February 13, 2007
Labor in Illinois News Digest
UN Body Rules Against Transportation Security Administration
The United Nation’s International Labour Organization (ILO) ruled that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) unfairly denied the collective bargaining rights of Transportation Security Officers throughout the country. TSA employees work under the Department of Homeland Security in divisions such as Border Control, Customs, and Immigration. The ILO ruled that National Security is not a good enough excuse to ignore rights to collective bargaining. Transportation Security workers allied with the American Federation of Government Employees to make their case before the ILO. –The Government Standard Vol. 74, No. 1 (Jan/Feb 2007).
Appeals Court Reaffirms NERA Study as Valid in IDOT Lawsuit
The Seventh Circuit Court ruled against Northern Contracting Inc (NCI) and affirmed that the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise plan was constitutional. The IDOT relied upon the National Economic Research Associates, a private firm, for its tabulation of public needs for social and economic justice in federally assisted projects. Northern Contracting contended that the IDOT relied on a “custom census,” and appealed its loss in the lower courts on the basis of a demographic miscalculation. -- http://news.findlaw.com/prnewswire/20070205/05feb20071206.html (5 Feb 2007)
Ullin Teachers Withdraw from IEA
School teachers in Ullin, a small town in Southern Illinois, voted to withdraw from the Illinois Education Association (IEA), the National Education Association (NEA), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) last week. Their newly formed Century Education Association (CEA) will become part of the Association of American Educators (AAE), a national body that calls itself a non-union, “professional alternative to teacher labor unions.” According to its website, the AAE “seeks to increase the respect and professionalism of teachers, to improve public education through increased accountability for higher achievement, and to provide educators with a professional alternative to teacher labor unions.”- www.aaeteachers.org. and http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/
02-05-2007/0004520427&EDATE (5 Feb 2005)
AFL-CIO Sponsors Start-Up of Union Sportsmen’s Alliance
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), supported by many unions in the AFL-CIO, launched a club for union members who enjoy outdoor recreation. The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), formally launched Jan 13 at a Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, plans to offer an independent magazine, website, radio show, and television program on the Outdoor Life Network. It will also offer group rates for union families on outdoor sporting gear, travel and services. Formal registration for will begin April 1 of this year. –Construction Labor Report Vol. 52, No. 2606 (24 Jan 2007): 1435.
Union Membership Rises in Illinois, but falls throughout US
Reported union membership throughout the country fell 325,000 in 2006, and 84% of the decline was in the private sector. Little to no job growth was reported within the public sector. However, among the top five states with union members—California, New York, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio—only Illinois reported increased union membership. –Fox Valley Labor News (1 Feb 2007):3.
Homer Business Hit by Harley Strike
Machinists’ strike at a Harley Davidson plant in York, Pennsylvania has slowed business and indefinitely suspended many orders at the Torshware manufacturing plant in Homer, Illinois. Harley Davidson workers demand better health insurance coverage and wage increases, and protest the two tiered wage system that pays newer employees less than current employees.— News-Gazette (Champaign) (2 Feb 2007): C-10.
Workers and Unions Fight No-Match Letters
The Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has recently encouraged employers to terminate workers whose Social Security documentation does not match that on file with the federal government. Several coalitions of unions and faith-based organizations, especially the Chicago Workers Collaborative, UNITE HERE and the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice have protested massive firings of workers in companies such as Cintas (laundry and hotel) and Swift (pork processing), contending that the “No-Match” policy unfairly targets immigrant workers.—Labor Notes (Feb 2007): 3.
Business and Labor Groups Support Greater Investment in Infrastructure
A coalition of business and labor groups in Chicago has recently put pressure on lawmakers to invest $25 billion over the next five years into the Illinois highway, transit, air and rail network. The Transportation for Illinois Coalition (TFIC) argues that such investment is necessary, both to maintain the current influx of travelers to and from Illinois, and to sustain employment and the state economy over the next five years. – http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/
02-07-2007/0004522790&EDATE (7 Feb 2007)
Posted on February 13, 2007 3:31 PM