Labor in Illinois

1. UAW President Urges Members to Approve Concessions to Ford

President Ron Gettlefinger of the United Auto Workers urged the 42,000 members of his union who work at Ford to approve concessions to Ford Motor Company. Gettlefinger wrote the unionized Ford workers about the dire straits of the company and the auto industry, saying, "The company cannot continue to sustain this level of losses and stay in business." Ford, which operates a stamping plant in Chicago Heights and an assembly plant in Chicago, will make buyout offers to all its unionized hourly workers. The UAW has also agreed to take stock as up to 50% of the health-care payments that Ford makes to help sustain the UAW health-care trust fund for retirees. Ford currently owes the fund over $13 billion on a $23.7 liability. Concessions include changing time-and-a-half overtime pay to take effect after 40 hours instead of after 8 hours a day, and includes giving Ford the right to flexible scheduling such as four ten-hour days.--Chicago Tribune (25 February 2009) http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-ford-uaw,0,4573738.story

2. Opposition Mounting to Wal-Mart's Proposed Expansion into Chicago

Unions and various Chicago aldermen have posed strident opposition to the proposed expansion of Wal-Mart into the city's South Side. An outstanding issue for organized labor and certain politicians remains Wal-Mart's opposition to unionization. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based corporation ""would be welcome to come to Chicago if they gave their workers the right, if they so desire, to organize," according to Alderman Joe Moore (49th), a union ally. "We are simply asking them for that level of fairness." Wal-Mart is considering multiple South Side locations, including Chatham, Pullman, and Washington Park. However, the company has been rebuffed in Chatham, when last year the city's Department of Community Development would not approve a zoning request for Wal-Mart. Mayor Richard Daley has distanced himself from the issue in order to maintain organized labor's support for Chicago's 2016 Olympics bid.--Crain's Chicago Business (2 March 2009) http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?articleId=31406

3. Provisions for Unemployed in Stimulus Plan

The recently passed stimulus plan contains particular provisions that should assist Illinois's unemployed in the coming months. Among other things, the stimulus package will extend Emergency Unemployment Compensation that extends unemployment benefits an additional 20 weeks. This was due to run out near the end of August, but that date has been extended until December 31, 2009. It also eases workers' access to health care benefits through COBRA. Previously, laid-off workers had to pay for their own health insurance premiums. With the stimulus law, employers will pay up to 65% of the COBRA premiums, which the government will reimburse to them, and the provision is retroactive to September 1, 2008. The subsidy can last up to nine months. Additionally, the stimulus package will resuscitate government spending for the Job Training Partnership Act to put youths to work. --Kankakee Daily Journal (1 March 2009) http://daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=436272

4. Republic Windows and Doors Sold, to Re-Open in Months

After staging a six-day sit-in last December, workers at the former Republic Windows and Doors were excited to learn that a California-based company, Serious Materials, bought the bankrupt company for $1.45 million. Serious Materials plans to hire back some or all of the 250 former workers within several months. “They are promising to hire all of us back sooner or later, but they will start with a small crew,” said Mr. Robles, 39, who had been a maintenance technician. “Having another company reopen the factory was always our hope when we occupied the factory in December.” News of the sale came on the heels of word that Republic's former Rich Gillman, had halted operations at its Red Oak, Iowa plant--which had opened as a non-union factory late last year. --New York Times (26 February 2009) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/us/27factory.html?_r=1

5. State Attorneys File Complaint Against Caterpillar for Oil Spill

Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Will County State Attorney James Glasgow filed a seven-count lawsuit against Caterpillar, the Peoria-based earth-moving manufacturer, over thousands of gallons of oil that spilled from its Joliet facility on February 8. Roughly 65,000 gallons of oil overflowed from the facility, and it is estimated that 6,500 gallons flowed into the Des Plaines River. Glasgow noted that the company quickly reported the spill, and that no serious environmental damage occurred as a result. However, the complaint alleges multiple violations, including that the incident endangered the environment, and seeks thousands of dollars in fines. --Peoria Journal-Star (23 February 2009) http://www.pjstar.com/archive/x1739334294/Lawsuit-filed-over-Caterpillar-oil-spill

6. Arbitrator Rules for City Workers, Against Oak Forest in Health Care Dispute

Unionized city workers in Oak Forest, who paid higher out-of-pocket costs for co-pays and deductibles after the city changed its health care plan, will be reimbursed by the city, according to a January 30 arbitration decision. Arbitrator Robert McAllister ruled that Oak Forest did not offer "substantially the same" health insurance plan to "police, public works, clerical and telecommunicator employees" when the city change the plan on January 1, 2007. The city must also restore the prior health insurance plan that the workers had before the changes made at the beginning of 2007 or, if one is not readily available through an insurance company, work to create one. This is the second arbitration case in the last seven months that Oak Forest has lost. Last year, an arbitrator ruled that the city had to reinstate and pay back pay to Don Hall, a public works employee who had been fired. --Southtown Star (26 February 2009) http://www.southtownstar.com/neighborhoodstar/oakforest/1447607,022609OFlabor.article