Posts tagged Chicago
A Seat at the Table: Physicians Have Been Unionizing in Droves
January 3, 2024 // Mugdha Mokashi, MD, a second-year ob/gyn resident, emphasized that residents and fellows often take care of patients with the greatest needs and the fewest resources. "This is about having a seat at the table" to help make decisions that affect working conditions for residents and fellows, as well as others, including nurses and midwives, Mokashi told MedPage Today, adding that the people "directly responsible for making patient care better" should hold power within an institution.
CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION SEES PLENTY OF SCANDALS IN 2023
December 27, 2023 // The union’s decisions directly impact residents. The union spent millions to get its former employee Brandon Johnson elected mayor. CTU has failed to provide required annual audits to members and had to raise its dues $160 for 2024 – most likely to make up for its financial missteps. Yet it spends less than 17 cents of each dollar representing those members.
Chicago Tribune employees rally for fair contracts, livable wages
December 18, 2023 // Unionized reporters, photographers, editors and other newsroom employees have been without a contract for five years. On Saturday, the employees spoke out against their owner, Alden Capital's detrimental labor practices and profiteering-driven bargaining efforts.
CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION, AFFILIATES BIGGEST SPENDERS ON CHICAGO POLITICS
December 15, 2023 // Johnson’s deep ties to CTU should worry Chicagoans. Johnson, a former “legislative coordinator” for CTU, will be sitting across the table from his former CTU colleagues when they negotiate a new contract in 2024. Their tight relationship effectively places CTU on both sides of the bargaining table. What’s on the line if he keeps toeing the CTU line? A plethora of expensive contract demands, with taxpayers bearing the costs. Past demands include defunding the police – Johnson himself once said he would cut the Chicago Police budget by at least $150 million – and creating affordable housing. Those potential provisions are not typically negotiated into teachers union contracts, but could be under Johnson’s tenure. And while the union has focused on non-education demands, most students within Chicago Public Schools can’t read or do math at grade level.
A Tale of Two Teachers’ Unions
November 17, 2023 // Efforts to decertify the teachers’ union in Miami are possible because conservatives won elections and passed a good law that limits public-sector unions’ power. States with conservative governments should follow Florida’s lead and pass similar laws. States with progressive governments will continue to struggle under the burden of unrepresentative teachers’ unions.
Video: Howard Brown Health workers to begin 2-day strike at Chicago clinics Tuesday
November 14, 2023 // Howard Brown Health says they plan to maintain scheduled appointments for all services Tuesday and Wednesday but patients could experience some delays. Meanwhile union leaders plan to hold a news conference later Tuesday. A large rally at a clinic in Lakeview is set for Wednesday. The union plans to also boycott Howard Brown's Brown Elephant thrift stores. Howard Brown Health VP of external relations Katie Metos, issued a statement saying, "In response to the work stoppage, Howard Brown Health has implemented a contingency plan that ensures all patient appointments are fulfilled, while also following all labor regulations. Everyone who has a scheduled appointment during this strike will be seen. When our community members seek our care, they are relying on us to meet their vital healthcare needs. We are committed to being a reliable pillar of care for our communities.
Unions push to represent more workers, but organized labor’s share of jobs is declining
October 24, 2023 // For all the sound and fury on the labor front, its net effect is unknown. Unions’ overall share of the workforce was 10.1% in 2022 and declining, about half the rate of 1983, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That percentage is swelled by union predominance in government work. In the private sector, the share of union jobs was 6% in 2022. The number of union members overall has grown but not as fast as jobs in the rest of the economy. “It takes a lot of new members to raise the union density,” said Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
UAW widens strike against GM and Stellantis but not Ford
September 24, 2023 // GM called the strike escalation “unnecessary” and accused union leaders of “manipulating the bargaining process for their own personal agendas.” “We have now presented five separate economic proposals that are historic,” the company said. The 20 percent raise in its latest offer would boost 85 percent of GM’s UAW workforce to base-wage earnings of $82,000 a year by the end of the contract, the company said this week. It is also offering two weeks of paid parental leave and other perks. Stellantis said it submitted a new offer to the UAW on Thursday but has not received a reply. It said its 20 percent wage increase offer would boost all its full-time UAW workers to earnings of $80,000 to $96,000 annually by the end of the contract. The company questioned “whether the union’s leadership has ever had an interest in reaching an agreement in a timely manner.”
What plants could be targeted next for a strike by the UAW?
September 20, 2023 // David Zoia, an auto expert with Ward's Automotive, believes the next group of plants could include where mid-size SUVs are made. "The GM plant in Lansing where they make the Traverse and Cadillacs, Ford Chicago where they make the Explorer and possibly the Jefferson Assembly in Detroit where they make the Grand Cherokee," Zoia said.