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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 »
In a series of moves that pave the way for an IPO and strengthen its finances, General Motors Co. said on Thursday it would repay $2.1 billion to U.S. taxpayers and make early payments to pension and retiree health plans.
The announcement comes just days before bankers are expected to begin a road show for potential investors in an initial public offering that would allow the U.S. government to start to reduce its stake in the top U.S. automaker.
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Flight attendants for Continental Airlines have rejected a proposed contract. Their union says it’s because the agreement did not give them back enough of the concessions they made in earlier contracts. Get the full story »
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 »
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>>
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, on Friday said it was reviewing its options after a Canadian court ruled that a union properly won certification in a store in Saskatchewan. Get the full story »
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to unveil Thursday free delivery of purchases made through its web site to Chicago FedEx offices — a move aimed at reaching urban consumers.
The world’s largest retailer launched the pilot program, called FedEx Site-to-Store, this summer in Boston and Los Angeles. The test expands this week to Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.. There will be 40 FedEx sites participating in the Chicago market, concentrated in the city with a smattering of sites in the suburbs, according to Wal-Mart spokesman Ravi Jariwala. Get the full story »
Some airline pilots would fly fewer hours and others would fly longer under proposed rules to help prevent dangerous fatigue, transportation and labor officials said Friday.
The proposal would set different requirements based on the time of day, number of scheduled flight segments, flight types, time zones and likelihood that a pilot is able to get enough sleep, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in his blog. The proposal is being released Friday. Get the full story »
Harley-Davidson workers are gathering Tuesday to learn details of a proposed contract which includes concessions the company says will keep jobs in Wisconsin. Get the full story »
Harley-Davidson Motor Co. and its union leaders reached a proposed labor agreement Friday that could keep manufacturing operations and hundreds of jobs in Wisconsin.
The proposal still needs to be ratified by union workers and approved by the motorcycle company’s board. Workers are expected to vote on the contract Sept. 13. Get the full story »
In a move reflecting the recovering business of health of airlines, the pilots union for Continental Airlines said Friday that the carrier plans to recall more than 100 furloughed pilots over the next 18 months. Get the full story »
Striking workers picket this morning at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont. (Alex Garcia/Tribune)
Chicago Hyatt Hotel employees, working without a contract since this time last year, walked off the job Friday at the Hyatt Regency near O’Hare airport, protesting cuts in wages and health care benefits.
The move is part of a coordinated pre-Labor Day strike strategy organized by the national Unite Here labor union that kicked off Thursday with strikes at Hyatt Hotels Corp. properties in Honolulu and Los Angeles. Workers in Boston, Indianapolis and Toronto, among other cities, will also be engaged in protest activities Friday, the union said.
Unite Here spokesperson Annemarie Strassel said the national union is in multiple contract negotiations with the big three hotel companies — Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., Hilton Worldwide and Hyatt. But it chose to target Hyatt because the Chicago-based chain, which is controlled by the wealthy Pritzker family, has posed “the most regressive proposals.” Get the full story »
Hyatt workers in Chicago are preparing to go on strike on Friday over unsuccessful contract negotiations.
The work stoppage, which is planned for an undisclosed Hyatt hotel in the Chicago area, will be the first strike of its magnitude since contracts for 6,000 hotel workers in Chicago expired in August 2009. Unionized hotel workers have staged other protests during the protracted contract negotiations, including brief walkouts at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers and the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago. Unite Here, the union representing hospitality workers, has focused on Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corp. and the Pritzker family, which controls the chain. Get the full story »
About 200 workers at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers walked off the job for two hours this afternoon to protest layoffs and understaffing at the hotel.
According to hotel union Unite Here Local 1, in recent months, workers have filed grievances with hotel management regarding staffing cuts and a growing reliance on subcontracted services. Get the full story »
Passengers at the United and Continental kiosks at O'Hare International Airport, May 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The Justice Department approved the proposed merger of United and Continental airlines Friday, closing an unexpectedly speedy four-month investigation that paves the way for the mega-deal to close by Oct. 1.
To win the blessing of federal antitrust regulators, United and Continental agreed to lease slots for 18 round-trip flights to Southwest Airlines at Newark Liberty International Airport, beginning in March 2011.
Justice officials said the slot transfer was struck in “response to the department’s principal concerns” regarding the merger, which critics have warned will speed consolidation and eventually leave the three largest U.S. carriers with a lion’s share of the market. Get the full story »
