Strike enters 7th year

Workers at Chicago's Congress Hotel have been on strike for seven years with no end in sight. Workers were told in 2003, there would be no raises until 2010. The employer has not budged on its wage proposal during the 7 year strike. Members of UNITE HERE gathered with local politicians and clergy to "celebrate the anniversary with speechifying and solidarity. Details here and here. We have previously posted about the injunction the hotel sought against the City to prevent the City from interfering in the labor dispute.

Termination of strike replacements not a WARN Act mass lay-off

A federal district court has granted defendant summary judgment in an interesting WARN act scenario. At the conclusion of a strike the employer returned striking employees to work and terminated 123 replacement workers. The court found the termination and subsequent rehiring of the strikers did not meet the WARN Act definition of mass lay-off. A mass lay off involves a reduction in force. This case did not involve the loss of any positions through a reduction of the actual jobs in issue. The jobs remain, albeit filled by a different worker.

Smelling the roses bowl

Seems a strike and subsequent lockout at the University of Alabama is attributable to the awakening that occurred when the two schools met in the Rose Bowl. That's where First Transit's Alabama drivers became aware that First Transit's Texas drivers made a lot more green.

UFCW threatened strike

The Arizona Republic does a good job of discussing the potential UFCW strike against Frye's and Safeway. The piece also discusses the effects of the 2003-2004 strike against the same companies lasting 20 weeks and which involved 70,000 workers. It cost the companies an estimaterd $2 billion.

School bus strike redux

First Student, the Ohio based company that provides school bus drivers to Hinds County Mississippi, blogged here, also has striking bus drivers in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Note the click through provides little information and a lot of opinion favorable to the union. Reason: The article is based on the Teamsters' Union press release, not independent reporting. Note the same problem here, here, and here. For an example of good coverage of a labor dispute look at this previous post about a 40 month strike.