Dec. 16, 2010 at 5:32 a.m.
Filed under:
Conventions,
Hotels,
Labor,
Unions
By Julie Wernau
Workers picket outside the Palmer House Hilton Thursday. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Tribune)
In the second such demonstration at a Hilton property in two months, workers at the Palmer House Hilton are on temporary strike today.
The strike at the property at 17 E. Monroe St. is joined by similar strikes at Hiltons in Honolulu and San Francisco and follows a 3-day strike two months ago at Hilton Chicago.
Unite Here Local 1 union spokeswoman Annemarie Strassel said workers are “outraged that Hilton finagled $180 million in bailout funds” while their expired contracts lingered. Get the full story »
Dec. 13, 2010 at 4:54 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Jobs/employment,
Labor
By Reuters
General Motors Co. said Monday that it was looking to reduce its payroll by several thousand skilled trade workers at 14 U.S. plants in the first quarter of 2011.
GM has offered $60,000 to skilled trades workers who retire or leave the automaker’s payroll by March, said spokesman Chris Lee. The automaker has a “a couple thousand” more skilled trade workers than it needs in the U.S., Lee said. Get the full story »
Nov. 23, 2010 at 12:22 p.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Labor,
Litigation
By Becky Yerak
A 46-year-old Chicago man who lost his server job at Weber Grill on State Street last year alleges that a 30-year-old restaurant manager fired him because she thought he was “too old for the fast pace of the restaurant.”
Bruce Belson alleges in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in a federal court in Chicago that he was terminated in January 2009 after about nine months of working at the 539 N. State St. restaurant. Get the full story »
Nov. 23, 2010 at 11:06 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment,
Labor
By Associated Press
Businesses and other employers added jobs in 41 states in October, the best showing in five months, the Labor Department said Tuesday.
The figures indicate the job market is picking up a bit in most parts of the country. Even the nation’s hardest hit states – Nevada and Michigan — showed declines in their unemployment rates. Get the full story »
Nov. 18, 2010 at 2:29 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Airplanes,
Labor
Bloomberg News | A vote to approve contract changes Thursday by Southwest flight attendants has cleared the way for the airline to start flying larger737 jets on popular routes.
Nov. 16, 2010 at 5:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Labor,
Work culture
By Associated Press
Employees at the Oscar Mayer meat processing plant in Davenport, Iowa filed a class action lawsuit against Kraft Foods Inc. seeking compensation for time they spend putting on and taking off their safety equipment. Get the full story »
Nov. 9, 2010 at 4:39 p.m.
Filed under:
Hotels,
Labor,
Unions
By Julie Wernau
Hyatt Hotels Corp. defended its safety record Tuesday, following an announcement by the hotel workers union that it has filed complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on behalf of Hyatt housekeepers.
The complaints are being filed on behalf of workers at 12 Hyatt properties, including four in Chicago, citing more than 780 injuries that have been recorded on OSHA logs at those hotels. Unite Here, the union filing the complaints, cited injury rates that are 50 percent higher than the rest of industry.
Robb Webb, chief human resources officer for Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corporation called Unite Here’s accusations of a dangerous work environment “false” and aimed at increasing union membership and dues. Get the full story »
Nov. 9, 2010 at 8:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Hotels,
Labor,
Unions
By Julie Wernau
Hyatt housekeepers in eight cities are expected to file complaints today with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, complaining of injuries they sustained on the job.
The complaints are being filed against the company by workers at 12 Hyatt properties, including four in Chicago, with the backing of Unite Here, the hotel workers union that has launched a campaign against the chain in an effort to lower the number of room housekeepers are expected to clean. Get the full story »
Oct. 22, 2010 at 1:48 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Jobs/employment,
Labor,
Retirement
By Associated Press
France’s Senate has approved a contested pension reform raising the retirement age to 62 despite months of nationwide protests and strikes.
After 140 hours of debate, the Senate approved the reform Friday with a vote of 177-153. Get the full story »
Oct. 18, 2010 at 8:47 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Labor,
Unions
By Dow Jones Newswires
Commercial truck maker Navistar International Corp. and the United Auto Workers Union have reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract, the company said.
No details of the deal reached late Saturday were released by the company or the union. The agreement is subject to a ratification vote by union members at six Navistar sites. A majority of the members voting on the tentative contract must approve it for the deal to become binding. Get the full story »
Oct. 18, 2010 at 6:50 a.m.
Filed under:
Labor,
Tourism,
Travel,
Unions
By Chicago Breaking News
Hilton workers protest in front of thee Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue in Chicago Saturday. (Tribune / Abel Uribe)
A strike by hundreds of Hilton Chicago Hotel workers who are working without a contract entered its third and presumably last day today. The three-day strike began Saturday in connection with the workers’ inability to negotiate an agreement at the same time they assert the hotel received a sweetheart deal from the federal government. Get the full story>>
Oct. 12, 2010 at 11:18 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Labor,
Management
By Reuters
Few bosses need worry that their employees want their jobs as most workers are just happy to be employed, and one fifth would even have a fling with their boss if it helped their career, according to a U.S. survey.
The U.S. recession has driven bosses and their employees closer together and only 30 percent of employees want their boss’s stressful job, recruitment firm Adecco Staffing U.S. found in a poll tied to National Boss Day in mid-October.
But the survey found that some people are willing to go to greater lengths to keep their jobs in a tough market. Get the full story »
Oct. 8, 2010 at 10:27 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Jobs/employment,
Labor
By Los Angeles Times
The nation’s bleak employment picture dimmed in September as private-sector hiring weakened and the economy lost a net 95,000 jobs over the month.
The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate last month remained at 9.6 percent, but that reflected a stagnant labor force in which people did not enter or return to the labor market to look for work. In what may be a more meaningful indicator this time, a broader measure of unemployed and underemployed workers, including part-timers who can’t find full-time work, rose to 17.1 percent last month from 16.7 percent in August.
Oct. 7, 2010 at 7:38 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Jobs/employment,
Labor
By Dow Jones Newswires
In a good sign for the job market, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week to their lowest level since July 10.
Initial unemployment claims dropped 11,000, to 445,000, in the week ended Oct. 2, the Labor Department said in its weekly report Thursday. New claims for the previous week, ended Sept. 25, were revised upward slightly to 456,000 from 453,000. Get the full story »
Oct. 6, 2010 at 11:48 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Airplanes,
Airports,
Jobs/employment,
Labor
By Reuters
Flight attendants with Continental Airlines Inc said they will not participate in contract talks with their peers at United Airlines, according to a report in Bloomberg.
United flight attendants had said in an exchange of letters they would have more leverage if they worked together, according to Bloomberg.
Representatives for Continental and for Association of Flight Attendants could not be immediately reached for comment. Get the full story »
