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Unions
Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
11:57am
Fri Jan 11
1 comment

Chicago Public Forum Peers Into The Murky Future Of Pension Reform

It’s not yet clear what pension reform will look like for Illinois, but more public education will help lead to a solution that’s fair for everybody, elected officials stressed at a pension town hall in Chicago Thursday night.  

North Side lawmakers, Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th), State Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) and Cook County Commissioners Bridget Gainer and John Fritchey, hosted the public meeting in order to focus the contentious and often confusing pension dialogue.

“If the conversation continues to be greedy public servants versus people busting pensions, I think we’re never going to have a reasonable conversation,” Pawar said to the crowd of more than 50 at St. Benedict Prep High School.

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Quick Hit
by Aricka Flowers
1:38pm
Fri Nov 30, 2012

O'Hare Janitors Refuse To Back Down In Fight For Their Jobs (VIDEO) (UPDATED)

O'Hare janitors worried about the future of their jobs made a trip to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's house yesterday afternoon to protest a new city contract. The workers rallied outside of the mayor's home on his 53rd birthday to protest the deal that will cause some 300 workers to lose their jobs next month, just days before the holidays.

“We don’t know how we will pay the bills, how we will put food on the table. We won’t be able to celebrate Christmas this year with our kids,” Manuel Nieves, a janitor at O’Hare for seven years, said about the impending layoffs. “Obama is always here for the working people, but our mayor’s ultimate purpose is to help the rich, not us.”

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Quick Hit
by Aricka Flowers
6:55pm
Wed Nov 28, 2012
1 comment

IL House Committee Passes Resolution To Halt Raises For State Employees, Quinn Approves

The Illinois House Revenue Committee passed a resolution on Tuesday that claims the state is too cash poor to pay for the raises of unionized state employees this budgetary year, which ends in June of 2013. The resolution is headed for a full House vote and must also pass the Illinois Senate to actually have an impact.

Gov. Pat Quinn, whose office gave testimony for two days on the state's budget woes, backs the resolution, telling downstate reporters today that it is "just common sense."

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PI Original
by Steven Ross Johnson
9:46pm
Tue Nov 27, 2012

Domestic Workers Face Many Hardships, Report Finds (VIDEO)

Labor

Labor rights advocates are hopeful the findings of a new report will help shed some light on what they describe as the unfair treatment many domestic workers experience on the job.

Quick Hit
by Steven Ross Johnson
2:22pm
Mon Nov 26, 2012

New O'Hare Janitorial Contract Shows Need For Responsible Bidders Ordinance, Union Says (VIDEO)

The impending loss next month of 300 custodial jobs at O’Hare International Airport has raised concerns over the future relationship between city leaders and organized labor.

At a meeting held last week at the headquarters of SEIU* Local 1, the Local's President Tom Balanoff sat alongside seven janitors as they spoke about the impact the loss of their jobs would have on themselves and their families.

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