Canton, IL – About 100 trade unionists and others gathered here, July 8, for Solidarity Day 2. This second annual picnic and program celebrating the solidarity of working people brought together labor activists from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri. Rob Wilson, a rank-and-file leader of UAW members at Caterpillar told the crowd that the corporate elite that run this country do not care about anyone or anything except their bottom line. Larry Solomon, retired president of Decatur UAW Local 751 and a legendary labor leader of the mid-1990s battle with Caterpillar, gave the Solidarity Day address, in which he called on workers to come together to transform the labor movement and the country as a whole. Other speakers included Tom Seymour, retired president of UAW Local 858 and Leroy McKnight, a General Motors retiree.
Meredosia, IL – Celanese Emulsions illegally locked out the 150 families of Boilermakers Local 484 in Meredosia, Illinois, on June 5, 2005. In a continuing war on American workers, Celanese, a German-based multinational affiliated with National Starch, turned the tranquility of this small Illinois river community of 1100 into a war zone, changing the lives of local residents forever. Instead of negotiating in good faith [the subject of an National Labor Relations Board charge], Celanese brought in the services of Special Response Team, a Roanoke, Virginia-based company that specializes in breaking strikes and unions.
St. Paul, MN – Frente a una pancarta que dice, “Rescate del pueblo pobre y trabajador – No a los billonarios!” las líderezas del Comité por el Derecho de Asistencia Pública anunciaron una campaña para combatir el impacto de la creciente crisis económica en una conferencia de prensa el 29 de octubre. Acompañándolos en la actividad se hicieron presentes miembros del sindicato de oficinistas AFSCME 3800, el Comité Anti-guerra, Mujeres en Contra de la Militarización y otros grupos que luchan por la paz y la justicia.
Chicago IL – One year after Chicago Teamsters Local 743 officials were caught stealing the Local’s officer election, U. S. District Judge Robert Gettleman has agreed to hear a case brought by rank-and-file members of Local 743 against their corrupt union officials.
Chicago, IL – Governor George Ryan has taken a big ax to the state budget. His target is working people. He plans to lay off 3000 employees, and to cut back on services like health care for the poor.
Chicago, IL – They tried to steal the Teamsters Local 743 election and they were caught red handed. Bob Walston, Diane Strickland and the rest of the 743 old guard officers could not win an election on their own, so they resorted to cheating. The election race pitted the rank-and-file New Leadership Slate against the corrupt, mob-tied, old guard.
Chicago, IL – In a stunning upset, members of Teamsters Local 743 voted to send a rank and file slate of delegates to their convention; rejecting the slate dominated by officers, staff and stooges for International President Jimmy Hoffa Jr. The Teamsters International Convention sets policy for the union, and nominates candidates for International Union President and the Executive Board. Conventions are held only once every 5 years.
Elmhurst, IL – Three hundred members of the Service Employees International Union Local 73 extended Labor Day to Tuesday by showing up at a Dignity Rally in front of City Hall. Local 73 slammed the unfair treatment of union sisters and brothers who work for the city's Public Works Department.
Plainfield, IL – “This whole fight was about respect,” said Al Guzman, one of almost two hundred Service Employee International Union Local 1 members who struck S & G Packaging in Plainfield, an outer Chicago suburb, during May and June. “We fought for respect inside the plant and we fought for respect on the picket line.” The 4-week long strike was the high point of a contract campaign that started last October.
Chicago, IL – Clerical workers at the University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC) are celebrating after scoring a big victory in contract negotiations. The fight for this contract had dragged on over two years. When the last contract expired in August 2006, management’s team under the new vice chancellor, John Loya, took a very hard attitude in the first bargaining sessions. Management’s proposals included a new formula for wages that called for subtracting anniversary raises that are part of the seniority system for these workers. Willie English, a staff representative for SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Local 73, pointed out that this move “…would have resulted in employees falling behind the cost of living.”
Chicago, IL – The contract fight between 1500 clerical and administrative workers at University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC) has seen hundreds of workers on picket lines in recent weeks. Members of Local 73 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) voted overwhelmingly (94%) in January to authorize a strike if negotiations fail to reach an agreement. Since then, the campus has not stopped hearing the sounds of marching feet.
Chicago, IL – From Jan. 15 to Jan. 23, hundreds of clerical and administrative workers at UIC (University of Illinois – Chicago) turned out for a strike authorization vote. 94% of them supported the call from their elected bargaining committee to walk out of work if negotiations fail to reach an agreement.
Chicago, IL – Clerical and administrative workers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) will be taking a strike authorization vote in early January. Over two years have passed since their last raise, and the 1500 employees, including workers at sites in Rockford and Peoria, are fed up. The workers are members of SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Local 73. Management presented a settlement offer to their bargaining committee on Nov. 14. According to Jeff Dexter, lead negotiator for Local 73, that offer falls short of what the workers need.
Chicago, IL – “They want us to learn to live with less.” That’s how Denise King sees it. King had just finished marching outside the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois on Nov. 14. She was one of 22 workers from UIC (University of Illinois – Chicago) who had traveled to the university’s Springfield campus to confront the Board of Trustees.
Chicago, IL – Demetris McKinley, a customer service representative, came to work on Thursday, Aug. 16, even though it was a vacation day for her. She came to work to picket.
Chicago, IL – When 80 union members marched on the Human Resources building at the campus of the University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC) May 11th, they had the name of who they were hunting for. “Are you listening, John?” asked Tracey Whitaker, a Patient Unit Clerk from the UI Hospital, and a member of Local 73 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
