WBEZ | Labor

Laid-off workers open their own factory

Fri, 10 May 2013 07:29:00 -0500

A few hours before the grand opening of New Era Windows Cooperative, Melvin "Ricky" Maclin is standing in the middle of the factory, beaming.

"All of this is ours," he said. "We have our own trucks, our own forklifts. It’s a whole new world."

Maclin’s title is the same as the 17 other people who work here: worker-owner. Together, they vote on decisions about the factory. He proudly shows the place where they jackhammered the floor to install water pipes. He says the workers didn’t know how to complete some of the steps to set up the factory, but they learned. They also took classes on business management.

"At first we thought we were just lowly factory workers," Maclin said. "But now we see we have so much more in us."

Maclin says that being a worker-owner means that for the first time in his life he has control over what happens to him. Back in 2008, when the factory was closed for the first time, he was devastated.

"This was right before Christmas," he said. "I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to buy my grandkids a doll for Christmas. It was a dark time, it was like we were in a free fall."

Maclin and the other workers of Republic Window occupied the closed factory. They were later paid the severance wages that they were legally entitled to receive. A California- based company called Serious Materials bought the factory and hired back the workers. But not long after, they also closed down.

The workers decided to do things differently that time and buy the factory themselves.

Working World, the organization that provided them with a credit line to help open the cooperative, says it would cost most companies $5 million to open. It cost New Era less than $650,000.

The first windows made by the factory will be titled the “1110 Series” after their union, United Electric 1110.

Shannon Heffernan is a reporter for WBEZ. Follow her @shannon_h

Immigrant job deaths up 14% in two years

Wed, 08 May 2013 07:48:00 -0500

The number of job fatalities among U.S. immigrants is increasing, a WBEZ analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data has found.

Foreign-born worker deaths rose 13.9 percent from 2009 to 2011, the most recent year for which data are available. Fatal injuries of U.S.-born workers during the period edged up just 1.0 percent.

Of the 843 immigrants who died from job injuries in 2011, Mexicans accounted for 349 (41.4 percent). The second largest group was Salvadoran, a nationality that accounted for 40 (4.7 percent) of the deaths. Next on the list were Guatemalan, Honduran and Indian immigrants — all with 24 (2.8 percent).

Immigrants constituted 18.0 percent of the country’s 4,693 workers who suffered fatal job injuries in 2011. The annual percentage had increased each year going back to 2008, when foreign-born workers accounted for 16.0 percent of job fatalities.

Muzaffar Chishti, who directs the Migration Policy Institute office at New York University, says the immigrant fatality increase could be more than a statistical anomaly.

“As recession has taken hold, employers have tightened their belt,” Chishti said. “And many of the labor standards, especially related to safety, go out the window.”

Chishti also points to factors that inhibit immigrants from defending their workplace rights. Many foreign-born workers face language barriers. And many end up working for temporary agencies or other employers that can easily replace them.

The most vulnerable immigrants lack authorization to be in the United States — making them even less likely to speak up for their rights, Chishti said, because they fear their bosses will turn them over to immigration authorities.

Immigrant temporary workers who suffered a fatal job injury in 2011 included Chicago resident Carlos Centeno, 50, a Mexican native scalded by nearly boiling acid in a Bedford Park factory. A WBEZ and Center for Public Integrity investigation of Centeno’s case found that the federal government is not keeping close track of temp-worker injuries.

Immigrants in the country illegally are also more likely to work in dangerous industries, such as construction and meatpacking, Chishti said.

The AFL-CIO highlighted immigrant worker fatalities Tuesday in an annual safety report. “Fatalities among foreign-born or immigrant workers continue to be a serious problem,” the report said.

In Illinois, 38 immigrants died from job injuries in 2011. The state number had ranged from 23 to 42 since 2006.

Chip Mitchell is WBEZ’s West Side bureau reporter. Follow him on Twitter @ChipMitchell1 and @WBEZoutloud, and connect with him through Facebook and LinkedIn.

UNO charter school teachers unionize

Thu, 02 May 2013 07:38:00 -0500

Teachers and school staff at one of Chicago’s largest charter school networks have voted to unionize.

Eighty-seven percent of teachers at UNO charter schools signed union cards in the past weeks, according to both the union and the school. An independent arbitrator counted union cards Wednesday at UNO’s high school on the Southwest Side.

UNO immediately recognized the union. Some 415 teachers and school staff at 13 campuses are affected.

“It’s a big deal. It’s May Day in Chicago and you can’t think of a better labor story, can you?” said Phil Mullins, longtime organizer and now chief strategy officer with the United Neighborhood Organization, a 29-year-old community organization focused on Latino empowerment that holds the charter for the schools.

Also a big deal is the fact that UNO swung open its doors to the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, allowing the union access to teachers and the opportunity to organize openly in schools.

Mullins says UNO has been in contact with union representatives for more than a year. He said the recent agreement to allow teachers to organize is not related to an ongoing investigation of UNO schools for potential misuse of a state construction grant.

The idea behind charter schools, which are privately operated with public dollars, is that they would be free from most school district rules and regulations, and also labor agreements. Advocates say schools unhindered by teachers contracts can create student-centered school calendars and practices.

The proportion of teachers represented by a union is falling precipitously in Chicago as the district closes union schools and opens charters. Chicago ACTS has made an organizing push into charters across the city. With the UNO vote, the size of the fledgling union more than doubles. Charter school teachers are not allowed to join the Chicago Teachers Union; Chicago ACTS is a sister union.

“It’s very, very high approval across all campuses. I think we had three campuses with 100 percent of the teachers saying yes, so it’s overwhelming approval,” said UNO-Garcia High technology teacher Alvin Colon. Colon says a union will be good for education at UNO.

“I think it will have great, positive impact. A number of my colleagues are passionate teachers. They want to continue improving at what they do. The union is going help solidify the team and make for considerably less turnover.”

Reached on his way to a union meeting, Colon said teachers were motivated to bring in the union because they want a say in things like their evaluations, which he called “unfair.” He described aspects of a new incentive pay program as “unrealistic.”

Colon says what makes a charter school a charter school is not whether the teachers are unionized, but the element of parental choice involved, the fact that students can choose the school in lieu of a neighborhood school they’re assigned to.

Mullins of UNO says something similar: “Our schools when established were never established with the idea that a labor agreement—or the absence of a labor agreement—was a critical part of what makes our schools work. We don’t think organized labor is the critical variable in whether schools are successful or not. It has more to do with mission and a vibrant relationship with the community that makes that difference.“

UNO has come under attack from opponents of charter schools, including the Chicago Teachers Union, and the heat has intensified in recent weeks amidst reports that UNO improperly handed contracts to insiders. It’s unclear how the unionization vote will affect the attacks leveled at UNO going forward.

The unionization vote attracted national attention. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement that UNO represents a “turning point” and “an example of another charter school operator recognizing that it can’t succeed without the voices of those who work most closely with students.”

President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers Dan Montgomery says the vote to unionize sends another message.

“If people think that somehow charters are a path to getting around teachers unions or getting away from teachers unions, I think that puts the lie to that.” Montgomery also said when employers make clear they are willing to let workers unionize, nearly all will choose to do so.

Linda Lutton covers education for WBEZ. Follow her @WBEZEducation.

Downtown walkout for higher minimum wage shakes up Chicago businesses

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:32:00 -0500

A group of fast food and retail workers in downtown Chicago staged a protest and walkout Wednesday to demand a minimum wage of $15 an hour for all downtown workers. Beginning very early in the morning, the roving protest grew in size as it made noise in front of stores including Macy’s, Nordstrom Rack, Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s.

Felix Mendez said he changed out of his uniform and into a red shirt and walked out of his job at Subway early Wednesday morning.

“Every two weeks my check is less than $500,” he said. In two years at Subway he said he’s never gotten a raise, and he and his family recently had to move because they couldn’t pay rent. He lives with his girlfriend, who’s a teacher, and his two kids. “We make it, but it would be nice not to have to struggle, just to live comfortable live everybody else.”

Managers at Mendez’s Subway didn’t want to comment. But another Subway manager whose employees walked out said he’d support a higher state minimum wage.

“Why not?” said Subway manager Firoj Ali. But he said Subway won’t be the one to set that new minimum. “The franchise is not going to decide minimum wage.”

“I have to go paycheck by paycheck struggling,” said Amani Johnson, who works at the same Subway. The 26-year-old has two young children, and he’s been at Subway for six years. “Why be greedy and keep the money to yourself when you could be helping many others out here that are struggling?”

Earlier this year in his State of the State address, Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn voiced his support for raising the state minimum above $8.25. But lawmakers have not yet addressed legislation this session. The last change in the state minimum wage was in 2010.

A study by the National Employment Law Project shows that since the economic crash in 2008, the growth of low-wage jobs has far outpaced mid- and high-wage jobs.

The group behind Wednesday’s protest, the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago (WOCC), wants downtown businesses to raise pay on their own rather than waiting for a change in laws. The WOCC is using a protest strategy that has also been gaining some traction with fast food workers in New York City: getting workers to go out on “strike” without officially forming a union. But Wednesday’s demonstration was more a walkout than a strike; workers said they will be back on the job Thursday.

Lewis Wallace is a Pritzker Journalism Fellow at WBEZ. Follow him @lewispants.

Chicago Teachers Union vows to make school closings political

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:52:00 -0500

Angry over school a proposal that would close down an unprecedented number of schools, Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis Monday vowed to launch a “comprehensive and aggressive political action campaign” with the ultimate goal of defeating Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other local elected officials supportive of school closings.

“If the mayor and his hand-picked corporate school board will not listen to us, we must find those who will,” Lewis said.

Lewis said union members would continue to oppose the closings through hearings and protests “until the board rubber stamps this plan on May 22, and on May 23 we’re going right back in the streets.”

The union says it wants to put a minimum of 100,000 new voters on Chicago’s rolls. Lewis says union organizers will go door to door in neighborhoods where schools are closing and where teachers are losing jobs “due to this administration.”

The union also plans to increase donations to its political action committee and vet potential candidates.

Lewis called the dozens of public hearings being held by the district “most likely sham events” and said they’re “designed to provide therapy to people impacted by their decisions.”

The union released an analysis today — Lewis referred to it as an “autopsy” — of Guggenheim Elementary, which was closed last year.

The union says Guggenheim was neglected, with overcrowded classrooms and just two working computers in the library. Advocates say once the proposal to shut down the school was announced, the principal improperly tried to push homeless children to transfer. Once Guggenheim was closed, only 37 percent of students went to the designated CPS receiving school. Catalyst-Chicago has reported that CPS has lost track of 23 Guggenheim kids, and cannot say where they ended up.

The union says other schools live in fear of being shut down. It says the district had trouble closing four schools last year, now it’s trying to close 54.

Chicago Public Schools spokesman Dave Miranda says the district is taking a new approach this year.

“Unlike in the past, CPS will work aggressively and proactively to reach parents at all sending schools to encourage them to enroll their children in their dedicated higher-performing welcoming schools," he said. "We want to ensure that students can benefit from the additional investments that will be made in welcoming schools for the fall.”

A spokeswoman for the mayor said this is "simply not the time for politics."

"Barbara Byrd-Bennett has proposed a plan for Chicago Public Schools, with Mayor Emanuel's support, that finally puts our children first," the spokeswoman said.

Linda Lutton is an education reporter for WBEZ. Follow her at @WBEZeducation.

American employers jockey for skilled, foreign workers

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:03:00 -0500

For the first time since 2008, the number of petitions to bring in skilled, temporary foreign workers has reached its cap within the first week of taking applications.

Employers wishing to sponsor professionals in fields such as IT and engineering for the 2014 federal fiscal year started filing visa petitions last Monday.

The U.S. Department of Citizenship and Immigration services issues up to 85,000 H-1B visas per year. Within five days of opening the application window, USCIS had received about 124,000 petitions. “I mean, this hasn’t happened since 2008, where I think it took one day to reach the cap back then,” said Marilu Cabrera, spokesman for USCIS. “Last year it took about 73 days, and for the past few years it’s been taking much longer. So this is definitely news for us.”

Many see the increased demand as a sign of economic recovery, but critics of the program say it allows companies to bypass skilled American workers for cheaper foreign labor. Under federal law, H-1B sponsors are required to pay workers the prevailing wage within their industry. However, employers may choose from four tiers of pay within those categories, and some contend that the majority of employers only pay H-1B workers at the lowest levels allowed.

USCIS will use a lottery to decide which petitions are accepted.

—Odette Yousef is WBEZ’s North Side Bureau reporter. Follow her at @oyousef.

Ai-jen Poo

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:59:00 -0500

The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum and Chicago Coalition for Domestic Workers/Latino Union will co-host this conversation with Ai-Jen Poo, visionary labor leader and Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Ms. Poo talks about her work organizing domestic workers across the country and discusses the Illinois Domestic Worker Bill of Rights with Senator Ira Silverstein, the sponsor of this groundbreaking piece of legislation and a local domestic worker from Chicago Coalition for Domestic Workers.

Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and Co-director of the Caring Across Generations campaign, has been organizing immigrant women workers since 1996. In 2000 she co-founded Domestic Workers United, the New York organization that spearheaded the successful passage of the state’s historic Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010. In 2007, DWU helped organize the first national domestic workers convening, out of which formed the NDWA. Ai-jen serves on the Board of Directors of Momsrising, National Jobs with Justice, Working America, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, and the National Council on Aging. Among Ai-jen’s numerous accolades are the Ms. Foundation Woman of Vision Award, the Independent Sector American Express NGen Leadership Award, Newsweek’s 150 Fearless Women list, and TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

This event is part of a year-long series of interactive public workshops, performances, and conversations that are associated with "Unfinished Business: 21st Century Home Economics," an exhibition at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum that explores the stories of the first generation of home economists who were equal rights advocates, chemists and public health advocates, labor reformers and innovators who sought to redefine domesticity. The exhibit connects this history to the contemporary moment, and engages activists, artists, and scholars as they consider the domestic sphere as a site of social change.

Recorded live Thursday, March 28, 2013 at the Jane Adams Hull House Museum.

Gary airport feels brunt of sequestration battle

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:57:00 -0600

The political battle over sequestration could have a real impact in neighboring Northwest Indiana.

If a deal isn’t reached before Friday, those automatic budget cuts could force the closing of the control tower at the fledgling Gary Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana.

Interim airport director Steve Landry says even if that happens, it won’t have much of an impact on overall operations.

Planes already takeoff and land without control tower assistance from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“It will not affect the safety of the airport, it will however affect the efficiency of air traffic into and and out of the airport,” Landry told WBEZ on Thursday. “So, without the air traffic controllers in the tower there are procedures in place to make (landing and takeoffs) happen and make that happen safely.”

But a spokeswoman for Gary’s only commercial carrier, Allegiant Air, says the company is unsure if its planes will continue to fly in and out of the airport if an air traffic controller is not present.

“We’ll certainly look at all of our options and try to mitigate any inconvenience for our customers and any change in our operations. But right now, it’s a lot of speculation. We just don’t know what is going to happen,” Allegiant spokeswoman Jessica Wheeler said.

Corporate, charter and cargo jets currently utilize the Gary airport as it undergoes a multimillion dollar expansion of its main runway. The Indiana National Guard houses helicopters at the airport, and the Boeing Corporation keeps a fleet of corporate jets there.

But commercial carriers have been hard to come by for Gary.

Allegiant Air has operated consistently out of the airport for about a year with flights to near Orlando, Florida.

This unplanned set back is an unwelcome development for Allegiant Air in Gary.

“We would rather not have our airports shut down and cut back on staff, certainly not as we gear into spring break and a heavy travel season,” Wheeler said. “But we’re going to do what we always do: We’re going to react to situations and make the best of it and try to keep our service running as much as possible.”

Landry says the cuts, if they happen, won’t shut down the control tower in Gary until April.

And even still, Will Davis, owner of the privately-operated Gary Jet Center at the airport, says there’s a 50/50 chance nothing will happen.

He says the Gary airport is on a list of some 200 airports nationwide that could have its funding for air traffic controllers cut.

But like Landry, Davis says the airport can function without air traffic controllers, which it does during those overnight hours.

“There’s a lot of air traffic that comes in and out of here at night because of freight work that we do, so there are definite FAA procedures to function. It doesn’t impact the airport’s ability to function,” Davis said. “Do we like to have the tower? Absolutely. It’s just for efficiencies and safety and everything else, but we can operate without an operating tower.”

As President Obama tries to nudge lawmakers to approve a deal, Republican U.S. senators like Dan Coats of Indiana don’t support the president’s plan.

“The president’s answer to this problem is yet another call for higher taxes to pay for more government spending. This solves nothing. A smarter approach is to give the heads of agencies the flexibility to implement these cuts responsibly by eliminating waste and duplication from their departments,” Coats said in a statement on Thursday.

“Instead, the White House wants to play politics by threatening to go after the civilian defense personnel that support our national security, border patrol agents, air traffic controllers and first responders to continue the administration’s spending and taxing addiction.”

A Mere $392,800 Gets You A Degree!?

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 05:00:00 -0600

Are you shocked by the cost of a university education today? I am, and I work at a university.

Frankly, I don’t understand how parents and students today are able to pay the present room, board, and tuition costs of an education at either a public college ($25,000) or a private college ($55,000). The cost of higher education has increased at a faster rate than inflation for at least the last ten years.

And, according to college financial aid consultant Kalman Chany, there is no end in sight. Chany predicts that when today’s children to go college, the estimated cost of a state school will be $37,000 a year, and at a private school, the cost will be $98,200.

When you multiply these numbers by a factor of four, you wind up with public tuition topping out at $150,800, and private tuition at $392,800. (And, by the way, these figures do not include books, spending money, and transportation) Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m still convinced of the importance of a college education, both in regard to developing competence and a career, as well as addressing the related questions of “personal identity and character.”

However, I am also convinced that universities need to redefine their financial models and ways of doing business. The golden ages of the “baby boomers” charging off to college in unprecedented numbers is over. Birth rates have been down for over 15 years, and so has the pool of normal college age students.

Moreover, the demands and specific needs of the market place have changed. Nowadays, just getting a degree is no longer a guarantee of getting a job.

“Boomer” parents were once able to help, if not, completely pay college bills while simultaneously maintaining a middle class existence and planning for retirement. But, today’s parents can’t do it all anymore. And, clearly, most students cannot pay for their own tuition.

Those students who do pay their own bills, often do so by taking on loans that often require 10 to 15 years to pay off. Given today’s and tomorrow’s projected costs, I simply don’t think universities can maintain their present pedagogical model and method of doing education.

I’m convinced that within 15 years, the average university undergraduate curriculum will be a two to a three year experience. Yes, there will be “some” liberal art; but the focus will be on career preparation and technical competencies. This possible near-future scenario deeply troubles me greatly.

But, after four-decades in the classroom, I, sadly, just can’t imagine any other workable alternative.

Manufacturing comeback could drive infill and energy efficiency

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 05:00:00 -0600

Manufacturing is a defining part of the Chicago region’s past, but a report from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning says it could guide regional development in the future, too.

WBEZ's Niala Boodhoo has a rundown of the report's main points, but here’s what it says for land use and energy — two key factors for the kind of manufacturing resurgence the report envisions. It's the kind of advanced manufacturing renaissance recently touted by President Barack Obama. (Read the full report and a summary here.)

Development and transportation

CMAP looked at the seven-county region of northeastern Illinois. That encompasses 580,000 manufacturing jobs, a "cluster" of jobs second only to Los Angeles, but also the region’s suburban and exurban sprawl. The report recommends incentives for infill growth and investment in transportation infrastructure. That would be transit-oriented development, oriented around pockets (or “nodes”) of density near the suburban hotbeds of the region’s manufacturing sector.

Transportation infrastructure is already underfunded, with regional transit agencies eyeing about $31 billion for infrastructure improvements and other capital investments over the next 10 years. The job growth projected in CMAP’s report could potentially goad some additional investment, but the transportation system’s looming budget gap is a serious challenge to the kind of transit-friendly development called for in the report calls.

To encourage density, the report recommends infill development — redevelopment on existing vacant properties. There are more than 100,000 acres of land available for infill development, CMAP said, but taking advantage of under-used land can be difficult. Industrial land could be environmentally contaminated, and much of the land that once hosted large facilities has been divided up by individual land buyers over the years, fragmenting the land available for new manufacturers. Still, there is massive potential, as seen in the map below.

Energy

Manufacturing is the largest domestic consumer of energy, making up about one third of total energy use nationwide. Ultimately CMAP’s projections for a revitalized manufacturing base in northeastern Illinois don’t hinge on energy issues; only a few industries account for 70 percent of all the energy use by manufacturers in Illinois, and those same industries account for just 25 percent of manufacturing employment. Nonetheless energy remains a major factor for manufacturing operations.

Illinois has a slightly higher cost for energy delivered to industry than other states in the midwest, the report notes. The cost of coal in Illinois is 16 percent lower than the national average, but with natural gas prices plummeting, that is unlikely to be a major advantage. And manufacturers use more natural gas than any other end user.

The report also says industrial firms in Illinois could make better use of combined heat and power (CHP) systems that recover waste heat for reuse and electricity generation, citing a World Resources Institute study that found CHP potential in Illinois was the largest in the Midwest, totaling four times the currently installed capacity. They point to an East Chicago steel manufacturer, ArcelorMittal, that recovers more energy from its blast furnace, the world’s largest, than the power from all the existing wind turbines in Illinois and Indiana combined.

CHP would be more attractive, the report says, if firms could more easily sell excess energy back to the grid. That practice is currently limited by regulation. The state recently won a grant to improve energy efficiency in manufacturing, which could potentially speed up efforts to install CHP systems. To fund those installations, the report suggests that utilities provide upfront investments to be repaid through future energy savings.

Manufacturing growth could encourage renewable energy deployment, too, as manufacturers get a relatively high percentage (5 percent) of their energy from renewable sources compared to the residential (2.3 percent), transportation (1 percent) and commercial (0.8 percent) sectors.

And the regional employment outlook could also benefit from an increased demand for renewable energy. Wind turbine manufacturing is growing in northeastern Illinois — German turbine giant Nordex and Chinese company Xianjiang Goldwind located their North American headquarters in Chicago. With only a few hundred regional employees, wind turbine manufacturing is not yet a major employer. It is, however, a rapidly growing market.

Energy storage is another likely beneficiary of the kind of manufacturing comeback CMAP recommends. The Department of Energy recently named Argonne National Laboratory a national hub for battery research.

But the report also notes that the region's investments in research and development have plummeted in the last ten years. The authors recommend the state match federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants to build on regional expertise. Renewable energy made up 13 of 82 SBIR awards in the region in 2011, more than any other specified research category.

Chris Bentley writes about environmental issues. Follow him on Twitter at @Cementley.