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Union workers from-area Hyatt hotels will vote Thursday on whether to authorize a strike in the wake of contract negotiations that have stretched out for nearly a year.
Union contracts covering 6,000 workers at 31 hotels in downtown Chicago expired Aug. 31, 2009, and the two sides have been unable to reach a settlement. Get the full story »
General Motors Co. plans to file its registration for an initial public offering during the week of Aug. 16, just after the expected date for its second quarter results, according to two people with direct knowledge of the preparations.
A GM filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission would be the first step toward an IPO to reduce the U.S. government’s ownership in the automaker after a $50 billion bailout in 2009. Get the full story »
Hyatt workers at the May 26, 2010 protest outside the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
About 30 people, including a priest, protesting working conditions in front of the Hyatt Regency were arrested by police Thursday in a staged act of civil disobedience.
Annemarie Strassel, a spokeswoman for Unite Here Local 1, said 200 workers had been prepared to be arrested, but out of respect for slain Police Officer Michael Bailey’s wake Thursday evening, the union agreed to lower the number of demonstrators so that officers will have time to attend the wake. Get the full story »
United Airlines and Continental Airlines said Tuesday they hammered out transition agreements with their pilots’ unions, a critical step towards reaching a broader labor accord with pilots.
Talks between the merging airlines and pilots were halted late last month due to a dispute between Chicago-based United and its pilots over lay-off protections, sources told the Tribune.
At the time, the four sides were close to hammering out “Transition and Process” agreements that provide a framework for operations until the merging carriers gain a single FAA operating certificate, a process targeted to be completed during 2012. Get the full story »
A miner has been killed in an equipment accident at a troubled Peabody Energy mine in southern Illinois, federal regulators said Friday. The victim was struck by a piece of heavy underground equipment at Peabody Energy’s Willow Lake mine in southern Illinois, said Amy Louviere, a spokeswoman for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. The victim was identified only as a section foreman.
The owners of the historic Blackstone Hotel violated federal labor laws by unilaterally laying off 14 room-service employees and cutting health care benefits, an administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board has ruled.
The ruling by Judge Mark Carissimi also found the owners, including Denver-based Sage Hospitality Resources LLC, broke laws protecting union activity by asking employees to sign a petition to decertify the union.
The owners were ordered to offer reinstatement to the 14 workers laid off last year and to return to its previous health-care plan. They also were ordered to reimburse employees for lost wages and benefits—a sum the employees’ union estimates to be at least $250,000. Get the full story »
A southern Illinois plant that makes nuclear fuel has locked out its union workers over a labor dispute. Honeywell spokesman Peter Dalpe says the move Monday night in Metropolis came after no substantial progress was made with United Steelworkers union negotiators earlier that day. The union’s contract expired a week ago. Get the full story »
The union representing British Airways cabin crews says a new ballot on strike action is being postponed so its members can consider an offer from the airline.
The Unite union said Monday that the vote, which had been scheduled to begin Tuesday, would be delayed. Get the full story »
Boeing workers in St. Louis have agreed to a contract with the plane manufacturer, avoiding a strike that would have gone into effect today if the deal had been rejected.The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said the contract passed Sunday by a vote of 1,237 to 838. Get the full story »
Efforts by United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp., and Continental Airlines to reach a joint contract with pilots before concluding their merger have hit a snag, pilots said Friday.
Negotiations on the early stage transition agreement have stalled over non-economic issues, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said in a statement. Get the full story »
Boeing Co. workers at the company’s St. Louis military-aircraft facility will vote today on an amended contract offer, with union leaders recommending members reject the deal. Get the full story »
The new head of the United Auto Workers Wednesday provided an early glimpse of the campaign he plans to wage to unionize the U.S. plants of Asian automakers like Toyota Motor Corp. In an interview with Reuters, Bob King, who vowed to “pound Toyota” when he was elected UAW president last week, said theeffort will involve a big public relations component and not rely solely on the old-fashioned organizing pushes that have proved so unsuccessful with the transplants in the past. Get the full story »
From the Financial Times | Bucking its anti-union stance, Walmart said it has signed an agreement with the Chicago & Cook County Building Trades Council which requires it to use union workers on future construction projects.
