Machinists (IAM) District 751, which represents 32,000 workers at factories in Washington state, began contract negotiations with Boeing last month and has proposed that the union have a seat on the board of directors in order to help restore the public’s faith in the company, which has seen a shakeup in leadership after a series of mishaps.
Boeing has been struggling with recent quality-control concerns after a door panel fell off one of its 737 Max planes during a flight in January. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board’s initial findings cited Boeing’s failure to comply with manufacturing quality controls.
“It’s very complex to build [aircraft],” said District 751 President Jon Holden, “and our members do that very well. But there’s always decisions that leaders at the top make to try and increase production rates that we want a say in. We want to ensure that it’s done with the proper risk management assessments. We want to make sure that we aren’t eliminating important redundancies.”
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced he’s resigning at the end of the year. Also, Calhoun isn’t seeking re-election to Caterpillar’s board, where he’s served since 2011.
Illinois lawmakers want to improve child labor laws. Some employers violate child labor laws, and some legislatures have relaxed child labor protections. In Illinois, however, child labor laws may be strengthened.
“What sort of inspired me to take this on is that surrounding states have weakened child labor laws,” said State Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago). “They used a tight labor market as a reasoning or an excuse to put more children at risk in dangerous work environments.”
Organized labor supports Peters’ bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. David Koehler (D-Peoria).
The measure was introduced in February and in March passed the Senate Labor Committee 12-4.
Post Office reform could impede voting by mail. Trump-
appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s postal reorganization could delay mail-in ballots in fall’s election — possibly forcing ballots to be discarded and uncounted, according to Illinois Letter Carriers Association President Luis Rivas Jr. He said DeJoy’s “Delivering for America” plan features longer delivery times for first-class mail and closing postal sorting centers, and that could slow mail-in and absentee ballot delivery so much arrival would be “too late” to count in November.
Work at centers in Peoria, Springfield, Champaign and the Quad Cities all would go to other facilities hundreds of miles away under the plan.
There’s a massive wealth gap between union and nonunion workers. A huge wealth gap exists between workers in unions and nonunionized workers, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress. Unionized workers earn about 10%-20% more than their nonunion peers, but wealth gaps are wider, indicating that the benefits of union membership accrue to workers over time. Wealth is defined as the total value of what people own — real estate, bank accounts, etc. — minus the value of their debts. Overall, those in unions had a median, or midpoint, wealth of $338,482 compared to $199,948 for nonunion workers.
Labor praises two-person rail crew rule. The Illinois AFL-CIO, Illinois railroad unions, and Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois applauded the Federal Railroad Administration and Department of Transportation for finalizing a new rule requiring railroads to maintain minimum two-person crews for most freight and passenger operations.
“Rail workers across Illinois and the country have long advocated for common-sense crew size regulations to ensure that freight trains are operated with a minimum of two crew members,” said Bob Guy, Illinois State Director of the Sheet Metal Workers’ Transportation Division. the largest rail union in the nation. “By creating parity across the country, we are protecting the safety of rail workers, local communities, and the environment.”
Illinois companies will have to list pay scales and benefits in job postings. Starting next year, a law takes effect in January to level the playing field for women by requiring employers with at least 15 workers to disclose what jobs will pay in wages and benefits.
“This is about building women’s confidence,” Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said. “Yes, it is about money. Yes, it is about policy and implementation of policy. But it’s also the fact that from being young girls, we are often not given the information that will help us make these decisions. We are still getting messages that we don’t belong at every table where decisions are being made. Transparency helps build confidence, and that’s going to help us to get to our goal.”
The law covers jobs that are physically based in Illinois, or jobs in which an employee reports to an Illinois-based supervisor.
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