Dispute Between City and Chicago Transit Authority The Illinois General Assembly has helped strike a deal between the city of Chicago and its public transit workers. The CTA’s contract with the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents 10,000 workers, was extended for five years. Workers are required to contribute 3% of their pay for health benefits, and contributions toward pensions have increased to 6%. Workers are required to work until 64 to receive their pensions, up nine years from 54. Annual raises will be 3.5%, about the rate of inflation. Meanwhile, the CTA will contribute 12% of the payroll into these individualized worker retirement funds (not the hoped-for 401Ks). Crain’s business news reports, “The deal was structured as a negotiated settlement to a pending arbitration case.” Therefore, the settlement will not be voted upon by union members. – www.chicagobusiness.com (27 June 2007)
Over 100 uniformed pilots participated in “informational picketing” in front of the downtown Chicago headquarters of the United Airlines headquarters. They protest the tens of millions of dollars in stock and option awards granted to top U-A-L managers, while employees were given pay cuts. The company has declared bankruptcy, allowing for such pay cuts. However, the company still hauls in revenue in order to “recover.” – WREX TV (23 July 2007)
The House passed legislation 276 to 140 providing $11.9 billion in discretionary spending for the Labor Department. It came as part of H.R. 3043, the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008. However, Democrats expect Bush to veto the legislation, and do not expect a 2/3 majority for an override. – Daily Labor Report (20 July2007): AA-1. One significant, last-minute amendment to the House Appropriations Bill proposed to cut 20% of the funding provided for the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, an agency that monitors unions. Illinois Representatives Ray LaHood (R- 18th District) and Peter Roskum, each of whom voted against the Employee Free Choice Act, did not vote with many other House Republicans who lobbied against the amendment. Meanwhile, Illinois Representative Mark Kirk (R-10th District) voted for the amendment. – Weekly Standard (20 July 2007) Posted by IRX at 2:27 PM July 19, 2007Weekly News DigestWeek of July 12, 2007
In two decisions, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that graduate students who are funded by university-related research foundations, rather than the university itself, are entitled to unionize. Both recent cases occurred in New York. In the first decision, the board ruled 2-1 that research assistants employed by the Research Foundation of the State University of New York had the right to unionize. In a second ruling, the board decided that research assistants employed by a similar foundation at the City University of New York were employees under the NLRA. Not only is a union seeking to organize its research assistants entitled to proceed. The decision now allows the NLRB to count ballots in unionization votes cast by Research Foundation employees dating back to March 2002 in Albany, April 2003 in Buffalo and March 2004 in Syracuse. NLRB chairman Robert Battista dissented from the SUNY decision but affirmed the CUNY decision. In the first case, he upheld the precedent of distinguishing between students and workers, and held that SUNY research assistants were primarily students because their work directly impacted their receipt of a degree. Meanwhile, Battista concurred with his colleagues on the CUNY case, holding that because these research assistants worked on an hourly basis and on different campuses, their relationship with their employer was primarily economic and not educational. – Daily Labor Report (12 July 2007): AA-1.
The Dana Corporation reached new labor agreements with the United Auto Workers and United Steelworkers. The corporation will replace responsibility for providing health care for retirees and long-term disability coverage for other employees with union-run Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association trusts. The private equity firm Centerbridge Capital agreed to invest up to $500 to fund upstart trust.—Labor Relation Week (12 July 2007): 989.
Enacted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, new labor legislation in China requires employers to provide written contracts to their workers and restrict the use of temporary laborers. The legislation also makes it more difficult to lay off employees. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions, a Communist or state labor trust, endeavors to undermine the abuses of migrant and temporary workers in booming sectors. The law empowers company-based bargaining units to negotiate with employee representation committees over salaries, bonuses, training and other work-related benefits and duties. The law took no stand on wage or benefit minimums. – New York Times (30 June 2007)
Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 ousted its president, John Chwarzynski, for abusing his office. Eleven members of his union filed charges of misconduct against him for, among other charges: extorting union funds for a fancy dinner for two, and receiving a reimbursement for attending a conference for longer than he actually stayed. – Chicago Suntimes (12 July 2007)
The International Union of Electrical Workers (affiliate of the Communications Workers of America) and the United Electrical Workers, which together represents about 14,000 General Electric employees, ratified a new contract. Terms of the contract have been offered to nine other unions that also represent GE workers, which include: the United Auto Workers, the International Association of Machinists, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, the United Steelworkers, the Sheet Metal Workers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices, and the Service Employees International Union. – Daily Labor Report (29 June 2007): A-1.
The United Transportation Union (UTU) and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA) have combined to form the 230,000-member International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers. SMART would bolster the number of policy holders within the United Transportation Union Insurance Association, but it would remain autonomous. – Fox Valley Labor News (14 June 2007): 14. Posted by IRX at 4:17 PM July 10, 2007Weekly Labor ReportWeek of July 2, 2007 NLRB Amends Rules on “Salts” Protections The National Labor Relations Board ruled that it will no longer assume that workers who were fired because of union activity necessarily have a right to backpay until the time the employer makes a valid hiring offer. Now, the general counsel must demonstrate that the organizer “would have worked for the employer for the backpay period claimed.” Colloquially, firing workers for their union organizing activity is called “salting.” – Construction Labor Report (13 June 2007): 530
Contractor L.E. Myers was convicted of criminal violations by the Occupational Safety and Health Act in the death by electrocution of employee Blake Lane. The 20-year old was killed at a transmission tower in Mt. Prospect, Illinois when he touched what his employers thought was a grounded lightning rod (known to the industry as “static wire”). Wade Cumpston was also killed by electrocution through his work with the company a few months earlier in Plainfield, Illinois. However, the jury acquitted the company of charges relating to his death, holding the difference in the amount of precautions the supervisor took in checking to see which lines were energized. Myers’ appeal of his $7 million fine and conviction in the death of Blake has been denied. He argued that the jury did not have correct instructions in making their decision, but the U.S. District court for the Northern District of Illinois has ruled that the errors were insignificant to the determination of the case. – Occupational Safety and Health (21 June 2007): 562.
One amendment that is likely to come to a vote on the comprehensive immigration bill now pending in Congress (S. 1348) will increase the cap on H-1B visas for skilled workers—from 65,000 to 225,000, possibly up to 290,000. The amendment is designed to address concerns that universities and businesses lose their competitive edge when they are not allowed to include foreign applicants in their job searches. People with advanced degrees in math and science are exempted from the annual cap. Illinois Senator Richard Durbin has insisted that these highly skilled foreign workers be paid the “prevailing wage,” not substandard wages which provide a disincentive to hiring American workers. Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) oppose the legislation in its entirety, for they suggest that the guest worker system would only drive down wages and benefits for the American working class further. In a report released on June 20, the White House Council of Economic concluded that immigrants comprise 15 percent of the US workforce. A full 40 percent of all the “American” scientists who hold Ph.Ds have been born abroad. – Daily Labor Report (21 June 2007): A-6.
In its bankruptcy negotiations, the Dana Corporation has agreed with the United Auto Workers and United Steelworkers to replace its commitment to providing health care for retirees and long term disability coverage for other employees with the union-run Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association trusts. Dana would contribute about $700 million in cash and $80 in common stock to the VEBA. In order to finance this, Centerbridge Capital Partners, a private equity company in New York, will invest up to $500 million in the company and facilitate additional investments of $250 million by other investors. The agreements would allow for extensions of current union contracts until June of 2011, providing cuts in workers’ pensions and disability benefits. – Daily Labor Report (9 July 2007): AA-1.
The “combination” exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act provides an exemption for employees whose work spans multiple exemptions from employee status. Baback Habibi, one of the founders of IntraComm, Inc., a software integration system, failed in his attempts to find protection under the Fair Labor Standards Act for his intellectual property. He designed a software integration system that, after a few financial agreements with other companies, is now valued at $1.5 million. He claims that he took a $7/hour software engineering job with the expectation that he would receive compensation for his idea. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require BAE Systems Information Technology to purchase his software integration system from him.—Daily Labor Report (9 July 2007): A-9.
The U.S. Court of appeals has upheld the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulation that exempts employers’ refusal to grant health benefits for seniors from violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). They found that the EEOC regulation was “reasonable” and “necessary and proper for the public interest.” The court said that many employers lowered retiree health benefit coverage rather than maintaining retiree benefits at pre-Medicare eligibility levels for all retirees simply in order to avoid being called “discriminatory” by the ADEA. – http://pub.bna.com/054594a.pdf Bulletin to Management (12 June 2007)
All nine justices sided with Long Island Care at Home in their decision that in-home health care providers, even if employed by third parties, were exempted from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Evelyn Coke, home attendant, described her suit as a test-case of the regulations set by the health care agency. Justice Stephen Breyer ruled that the court has no power to contradict the rules set by agencies. He explained, “Where an agency rule sets forth important individual rights and duties, where the agency focuses fully and directly upon the issue, where the agency uses full notice-and-comment procedures to promulgate a rule, where the resulting rule itself is reasonable, then a court ordinarily assumes that Congress intended to defer it to an agency’s discrimination.” The Department of Labor, as any other federal agency, they ruled, usually has discretion as long as its regulations fall within its own interpretation of its boundaries. – Daily Labor Report (12 June 2007): AA-1.
Federal legislation has been introduced to bolster the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s ability “to enforce safety and health regulations, improve mine emergency response plans, and bolster rescue, recovery and accident investigations.” United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts has praised the legislation. The legislation would put pressure on the MSHA within the Department of Labor to investigate mines deemed hazardous by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health within 30 days of their notice. Among other provisions, it would also “update the 40-year old exposure limits for hundreds of toxic substances and set improved requirements to protect miners from asbestos exposure.” – Occupational Safety and Health Report (21 June 2007): 553.
A Railroad Safety and Improvement bill (H.R. 2095) proposes new regulations to provide for rail workers, passengers, and their surrounding tracks and yards. According to publication of the International Association of Machinists, the bill proposes to “increase the number of qualified inspectors; establish stringent fatigue management programs; strengthen whistle blower protections; establish training standards for all rail workers; and provide new regulations to end intimidation of rail workers who report personal injuries.” – International Association of Machinists Journal (Summer 2007): 26. Posted by IRX at 4:47 PM June 28, 2007Labor in Illinois: Weekly ReportWeek of June 25, 2007 UAW Accepts Cerberus’ Takeover of DaimlerChrysler Cerberus, which finalized its partial purchase of the failing DaimlerChrysler, has committed to cutting no more than the 13,000 jobs already announced. They have also agreed to take over Chrysler’s health care, pension and retiree responsibilities. The United Auto Workers originally protested the sale but ultimately decided that they would “move forward with the new owner.” – Labor News (Indianapolis) (June 2007)
ABF Freight System has declared that breaking out of Teamster pension plans is their primary goal for next year’s negotiations. UPS has also suggested they would like to pull out of the Central States Pension Fund. According to the Teamster magazine Convoy Dispatch, breaking a pension plan invested in the union would severely undercut union leverage in negotiations. -- Convoy Dispatch (June 2007):1.
While Chicago financier Sam Zell lobbies the Capitol to help him in his petition to release Tribune newspapers and television affiliates form Federal Commerce Commission restrictions, a number of consumer advocacy groups lobby against him. The United Church of Christ, the Consumer Federation of America and the Teamsters, which represent about 2,000 company workers, have all strongly criticized the media consolidation. Zell seeks waivers against FCC regulation in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Hartford, Conn. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin supports the consolidation. He explained, "I don't find any kind of monopoly power being pushed into the market, and I think most people in the market feel … that they're good sources of news." He met with Zell, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and Sen. Charles S. Schumer (D-N.Y.) in supporting the consolidation and a quick, affirmative FCC decision. – Newsday (14 June 2007)
Illinois’ power utility company Ameresco has won important contracts throughout Illinois and Indiana for demonstrating their energy efficiency. Jim Strayer of the Northwest Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council, however, contends that "Our members felt they weren't given the opportunity to bid on the work." He argues that the counties did not advertise contracts sufficiently. State law holds a loop hole that allows the a County Council to issue contracts without the approval of commissioners if they are for the sake of an “energy savings plan.” – Post Tribune (10 June 2007)
The project to widen Route 22 to four lanes between Route 83 and Milwaukee Avenue in Buffalo Grove, Long Grove and Lincolnshire was supposed to be completed by November of last year. However, Capitol Cement, the original government subcontractor hired by the Illinois Department of Transportation, left the job for another one. Business owners seek tax relief and the IDOT is considering offering incentives for early completion of projects rather than simply fines for delays. -- Daily Herald (26 June 2007) Posted by IRX at 4:04 PM June 21, 2007Weekly News DigestWeek of June 21, 2007 Motorola to Close Champaign Facility Motorola will lay off 183 workers at the Champaign software research and development facility, leaving 32 to transfer or telecommute. It has already begun downsizing from a high point of about 275 employees. The Schaumberg-based company has downsized by 11 percent this year, and also closes facilities in Quebec, Montreal, and Adelaide, Australia. It posted its first quarterly loss since 2004. Motorola has not yet determined what to do with the facility they built on land leased from the University of Illinois. – News Gazette (19 June 2007)
In a speech before the Interfaith Worker Justice network in Chicago, Los Angeles auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala entreated Catholics to use labor unions for redeeming Christian work. He said, “Unions must reach out to new audiences of the poor and vulnerable, including immigrants, seasonal and migrant workers and those who lack the skills to participate in the current work environment. Unions must look beyond the self-interest of their current members and work for the good of those who have no voice or power." He interestingly clarified, "Unions grew out of the struggle for social justice, not class struggle. Over the past century, unions have been an important force in ensuring that workers are treated with the dignity that is their due." Linda Chavez-Thompson, executive vice president of the AFL-CIO, also spoke before the rally in defense of immigrant and other workers in Resurrection Health Care system in Chicago. – www.catholicnews.com
American Federation of Teachers’ President Edward McElroy announced during National Charter School Week that the AFT is committed to developing opportunities for teaching staff at charter schools to bargain collectively. Introduced in a 1988 speech by former AFT president Albert Shanker, McElroy reaffirmed his commitment to the idea and introduced a special network for charter teaching staff called ACTS, the Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff. “Being a part of a union will definitely have a positive impact on our students,” said McElroy. “We’ll be connected to a huge network of other educational professionals and will have access to high-quality professional development and the latest educational research.” – Chicago Union Teacher (May 2007)
A custodian at Willow Bend School in Rolling Meadows (Palatine Township Elementary School District 15) appealed his firing because the video surveillance used in his release was not part of his employment contract. Catherine Schutzius, director of the Service Employees International Union, would not say why he was fired, but said it was “not criminal behavior.” She appeals the Illinois Labor Relations Board on behalf of the Illinois Education Labor Relations Act. – Chicago Daily Herald (21 June 2007) Posted by IRX at 5:50 PM June 9, 2007Weekly Labor ReportNLRB Issues Mixed Rulings on Sam's Club Actions The National Labor Relations Board ruled against Sam's Club, a Walmart subsidiary, that a Las Vegas manager violated the NLRA in prohibiting workers from discussing the United Food and Commercial Workers union on the sales floor and prohibiting employees from attaching statements about their asserted rights to their badge holders. The panel was divided, however, over the suspension of an employee who insisted that a coworker accompany her to a meeting with management. Management characterized her as hysterical. – Daily Labor Report (11 May 2007) A coalition of advocacy groups including the Teamsters, Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Environmental Law Foundation, Auto and Truck Drivers Local 70 and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association have filed a federal suit against the operation of Mexican-based longhaul trucks in the United States. The groups contend that the pilot project was developed by the Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carried Safety Administration secretly, outside of the Administrative Procedure Act's requirement to publicly approve the agreement. They echo a 2002 suit on the subject, wherein they argued that Mexican diesel trucks, which are not held to US emissions standards, will increase pollution around the border. Though the Supreme Court decided in 2004 that the Bush administration did not have to consider the environmental impact of the Mexican trucks, the plantiffs still contend that the secrecy of this new agreement violates the official procedures of the North American Free Trade Agreement. – Union Labor Report (4 May 2007): 69. Disney World's Service Trades Council Union, which comprises six separate local unions, held a vote on May 18 over the approval of a three- year contract. Member unions include UNITE HERE, the International Alliance of Theatrical State Employees, Transportation Communications Union, the United Food and Commercial Workers and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Among the provisions of the proposed contract are wage hikes varying from 2 to 5 percent per year, pension credit for workers past 30 years of service, and a "Health Value" plan that offers low co-payments and deductibles. Teamsters recommend that members reject the proposal because it pushes too large a share of the health insurance costs onto employees. – Daily Labor Report (14 May 2007): AA-11. A bilateral proposal on Congressional "Fast Track" authority which gestures to the consideration of the rights of workers but expands free-trade agreements has provoked disagreements among unions and has strained the relationship between organized labor and House Democrats. The AFL-CIO has optimistically embraced free trade agreements with Panama and Peru, but have voiced concern over the expansion of Congressional "fast track authority" to Columbia and South Korea. The Change to Win federation, meanwhile, has stated they are "extremely disappointed that House Democratic leaders in Congress joined with the Bush administration yesterday to announce a trade 'deal' that is far more free than fair." They are concerned that expansion of the free-trade agreement resembles the North American Free Trade Agreement and Central American Free Trade Agreement, neither of which strive to protect American jobs. Furthermore, they argue, NAFTA/CAFTA directly promote "a surge in undocumented immigration, a soaring trade deficit, declining wages, and a deterioration of labor standards." The Teamsters' James Hoffa, president of one of the seven partners in the Change to Win federation, argued, "I am baffled as to why there is such eagerness to give this president—who is unwilling to enforce current labor and trade laws—a victory by continuing to pass more…trade models that send good-paying jobs overseas." A statement by the United Steelworkers held, "We are deeply disappointed that neither the Democratic Caucus nor the labor movement were fully briefed about the details of the proposed agreement before those who negotiated it were publicly proclaiming its virtues." National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler supports the House proposal and holds that it does not obligate manufacturers to uphold International Labor Organization Core Conventions that they have not ratified.— Daily Labor Report (14 May 2007): AA-1. Karla Teasley of Illinois American Water announced plans to initiate a rate case with the Illinois Commerce Commission to cover, according to the Daily Southtown, "rising fuel, power, labor, materials and health insurance prices." Several localities including Orland Hills, Illinois have considered freeing themselves of dependence on the corporation by exercising their right of eminent domain over their local water infrastructure. The town still remembers the installation of new water meters in 2005 that many claim were faulty. Illinois American Water has discussed changing the currently flat-rate sewage fee to one based on usage. – Daily Southtown (16 May 2007) The new pact reached by the International Association of Machinists and Boeing Co. includes a either a 3.5 percent lump sum payment or four percent increase in workers' pay, a bonus plan to encourage improvements in quality and productivity, continued opportunities to join the employee stock-distribution plan, and opportunities for workers to contribute four to 12 percent of their pay to their choice of heath insurance plans. The IAM successfully fended off Boeing's proposal to disregard layoff seniority rules "for workers said to possess critical skills or a necessary security clearance," says the Daily Labor Report. Anger at that proposal was repudely the primary motivation behind an April 22 strike-authorization vote. – Daily Labor Report (18 May 2007): A-6. Posted by IRX at 9:18 AM May 22, 2007Weekly Labor ReportWeekly Labor Report Illinois Discusses Crack Downs on Construction Firms Misclassifying Workers A bill that may become the Illinois Employee Classification Act, now pending in the Illinois General Assembly, would create rigid limitations on the use of the term independent contractor within the construction industry. It would arm the Illinois Department of Labor and Illinois Attorney General with new authorities to penalize firms violating the law. Caroline Shannon, director of the Illinois Department of Labor, said that some employers and contractors get an unfair advantage in not having to pay workmen's compensation insurance, unemployment insurance, or payroll taxes. Generally, the Bureau of National Affairs reports, the IRS requires that independent contractors direct their own work, set their own schedules and provide their own equipment. An Illinois Department of Employment Security report found that using the most conservative income reporting rate, Illinois lost $125 million in income taxes annually between 2001 and 2005 due to misclassification. – Construction Labor Report (4 Apr 2007): 182. John Flynn, president of the International Union of Bricklayers and Craftsworkers, took the findings of his undercover reporting on misclassified workers to the Illinois state attorney general as well as the House Education and Labor Committee. Cliff Horn, Chicago-area masonry contractor testifying on behalf of the Mason Contractors Association of America, affirmed that though his 75 employee company is growing, it is still hard to fight the firms with a 15 to 30 percent labor cost advantage because of misclassified workers. He argued, "Independent contractors typically have no formalized training, no quality control, and no access to continuing education." He questioned if "shortcuts in construction methods and design specifications would be out of the question?" – Labor Tribune (12 Apr 2007):11. The Employee Benefits Security Administration continues to try to enforce the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, says the Government Accountability Office. – Labor News (April 2007): 1-2.
Among the multiplicity of rallies for immigration reform this week, marchers gathered in Chicago's Pilsen, Union Park and Humboldt Park neighborhoods and marched through the Loop to join the main rally in Grant Park. The Chicago Tribune notes only Mayor Daley as a speaker who addressed the crowd. The Tribune described the march from the view of "office workers" who both "peered out windows above" and "lunched outside" "[o]n an otherwise quiet, sunny afternoon downtown." They note the frustration of a motorist stuck in traffic for ten minutes and a "legal immigrant" from Bosnia as "the march clogged portions of the Loop for hours, with police closing down intersections as marchers made their way from Union Park to Grant Park." The coverage concludes with commentary by a man named Kevin Houseworth who admits his first reaction was "Go back to Mexico." It finishes with his thought, "The city is becoming more Mexican whether we like it or not." – Chicago Tribune (1 May 2007) Coverage of a similar march in the University of Illinois' Daily Illini was only slightly more immigrant friendly. The UI student group La Colectiva and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights organized the local rally immigrant and refugee rights to coincide with national marches. Some students, including sophomore Sonia Rodriguez, read off a list of demands including comprehensive immigration reform, a stop on raids and deportation, and privacy rights for undocumented students and employees. The Daily Illini reports a visit from University Chancellor Richard Herman and notes his ambiguous statement out of context, "Those who have come from outside have served this country and this University well in the past and will continue to do so in the future." – Daily Illini (2 May 2007
Cerberus Capital Management, a private Wall Street equity firm, emerged as the front runner in recent negotiations to buy DaimlerChrysler's American arm, which makes Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep brands. The National Review comments, "America's automakers are facing a day of reckoning: either bring their labor costs in line with competitive standards or die." David Cole of the Center for Automotive Research has argued that Cerberus, with a 22 percent record of return on investment, is "not a member of the Benevolent Society of Employers." Auto sector financial analyst Brad Rubin posits that Cerberus will likely change from 401k retirement accounts, co-pays and deductibles on health care, and a reduction in hourly pay. United Auto Workers at Chrysler are currently paid $30 more than non-union workers at an American Toyota plant. Rubin is most concerned, however, that an upcoming Democratic presidential administration would mandate increased fuel efficiency standards which would cut the proportion of profit per car. – National Review Online (16 May 2007) Un-unionized workers from Toyota of Kentucky, meanwhile, have protested that taxpayers have funded over $371 million in tax subsidies since 1986 but the company has ignored the "human cost of industrial success." At a recent forum in Lexington, Kentucky, they declared that the company does not care enough for workers who are injured, hires low-paid temporary workers, and has plans to current prevailing wages. Rev. John Rausch of the Diocese of Lexington and Cylister Williams, member of the Kentucky Jobs with Justice Steering Committee that has ties to Illinois, have organized a Workers' Rights Board to provide space through churches and community organizations for Toyota workers in Kentucky to share their concerns with one another. – Solidarity (May- June 2007) Linda Forst of the University of Illinois at Chicago has found that since 1997, Latino workers in Illinois have had an injury rate twice that of others. Their rate of amputation for fingers of hands is three times that of others. However, the rate is quite uncertain since an estimated 7.2 million unauthorized workers fuel the nation's economy. Many injuries suffered by Latino workers, a Chicago-area hospital's occupational health officer determined, could have been prevented through English literacy, proper equipment, and proper care by employers. Many injured workers are afraid of reporting to hospitals for fear their undocumented status would require their deportation. – Labor Tribune (26 Apr 2007) Two laptop computers which were being used by an auditing firm working at the Chicago Public School offices were stolen. The computers contained social security numbers and all other personal information relating to CPS employees who contributed to the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (CTPF) between 2003 and 2006. Chicago Teachers Union president Marilyn Stewart expressed outrage at the carelessness of CPS security. Dan Yost of MyLaptopGPS.com has worked closely with the union and the CPS, but concedes, "Laptop theft has reached epidemic proportions with nearly one laptop stolen every 53 seconds…If the identities of any of the 40,000 individuals are stolen it will take, on average, 12-16 months for most of them to detect it." --- Chicago Union Teacher (April 2007)
According to a recent study released by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, women with four year college degrees earn 5 percent less than men one year the same the year after graduation. That gap widens to 12 percent after 10 years. The study analyzed data from two Department of Education studies of approximately 9000 people who graduated college in 1993, and 10,000 people who graduated in 2000. – Bulletin to Management 8 May 2007
Cadence Innovation LLC, the likely buyer of Collins and Aikman manufacturing, has agreed to $1/ hour pay increases for all employees |
Labor in Illinois
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