Posts tagged infrastructure projects
‘Fracture’ in Chicago’s labor world complicates Mayor Brandon Johnson’s third budget fight
November 25, 2025 // That’s the signature hue of the Service Employees International Union, whose local affiliates were Johnson’s second-biggest labor backer in his 2023 election. Instead, the self-styled “most pro-worker mayor” in Chicago’s history has only seen one union vociferously cheer his $16.6 billion proposal, despite his hard line against layoffs: the red-shirted Chicago Teachers Union. It’s a sign of the times after a “fissure” between the once-close SEIU and CTU has grown into a full-blown “fracture,” said Ald. Desmon Yancy, a freshman progressive who previously served in SEIU leadership.
Editorial: Biden’s favors to unions keep costing taxpayers
March 16, 2022 // Pitching the executive order as a cost saver is disingenuous, as collective bargaining inherently drives up costs. It’s the same faulty logic used to defend prevailing wage laws that force union-level pay and benefits on publicly funded construction projects.
‘Just transition’ bill for oil industry workers exposes labor rift
February 27, 2022 // Trades leaders say that beginning to dismantle the industry now will only push workers into lower-paid jobs. Instead, Trades officials say, the state should invest in big-ticket infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail and offshore wind projects that will create comparable jobs to what workers have been doing for decades.