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Employers who try to skip out on paying wages to their workers will face new fines and possible jail time under a measure Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law Friday.
The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, establishes a new small claims division in the Illinois Department of Labor where workers could try to recoup wages of $3,000 or less.
In the wake of still-unsettled labor disputes, union workers from Chicago-area Hyatt hotels voted Thursday to authorize a strike.
The vote does not mean workers will strike. It authorizes the union’s negotiating committee to call a strike if it is deemed necessary. This was the second such vote since negotiations began. In October, Chicago hotel workers voted to authorize a strike at five downtown Starwood hotels. So far, they have not called for a strike.
Union contracts covering 6,000 workers at 31 hotels in downtown Chicago expired Aug. 31, and the two sides have been unable to reach a settlement, according to Unite Here Local 1.
On Thursday, members of Unite Here Local 1 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Park Hyatt, Hyatt McCormick Place and Hyatt O’Hare voted by a 92 percent majority to authorize a strike if necessary.
While the contracts affect workers at several hotel chains, Unite Here has focused its efforts on Chicago-based Hyatt and the Pritzker family, which controls the chain, holding them up as an example of management that it claims is using the economy as an excuse to take advantage of workers.
Hyatt has said that negotiations are best left for the negotiating table.
New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly more than expected last week, government data showed on Thursday, offering a ray of hope for the anemic labor market recovery. Get the full story »
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 »
