Labor in Illinois

Southern Illinois Coal Mine Closes in Response to Strike

Just hours after workers at the Wabash Mine near Keensburg, Illinois began a coordinated strike for a better national contract, Foundation Coal Holdings Inc. announced it would close the facility. The company said that the Illinois site lost $26 million last year and has struggled recently with “extensive aged infrastructure, geologic challenges and soft market conditions.” The two Foundation Coal affiliates with whom the United Mine Workers’ strike was coordinated, Cumberland and Emerald (near Waynesburg, Pennsylvania), agreed to sign the national agreement. The Lithnicum Heights, Maryland-based Foundation operates 14 mines and produces 72 million tons of coal per year. Local UMW representatives have declined to comment, but are scheduling a rally at the Gibson County Fairgrounds in Princeton, Indiana. – Courier Press (Evansville, IL) (5 Apr 2007): http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/apr/05/southern-illinois-coal-mine-closes-after-workers/

Gutierrez Introduces New Immigration Bill to Congress

Illinois Representatives Louis Gutierrez (IL-4) and Jeff Flake (AZ-6) introduced the Security Through Regularized Immigration and Vibrant Economy (STRIVE) Act of 2007 to Congress. The employment verification program would support stronger “interior enforcement” and border security, as well as a “new worker” program that would support up to 400,000 immigrants, based on market demand. The measure would also overhaul the visa system, creating a new H-2C visa. Valid for three years, the visa would be available to workers who showed their qualifications and proof of a job offer from a US employer, underwent background checks, and paid a $500 application fee, among other requirements. The bill would require that employers first tried to find qualified American workers, and would prohibit hiring H2-C workers in areas with very high unemployment for workers with very little formal education. The visa would provide some protections, as well as the opportunity to apply for permanent residence after five years. It does not provide amnesty for currently undocumented workers, but outlines a protocol, including a fine and back taxes, for these immigrants to earn citizenship. – Daily Labor Report (23 Mar 2007): A-8-11.

City of Chicago Agrees to Patronage Reform

The Shakman Settlement Agreement and Accord, recently filed in the Northern District of Illinois, provides $12 million to support further reforms to the role of party loyalty in personnel decisions. The agreement should affect nearly 40,000 job titles, while about 800 policy level jobs will remain “Shakman-exempt.” The settlement funds will also compensate workers who were violated by previous Shakman decrees. –Daily Labor Report (23 March 2007): A-10-11.

Employee Misclassification Bill Passes IL House Labor Committee

The Illinois AFL-CIO, in collaboration with the Illinois, Iowa, Indiana Foundation for Fair Contracting, the Chicago & Cook County Building Trades, and the support of Representative Osterman (D-Chicago), helped pass a bill that will make it more difficult to misclassify workers as independent contractors in the construction industry. –Fox Valley Labor News (22 Mar 2007): 3.

Franklin Park Deans’ Foods Drivers Join Teamsters

Franklin Park milk deliverers for Deans’ Foods, a distributor serving stores throughout Chicagoland, recently voted 18-1 in favor of joining Teamsters’ Local 754 in Elmhurst. According to Mike DiGrazia, Joint Council 25’s Organizing Director, the drivers “withstood a very aggressive anti-union campaign.” – Teamster (March/April 2007)

IAM Featured on Wheel of Fortune

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO, will share sponsorship of television program Wheel of Fortune between April 23 and May 18, and again between August 27 and Sept 7 of this year. Contestants will compete to win some products sponsored by the IAM, and Machinists’ commercials will air periodically. International President Tom Buffenbarger explained, “We want America to know about the Machinists union and about the products our members proudly manufacture.” – IAM Journal (Spring 2007):4.