Labor in Illinois

Weekly Labor Report
Week of August 7, 2007

Illinois Factory Worker Failed to Prove that Firing was Retaliation

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.

UPS Extends Spousal Health Benefits to IBT Workers in Civil Unions

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.

Lawmakers Announce Rate Reduction for Electricity

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.

House Approves Bill to Require Bargaining for State and Local Employees

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.

McDonald’s Raises Pay for Chinese Workers

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)

Women Truckies Increasing in US

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)