Illinois governor race neck-and-neck. Press Association Unions News Service reports that the race for Illinois Governor is a tossup.
“Gov. Pat Quinn (D) barely won a first full term, thanks to huge labor support, in 2010,” said PAI’s Mark Gruenberg. “But then he tried to solve the state’s financial ills by slashing public worker pensions and even threatening their collective bargaining rights. That’s alienated some of the Land of Lincoln’s largest unions, and made Quinn the most-endangered Democratic governor in the U.S.
“The catch is that Bruce Rauner, the Republican financier and business executive opposing Quinn, is worse,” he added. “With a record of outsourcing jobs overseas, supporting anti-worker ‘free trade’ treaties, a budget proposal that would convert workers’ pensions into 401(k) accounts, and schemes to cut the minimum wage and eliminate workers’ rights, Rauner would be a disaster for workers.”
Teamsters, taxi and Uber drivers demonstrate in D.C., organize in L.A. Showing that Teamsters and taxi drivers are teaming up, cabbies in Washington last month staged a second “drive-in” in downtown D.C. to demand the City Council require all cabbies – including unregulated “ride-sharing” services based on apps – meet the same insurance, safety and licensing requirements. And on the other side of the country, those ride-sharing drivers joined the Teamsters. Labor wants unregulated contractors like UberX, Lyft and Sidecar to operate the same as traditional cabbies.
Union teach-in spotlights environmental injustice. Corporate environmental injustice – specifically at Republic Service’s toxic waste landfill in Bridgeton, Mo. – led the discussion at an October teach-in on the dump and responsibility for its cleanup.
The landfill contains 8,700 tons of un-containerized radioactive waste.
Unionists, community residents, faith leaders, environmentalists and pro-worker attorneys called on Republic, elected officials and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to care for the health and safety of the surrounding community. Tens of thousands of workers live within a few miles of the West Lake Landfill in the St. Louis suburb.
Lois Gibbs, of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, recalled the Love Canal fight 44 years ago, saying, “West Lake Landfill is this generation’s Love Canal. In Love Canal, we were told the thousands of tons of toxic chemicals were not causing any of our health problems. Does this sound familiar?”
“In Illinois, Republic’s Roxana landfill has been found by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to have accepted radioactive waste traveling in from Missouri in violation of its permit,” according to a report from Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources. “Meanwhile, the worst landfill fire in history, at Republic’s Countywide Landfill in Ohio, is still burning nine years later. Sad to say, the list could go on and on.”
Brown vetoes farm worker bill. Calling the legislation unbalanced, California’s Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown last month vetoed a bill pushed by the United Farm Workers to let the state implement union contracts with growers through mediation.
UFW had no comment on the veto, but it didn’t endorse Brown for the Nov. 4 election.
Public-sector unions lobbying against third ‘free trade’ pact. AFSCME, Teachers and dozens of other public-employees unions are pressuring lawmakers to dump a “free trade” treaty. The proposed Trade In Services Agreement (TISA) would open up government services and contracting to huge outsourcing worldwide, unions say, threatening workers’ jobs and also reducing the quality of services to constituents, union leaders said.
TISA pact is one of three pacts President Obama wants, with the European Union and the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership with 12 Pacific Rim nations.
“AFT isn’t against trade or trade agreements, but we need to ensure these agreements will not weaken the democratic process, the ability to have shared and growing prosperity for all, and the will of the community, including the voice of the front-line worker,” said Teachers President Randi Weingarten. “They must be negotiated with transparency and knowing both the benefits and costs.”

News briefs courtesy of The Labor Paper in Peoria