Labor in Illinois

Weekly Labor Report
Weeks of May 1-21

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.

Union and Contractor Collaborate to Change Employee Classification Legislation

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.

Labor Department Enforcement Still Lacking

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.

Illinois Protesters Rally for Immigrant Rights; Media Coverage Less than Friendly

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

Financial Analysts Compare Chrysler with Toyota

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)

Latino Workers Suffer More Injuries, Fatalities

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)

Social Security Numbers of Chicago Public School Employees Lost

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)

Gender Gap Starts First Year After College, then Widens

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 and Teamsters Reach Agreement

Cadence Innovation LLC, the likely buyer of Collins and Aikman manufacturing, has agreed to $1/ hour pay increases for all employees hired within 90 days of the company's effective date of plant acquisition. Hiring would proceed by job classification, with priority given to workers with special skills. Only those employees who accepted job offers within 150 days would retain all accumulated seniority and benefit service credits from the previous owner, and job contract negotiations were restricted for the first 60 days after the acquisition.— News Gazette (Champaign) (4 May 2007)

Ethanol Production Cited as Dangerous for Agricultural Economies

Economist Ernie Goss and CEO Bill McQuillan of City National have suggested that skilled labor shortages in ethanol production have slowed economic growth in primarily agricultural regions of the United States. They did not respond to comments on the slower planting and harvesting season this year because of late frosts and especially heavy rain. States cited as declining too quickly in rural unemployment because of new ethanol producing projects include Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. – Forbes. Com (18 May 2007)

Illinois Ahead in Job Creation, Ahead in Layoffs

According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the state added more than 54,300 new jobs in the past year, more than any other state in the Midwest. Last month, the most jobs were added in educational and health care services and construction sectors. On the other hand, Illinois layed off 15,558 workers during the first quarter of this year, the third largest state layoff in the country after California and Ohio. – Business First (Columbus, OH) and 2 News (18 May 2007)