Labor in Illinois

Week of Apr 17

Teamsters Sponsor Protest Against First Student Bus Company in Naperville

Joined by Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Phil Hare, First Student bus company workers rallied Monday for benefits and union rights to organize. First Student is a subsidiary of FirstGroup, the United-Kingdom-based company which holds official "neutrality" in union organizing bought the Naperville-based Laidlaw International Inc. Many First Student bus drivers who started under Laidlaw were Teamsters. Over the past eight months, the Teamsters have organized nearly 5000 First Student workers, including employees in Bloomington and Danville. – Labor News (12 Apr 2007):8.

Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Engineers to Protect Free Internet Communication Within Union

The International Union of Operating Engineers filed a lawsuit with Public Citizen claiming that their right to communicate with each other has been infringed upon by the union’s password-protected website. According to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, all union members have the right to discuss union affairs with each other and the general public The act also defends the right of members to sue their union without the threat of disciplinary action. IUOE locals in Illinois are located in Chicago, Granite City, Countryside, Marion, Peoria and Springfield. – Public Citizen (29 Mar 2007) http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2406

Illinois AFL-CIO Endorses Worker-Friendly Bills in Illinois General Assembly

The Illinois AFL-CIO supports bills for an expansion of whistleblower protections, pay on construction contracts within 15 days of approval, and Paid Family Medical Leave insurance through an expansion of Department of Employment Security. – Grand Prairie Union News (March 2007): 5.


US Organized Labor Supports Mexican Miners' Union

Members of the Mexican Miners union known by the acronym SNTMMSRM have been targeted by the Mexican government for their organizing, including the illegal removal of their democratically elected general secretary, Napoleon Gomez Urrutia. An international delegation of union members from the metalworkers, steelworkers and AFL-CIO met with Mexican Labour Minister Javier Lozano Alarcon to discuss the Pasta de Conchos crisis and the need for union autonomy in Mexico. – Metal World (March 2007): 7.


Immokalee Workers Target Burger King

On the heels of gaining a new contract with McDonalds to pay Florida farmworkers one cent more per pound of tomatoes, the Coalition of Imokalee Workers (CIW) has announced plans to target Burger King. The raise of one penny per pound would boost workers' wages by 70 percent, from about 45 to 77 cents per bushel. Under contracts negotiated with Yum Brands and McDonalds, workers will make about $96 per day, while under contracts with BK, they still make about $56 for the same weight of 4000 pounds of tomatoes. At the moment, BK has offered to stop buying from suppliers if the CIW proves they are violating labor laws. Laws, however, offer few protections for farmworkers. – News Standard (19 April 2007)


Bunge Union Extends Contract

The Bunge Milling Company of Danville agreed with union officials Tuesday to extend employees' current contract to May 31. On April 2, 93 percent of Bunge's union-represented workers voted to reject the contract offered by the company. – Commercial News (Danville) (19 April 2007)

Coalition of Labor Union Women Launch New Drive for ERA

CLUW President Marsha Zakowski launched vows that union women will "do everything we can" to help pass the Women's Equity Amendment, the new name for the Equal Rights Amendment. The CLUW sent a delegation to the Capitol Hill launching of the campaign. – Labor Tribune (5 April 2007): 8.


Illinois Coal Mine Strike Settled

United Mine Workers at the Wabash Mine in Keensburg ended their strike with a new contract that provides severance pay and other benefits for about 230 Tri-State workers. Workers at Foundation Coal vowed that they deserved equitable terms at all the mining sites. Part of the Wabash settlement provides union successorship rights, or the rights to continue union contracts with any new company taking over the mine, for the next five years. Based in Maryland, Foundation Coal operates a dozen mines across the country and produces 72 million tons of coal annually. – Evansville Courier Press (14 April 2007)