Posts tagged Chicago
Feud between progressive unions that put Mayor Johnson in office yields Giannoulias key endorsement
October 21, 2026 // The Service Employees International Union Locals 1 and 73 threw their formidable support behind Alexi Giannoulias, the presumed frontrunner with a campaign war chest of $19.2 million. SEIU affiliates together donated over $4.5 million to Johnson’s 2023 mayoral campaign. The union also provided scores of campaign workers and materials.
Report: Obama Allies at His Foundation Get Six-Figure Pay While ‘Overworked’ Rank-and-File Seek to Unionize
October 21, 2026 // The Obama Foundation appears to have an income inequality problem, with the former president’s political allies enjoying six-figure salaries while low-paid workers are fighting for union representation. That’s the conclusion of an exclusive report by Fox News Digital, which tracked the top salary of CEO Valerie Jarrett at $771,000, a number of others in the half-a-million-dollars-a-year range and nearly 200 more pulling in six-figure salaries.
Faculty, staff union reaches agreement with City Colleges of Chicago, strike averted
October 20, 2026 // The Cook County College Teachers Union and the community college system reached a tentative agreement overnight Sunday into Monday. The new four-year contract was approved just before 4 a.m. Monday. The union said the agreement includes salaries that keep pace with inflation. The agreement also protects health insurance, and puts safeguards in place regarding artificial intelligence, according to the union.
Thousands more Chicago hotel workers could strike at any moment
October 13, 2026 // Union members say they want better health care benefits, pensions, protection for immigrant workers, wages that keep up with inflation and safer workloads. A 2025 survey by the UNITE HERE Local 1 union found 32% of its members lacked money to cover their rent or mortgage and around 29% lacked money to cover utility bills in the last 12 months.
Ballot Question 2 asks: Should public defenders have the right to unionize?
September 29, 2026 // Question 2 would allow employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, or CPCS, to participate in collective bargaining. If they negotiate a contract, CPCS would then be required to request the funding needed for that agreement from the governor within 30 days. The Yes On 2 campaign was organized to help grant public defenders the right to join a union. The campaign’s central argument states: CPCS employees should have the same opportunity to organize and negotiate collectively that many others have.
20 healthcare strikes in 2026
September 28, 2026 // Union activity in healthcare continues in 2026, with 20 reported strikes since the beginning of the year. Some of these actions involve healthcare workers and leaders across hospitals and clinics in multiple states.
Cleveland Orchestra musicians go on strike as contract talks remain unresolved
September 25, 2026 // The musicians' union is seeking a 25% total salary increase over three years. Cleveland Orchestra President and CEO André Gremillet said management cannot agree to that increase and said the two sides remain far apart. “We're really far apart,” Gremillet said. “In order for us to move with our offers, they need to move down. The whole point of negotiation is it is a give-and-take process. You cannot have only one side giving.
Thousands of downtown Chicago hotel workers vote to authorize strike
September 23, 2026 // The union said the last large-scale strike at downtown Chicago hotels was in 2018, when workers at 26 hotels went on strike. During that strike, customers complained about dirty beds, long check-in lines, and other issues, while people who live downtown got fed up with noise from nonstop picket lines. All of the affected hotels reached contract agreements with workers within a month of the 2018 strike.
Nurses at Olympia Fields Hospital in Chicago’s south suburbs strike against Prime Healthcare
September 16, 2026 // A Prime Healthcare spokesperson also said the strike and pickets on Tuesday will not disrupt patient care. Nurses at hospitals in Nevada and California were also set to hold sympathy strikes to support the one happening in Olympia Fields. In total, nearly 3,000 hospital workers were on strike or picketing Tuesday.
Thousands of Chicago hotel workers threaten to strike
September 9, 2026 // The union represents 15,000 workers at more than 40 Chicago hotels, meaning a widespread strike could disrupt hotel operations during a key time for tourism and conventions. Catch up quick: By Aug. 31, contracts covering about 7,000 workers at Chicago hotels had officially expired, according to Unite Here Local 1.