Miffed by complaints that workers’ high wages drive conventions from McCormick Place, a handful of Chicago unions have prepared a strategy.
Their first move will be an offer within the coming month to make some work-rule changes. Their goal: to show a willingness to make concessions.
The folks who oversee Chicago’s billion-dollar convention industry would like to see workers’ overtime rates trimmed, and fewer union work rules.
Likewise, the unions want contractors and others to make changes that will lower costs for customers.
The force behind the effort is the Chicago Federation of Labor, which has brought together the Teamsters, Decorators, Electricians, Carpenters and Service Employees unions.
There are snags, however.
The unions complain that they have made changes before, but the only ones who benefited were the contractors. That and other issues appear to be holding up an agreement.
“Everyone realizes we have to step up to the plate with some changes,” said Don Turner, the federation’s director.
Another tack taken by the unions is to start a publicity campaign showing that they previously have made cost-cutting gestures, and that Chicago’s work rules and labor costs are competitive with other major convention cities. The Decorators Union, Local 17, is a supporter of this strategy. It relied on the Chicago-based Midwest Center for Labor Research to put together the study.
Summer jobs: After federal budget cuts, and a last-minute reprieve restoring some funds, Chicago cobbled together a much-reduced summer jobs program last year for low-income youngsters.
But the situation looks to be much improved this year.
The Mayor’s Office of Employment and Training, which began taking applications for this summer’s program Monday, expects to find jobs for 15,000 youths, ages 14 to 21.
Last year, the city could only take 9,000 youngsters, down from 10,000 in 1995. The program’s salvation was a boost in federal funds nationwide for summer jobs efforts. The city will receive about $13 million, a marked increase from the $8.5 million it had last year.
On an adult jobs program, however, the city may back away from a commitment to open eight one-stop job centers by next year. So far, there are four in Chicago and 48 publicly funded centers in Illinois.
The centers are the core of a plan to centralize services for the unemployed. They are supposed to provide counseling, job training and employment advice in one location.
Saying there have been some “glitches” with setting up these programs, city officials say they are likely to limit the number to five.
That also would let the city shift money to job-training programs that might otherwise close, say officials with the mayor’s office. But the state Department of Employment Services, which is overseeing the federally funded effort, is holding out hope for eight centers in Chicago. It wants 55 centers statewide by 1998.
Sizable award: Ahmad Abu Aziz was an airline cabin cleaner for United Airlines in Oakland. Other workers, he claimed, made derogatory remarks about his Arabic background and said he resembled a terrorist.
He said he complained to his bosses about the remarks. About the same time, he was fired, accused of drinking alcohol on the job. He denied drinking and sued United, alleging discrimination because of his religion and origin.
An Oakland jury recently gave him a $2.9 million verdict, the bulk of it–$2.6 million–in punitive damages against United. That may be the largest workplace discrimination award for an Arab Muslim in the U.S., says the Council on American-Islamic Relations. United officials say the airline disputes the charges and will appeal.
