The bill, passed Nov. 29, calls for public pensions to be based on the employee’s regular salary instead of union rates. It also contained language specifically booting two lobbyists from teacher pension programs they nabbed by substitute teaching for one day. But it may be unconstitutional, House Democrats say. more ›

A monthly meeting in their Bronzeville union hall had the spirit of a rally, as letter carriers decried $3 billion in cuts announced earlier this week that would close Chicago mail facilities and result in 28,000 layoffs nationwide. more ›

Quinn defended his decision Tuesday to go back on a deal struck with union representatives last year that would have protected state workers from layoffs during the current budget crisis. more ›

In an effort to bypass union pressure, Chicago Public Schools is offering financial rewards to those schools that adopt its longer school day. Chicago Teachers Union officials aren't happy. more ›

Two large labor organizations announced that they had reached agreements with key employers yesterday. At Peoria's Caterpillar, all seven of the United Auto Workers locals that represent some 6,000 hourly workers approved a six-year agreement which bargaining committee members said was “is as good as we’re going to get, this time.” more ›

Apparently it's not just the UAW that is not fond of our Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel, the animosity goes even farther up. In a video of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka taken last weekend when he showed up in Madison, Wisconsin, in support of the union members protesting there, he seemed to be more than pleased that Emanuel had vacated Washington, D.C., to return to the Windy City. more ›

Governor Quinn reached an agreement with AFSCME, the union which represents thousands of state workers this week that could save the state nearly $200 million. The deal brokered by Quinn’s office states that the administration won’t layoff any state workers or close offices until June 30, 2012. The union will make changes to its health insurance plan to save $70 million and slash $50 million in expenses by reducing overtime, furlough days and deferring pay raises. more ›

With the city trying to climb its way out of a $650 million budget hole next year, one union is suggesting a new fee on recycling to help knock out at least a little chunk of that debt. Laborers Union Local 1001 is proposing that all 600,000 households with garbage pick-up pay a $10 monthly recycling fee. Doing the math results in an influx of $72 million for the city and the labor is pitching the idea to aldermen. The union's business manager Lou Phillips told the Sun-Times: more ›

The Mayor's office may take disciplinary action against some city workers who refused to work overtime after flooding struck Chicago late last month. The Sun Times reports that the union contract stipulates that when the city declares an emergency and gives 16 hours notice, overtime work becomes mandatory. Some laborers refused to work, since the overtime goes unpaid as part of a cost cutting agreement, and now the city has begun disciplinary action against them. more ›

The drumbeat of "news" around Wal-Mart's entry into Chicago's retail market continued yesterday, as the local media continued to print Wal-Mart's press release promising jobs city-wide and wages that start at 50 cents above the minimum wage. And Mayor Daley demanded answers from labor leaders in Chicago for their opposition to the mega-retailer's urban expansion. “They’re up to the highest point that no other retailer pays at the beginning salary. And they don’t pay that in the suburban area. No other retailer has gone that far,” Daley said, before launching into a tirade that Fran Spielman noted hinted at playing the race card, as the mayor did four years ago when he vetoed the so-called big-box ordinance. more ›

Ahead of a key Zoning Committee vote, officials for super-retailer Wal-Mart sat down with union officials to hash out a wage agreement. more ›

One advisor says the only way to stop the McCormick Place bleeding is to privatize the convention center. more ›

The Battle Over Wal-Mart in the City of Chicago has been delayed. For a few weeks, anyway. A vote by the City Council's Zoning Committee over a proposed new Wal-Mart in Pullman Park that was to happen today has been postponed until May 7. The vote was slated as a follow-up to last week's approval of the store by the City's Plan Commission but was postponed by Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) and Zoning Committee Chairman Danny Solis (25th). Beale has been an ardent supporter of the new Wal-Mart, saying last week, "We want to get people out of their homes and back to work. And if we don't find a new source of revenue here in the City of Chicago, we're going to be forced to lay more people off in the years to come." Beale claimed that he has the necessary votes to pass the plan, so why ask for a delay? He told the Sun-Times earlier this week: more ›

Back in February 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale announced to the Chicago media that he had the votes lined up to bring Chicago's second Wal-Mart store into his South side ward. The store, which is intended to be part of the Pullman Park development on the old Ryerson Steel site between 103rd and 111th streets, next to the Dan Ryan Expressway, will feature a Wal-Mart Supercenter, which includes a grocery store. "I'm confident I have the votes. I'm floating around 34 or 35," Beale told Fran Spielman at the Sun-Times. At the time, Beale was expecting the Chicago Plan Commission to vote on the proposal at its March 18th meeting, and have the development before the council in April. The development wasn't on the commission's agenda this month, but it will be in April which means it could come up before the City Council by May. more ›

As part of our on-going coverage of Wal-Mart’s attempt to break into the Chicago retail market, we take a look today at the company’s employment practices in the Chicago metropolitan area. Chicagoist met up with three Wal-Mart employees to talk to them about their jobs, company policy, and why they work there. Check out parts one and two of this story. more ›

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As part of our on-going coverage of Wal-Mart’s attempt to break into the Chicago retail market, we take a look this week at the company’s employment practices in the Chicago metropolitan area. Chicagoist met up with three Wal-Mart employees to talk to them about their jobs, company policy, and why they work there. more ›

This morning, the Tribune's Jon Hilkevitch reports that the highest pay for CTA bus drivers ranks third in the nation at $28.64 per hour and, when adjusted for the city's cost of living, comes in first. The top bus driver pay in the nation goes to Boston's MBTA at $30.18 an hour; New York comes in sixth overall at $27.99 an hour. Top pay for Pace drivers is $24.93 an hour, 17th overall. The report comes at a time when the CTA is trying to draw the CTA unions to the negotiating table to reconfigure contracts in an effort to save the city money. (The current contract runs through 2011.) Hilkevitch reports: more ›

While we've been waiting outside in the snow and cold for less-frequent buses, the CTA and the unions are still trying to come to an agreement to end the service cuts and give workers back their jobs. Things are not looking good. And if things weren't already bad enough, they're expected to worsen in the next few days as 99 bus servicers, mechanics, and supervisors will be laid off. The workers were kept on through the end of February to help close the Archer Bus Garage, which is being shut due to cuts. Reassuringly, Darrell Jefferson, the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241 (which represents bus workers), said, "The longer waits [at bus stops] and the longer lines are yet to come." more ›

In his on-going efforts to stop the bleeding at McCormick Place, Mayor Daley is floating the idea of privatization as a solution to overhauling the city's convention business. The convention center, part of the publicly-run Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which includes Navy Pier and is known as McPier, has been under pressure lately as it has lost conventions and trade shows to other parts of the country, thanks to the high costs of doing business in Chicago. "Bring the private sector in and you manage it and get out of the business of McCormick Place in the sense that it should be fully privatized," Daley told the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association's annual meeting. "Then you can run the costs down." Jodi Kawada, a spokeswoman for the mayor, quickly pointed out that the mayor was not talking about selling McCormick Place off as a city asset. "This is just an idea at this point," she told the Tribune. "The mayor is trying to think creatively about jump starting the convention and tourism industry in Chicago, which will require bold steps." more ›

The day has finally come. No, not the Super Bowl, but CTA service cut day. Starting today, nine express buses will be eliminated, 41 bus routes will see their start and/or end times change, and 78 buses will see less frequent service. All rail lines except for the Yellow Line will also see less frequent service. In addition, 1,057 CTA employees--including 903 bus drivers and 116 rail operators--will be laid off. more ›

By now you've probably heard: the CTA is planning big cuts in service and jobs beginning Feb. 7. That means nine express bus routes will be eliminated completely, 119 bus routes and every rail line except the Yellow Line will run less frequently, and 41 bus routes will have reduced hours of operation. And that's not to mention the more than 1,100 CTA employees who stand to lose their jobs. If you're like us, you're dusting off your bike even though it's February; if you're like some of our readers, you may be getting fed up with the city altogether. more ›

With those big cuts looming on February 7, the CTA's biggest union is threatening a strike. Darrell Jefferson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union 241, told WBEZ, "At some point you have to draw a line in the sand. Thanks to Mr. Rodrieguez and Mr. Peterson, that line has been drawn. I'm not sure what they want, but what they're asking for is definitely not going to happen." Over 1,100 CTA workers - mostly union - are slated to lose their jobs with this round of cuts. more ›

Following the defeat of 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke's proposal to impose an $11.03-an-hour wage on retail workers in stores that have received city subsidies, Mayor Daley lashed out at the public debate that has followed Wal-Mart's controversial plans to expand its business into the city. “These questions are not debated in the suburban area,” Daley said, waxing poetic on his favorite part of the region. “They are never even talked about.” Daley has said that he'd like to see a Wal-Mart open up in Chatham, but he wants to make sure there is agreement in the city council first. more ›

14th Ward Alderman Ed Burke, Chair of the city's Finance Committee, is no closer to a deal on the proposed Wal-Mart on Chicago's South side (and a future deal on Wal-Marts on the city's 9th, 12th, 20th and 34th Wards as well). The deal hinged on a proposal to impose a so-called "living wage" of at least $11.03-an-hour on employees that work for retailers that benfit “directly or indirectly” from city subsidies. The store in Chatham would be exempt from the deal, since the the redevelopment agreement that would allow that store has already happened. more ›

The U.S. International Trade Commission approved tariffs on imports of steel pipes from China yesterday, in a move that signals an emphasis on American manufacturing by the Obama administration. A group of American steelmakers, including United States Steel (which has four plants in northern Indiana, one in downstate Illinois, and a warehousing facility on the South side of Chicago), and the United Steelworkers union sought trade duties earlier this year, claiming that the government-subsidized Chinese steel industry was flooding the American market with product that was being sold at artificially low prices. “The determination by the commission against illegal stainless steel pipe imports from China was desperately needed to preserve American family supportive jobs,”said USW President Leo Gerard. He pledged that “the USW and the companies who employ our members will continue to vigorously battle these Chinese unfair trade practices.” more ›

Raising the stakes again on Wal-Mart's proposed South side expansion, Mayor Daley announced Saturday that religious leaders in the community would broker the agreement that brings Wal-Mart into Chicago, not him. “You know who’s going to start brokering? All these religious leaders,” Daley told the Tribune on Saturday. “They have members of their congregation that can’t get work. They can’t get work. They can’t even get decent jobs, and they’re asking for that.” He also said that unemployed Chicagoans would make it happen, as well. “They vote, too, you know that. They vote,” Daley said. “But it seems like we’re forgetting them.” more ›

In a political move that should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, Mayor Daley is all ready to re-open the Wal-Mart debate in Chicago, just in time for several contentious primaries that will be viewed as referendums on reform and incumbency in the area. “I am raising a political hot potato,” Daley said Wednesday. “These are very complex issues. They are completely different than they were three years ago.” Citing the high unemployment rate in the region, Daley painted a bleak picture for Chicago. “There’s no future jobs. People can’t get jobs. They’re not only being laid off, they’re being eliminated out of their companies,” Daley said before calling on Chicago’s unions and aldermen to sit down with Wal-Mart and negotiate a compromise that will lead to the successful operation of their stores in the city. 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale told the Tribune that there may be a private deal to allow Wal-Mart to build stores in Chicago, if they agree to certain wage standards, rumored to be around $11 an hour. "They're saying, OK, these are some of the provisions that will allow us to say 'OK, we will allow them to come in," Beale said. more ›

The CTA's train operators' union said the CTA issued a notice last night warning the union of impending layoffs in 2010. As Chicago Current reports, the notice was made in accordance with the WARN Act which requires employers to give employees 60 days notice of mass layoffs. Union president Robert Kelly told Chicago Current the CTA is planning to organize the layoffs based on seniority which violates the contract the CTA has with the union and that trying to circumvent that stipulation would be a waste of time and money: "I’ll wait til they go through the court systems and waste money, and when the court says no, you have to lay off with seniority — and seniority means the day you were hired — then they will have wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars." more ›

As was indicated last week, the Graduate Employees' Organization at the University of Illinois has gone on strike after negotiations with the school broke down. The two sides were at odds over free tuition for graduate and teaching assistants. An agreement was apparently reached over the weekend, but the school claims the union made additional demands after that agreement was reached. more ›