Labor in Illinois

1.) Illinois Stage Workers Picket, Accuse University of Contract Violation

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 482, representing stage hands and riggers in Champaign, held an informational picket outside Assembly Hall on Thursday July 23. The IATSE local asserts that the University of Illinois, by hiring a Florida contractor for renovation work at Assembly Hall, is violating its collective bargaining agreement. "This is work our local does. Several riggers do this. We've done the fly systems at Krannert, Parkland and Foellinger Auditorium. We have a contract with the university and this building and we feel as though they are violating our collective bargaining agreement," said Jim Bean, assistant business agent for the local. However, Tom Divan, assistant director of operations for Assembly Hall, argues that "We followed state and university guidelines in bidding this project because of the dollar amount associated with it. Any contractor able to do this work was able to bid on it." Although the local is using local union electricians and iron workers, it is displacing several local union members capable of performing the renovations, IATSE Local 482 member Sean Murphy asserted. Murphy also argued that the Florida contractor is not following proper safety guidelines. Many of our 35 members are capable of this work. A lot of it is done 90 feet in the air hanging from a fall-arrest harness. People who are doing the work in there are not wearing such gear," Murphy contended. --The News Gazette (24 July 2009) http://www.news-gazette.com/news/2009/07/24/local_union_upset_about_hiring_of

2.) Norma Gaines Wins Liberty Bell Award

The Madison County Bar Association awarded United Steelworkers (USW) member and labor educator Norma R. Gaines with their Liberty Bell Award in May. According to the Madison County Bar, "The presentation of the Liberty Bell Award is made annually to a non-lawyer who promotes better understanding of the rule of law, encourages greater respect for law and the courts, and stimulates a sense of civic responsibility. The Liberty Bell Award was established more than thirty years ago." Gaines, who was one of the first women to become a journeyman craftsman at the US Steel Granite City Works, is the Co-Coordinator of USW's District 7 "Women of Steel" group, which educates women in the union's district. It also formed the Phoenix Crisis Center to shelter and assist abused women and their families in Granite City, IL, and has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the center through theatrical performances. Gaines has served as a teacher at the University of Illinois's Labor Education Program. --United Steelworkers of America. http://www.usw.org/action_center/women_of_steel/page?type=news&id=0009

3.) Teachers at Three Chicago Charter Schools Unionize

After a two-month fight with Civatas Schools' Chicago International Charter Schools (CICS), teachers at three charter schools in the city voted 73-49 to unionize. Although 75 percent of teachers at three charter schools--Wrightwood, Northtown Academy, and Ralph Ellison--signed cards expressing their desire to unionize in April, CICS pushed for an NLRB election even though Illinois labor law allows public-sector workers to unionize via card-check. Workload, work hours, and pay issues motivated the charter schools to unionize. At Northtown, the former CEO allegedly told teachers that they would be required to teach an additional class with no raise in pay. They were also told that, rather than teach summer school, they would instruct students who failed in night school. “If we didn’t like it, they basically told us ‘there’s the door,’” said Emily Mueller, a Spanish teacher. Teacher dissatisfaction resulted in high turnover rates at Ellison, with only six of twenty teachers returning to the school last year. --Labor Notes (August 2009) http://labornotes.org/node/2346

4.) Illinois Unemployment Rises to 10.3%

The unemployment rate in Illinois rose slightly to 10-3% in June, up from 10.1% in May. 683,000 people remain unemployed, the highest number in a month since November 1983. Construction and manufacturing were hit heavily, with construction losing 5,400 jobs and manufacturing 2,800. --Chicago Sun-Times (17 July 2009) http://www.suntimes.com/business/1671144,w-illinois-unemployment-rate-071709.article

5.) AFSCME Sues State to Ensure Members' Pay

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), representing 40,000 state workers, filed suit Tuesday July 14 to ensure that the state would pay its members despite the lack of a state budget in place. “We’re seeking a court order that state employees be paid on time, on schedule and in full,” said Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The suit alleges that the state has violated not just the union contract, but fair-labor provisions of federal labor law. --Peoria Journal-Star (14 July 2009) http://www.pjstar.com/homepage/x488838235/AFSCME-files-suit-to-force-state-worker-paychecks