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Harley-Davidson Inc. says Kansas City is one of the proposed cities where the motorcycle company might relocate some production.
Company spokesman Bob Klein said Friday a number of alternate sites remain on the table. He declined to say which other sites, or how many, are being considered. Get the full story »
Hyatt Hotels Corp. faced the wrath of religious leaders Tuesday as hotel workers called for a boycott of three Hyatt branded Chicago hotels.
“I think it is immoral. It’s immoral. It’s immoral for Hyatt to be treating its workers the way they are treating them: A year without a contract,” Rev. Calvin Morris boomed into a microphone outside Hyatt’s downtown headquarters. “We’re going to boycott these hotels, and we do so with good conscience.”
The world’s largest group of Jewish Clergy, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, has pledged its support for the worker-led boycotts, which with the addition Tuesday of Hyatt Regency Chicago, Hyatt O’Hare and Park Hyatt in Chicago, now number 10 at Hyatt properties across the country. Approximately 250 rabbis, cantors and other Jewish leaders have also signed a pledge in support of the boycotts. Get the full story »
With support from hundreds of Jewish leaders, Chicago Hyatt workers are calling for a boycott of “one or more” Hyatt hotels in the Chicago area, according to Unite Here, the hotel workers’ union.
The properties will join seven other boycotts announced by the union at Hyatt properties. The union would not say which hotels are planned for the boycott, which is scheduled to be announced Tuesday afternoon in front of Hyatt Global Headquarters. Get the full story »
Hilton Hotels workers in Chicago voted Thursday night to authorize a strike at the Chicago Hilton, Hilton O’Hare, the Palmer House Hilton and the Drake, according to Unite Here Local 1 and Local 450.
The union said 96 percent of its members voted in favor of a strike, which authorizes the bargaining committee to call a strike, if necessary. They are the third group of hotel workers in nine months to hold such a vote in the wake of unsettled contract negotiations between Chicago hotels and the union. Get the full story »
Unions representing former employees of the Sun-Times Media Group Inc. are seeking information from the company in a dispute over termination of health-insurance benefits.
The unions have filed a motion in Delaware bankruptcy court seeking access to documents and other information from the company, which they claim has stopped paying for insurance coverage without court approval. Get the full story »
Workers at the Union Tank Car plant. (Show Us The Tax Breaks)
A short film produced by the hotel workers’ union and screened Wednesday evening in Chicago holds up the city’s wealthy Pritzker family as poster children for corporate decision-making that they say has contributed to the downfall of the economy.
“Show Us the Tax Breaks” attacks the family, and Penny Pritzker in particular, for the decision to close East Chicago’s Union Tank Car plant in 2008. The plant was one of the largest employers in East Chicago, Ind., and when it closed, hundreds of workers were left unemployed. Get the full story »
Unionized Hilton workers in Chicago will vote this week on whether to authorize a strike, making them the third group of workers in nine months to hold such a vote in the wake of unsettled contract negotiations between Chicago hotels and the union.
The vote authorizes the union’s negotiating committee to call a strike if it is deemed necessary. In October, Chicago hotel workers voted to authorize a strike at five downtown Starwood hotels affecting 1,500 workers, followed by a vote last month covering 1,600 Hyatt hotel workers, who also agreed to authorize a strike. So far, none have called for a strike. Get the full story »
Unite Here, the hotel workers union, is planning a public screening Wednesday of “Show Us the Tax Breaks” – a short film that attacks Chicago’s Pritzker family and their decision to close East Chicago’s Union Tank Car plant in 2008. The plant was one of the largest employers in East Chicago and when it closed, hundreds of workers were left unemployed.
The film argues that through their company — the Marmon Group, which owned Union Tank Car — the Pritzkers benefited from economic incentives and tax breaks in their decision to relocate the plant to Louisiana. At the time, the Marmon Group said that market conditions had forced the company to reduce overall production and that the aging facility in East Chicago was less efficient. Get the full story »
General Motors Co. will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange after its initial public offering, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. The IPO, intended to repay a portion of the automaker’s government bailout, has been dubbed “Project Dawn,” the source said. Get the full story »
The United Auto Workers union has decided not to go ahead with a vote on a new wage-cutting contract for a General Motors Co. stamping plant in Indianapolis facing sale.
JD Norman Industries of Addison, Ill., had asked for pay cuts as a condition for buying the plant. Barring a sale, GM has said it will close the plant next year. Get the full story »
Southwest Airlines Co. is considering including Boeing Co.’s 737-800 aircraft in its domestic fleet, with a decision expected before year’s end, as the discount carrier plans a push to win more business travelers and restore capacity slashed during the economic downturn.
The largest carrier of domestic U.S. passengers said the company still needs to discuss the plans with its labor units, as well as look at issues such as network flow and scheduling. Get the full story »
Ground staff at British airport operator BAA have voted to strike in a dispute over pay, the union Unite said, a move which could shut many of the country’s busiest airports.
Unite said Thursday that its members at BAA, owned by Spanish group Ferrovial, had voted 3-1 to walk out. Get the full story »
In the wake of still-unsettled labor disputes, union workers from Chicago-area Hyatt hotels voted Thursday to authorize a strike.
The vote does not mean workers will strike. It authorizes the union’s negotiating committee to call a strike if it is deemed necessary. This was the second such vote since negotiations began. In October, Chicago hotel workers voted to authorize a strike at five downtown Starwood hotels. So far, they have not called for a strike.
Union contracts covering 6,000 workers at 31 hotels in downtown Chicago expired Aug. 31, and the two sides have been unable to reach a settlement, according to Unite Here Local 1.
On Thursday, members of Unite Here Local 1 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Park Hyatt, Hyatt McCormick Place and Hyatt O’Hare voted by a 92 percent majority to authorize a strike if necessary.
While the contracts affect workers at several hotel chains, Unite Here has focused its efforts on Chicago-based Hyatt and the Pritzker family, which controls the chain, holding them up as an example of management that it claims is using the economy as an excuse to take advantage of workers.
Hyatt has said that negotiations are best left for the negotiating table.
Union workers from-area Hyatt hotels will vote Thursday on whether to authorize a strike in the wake of contract negotiations that have stretched out for nearly a year.
Union contracts covering 6,000 workers at 31 hotels in downtown Chicago expired Aug. 31, 2009, and the two sides have been unable to reach a settlement. Get the full story »
