American Airlines to cut 13,000 jobs nationwide
American Airlines, after recently filing for bankruptcy protection, is about to cut 15% of its workforce. AMR’s new CEO (the last CEO stepped down because he was disgusted that AMR would not honor its obligations – and did not have a golden parachute — odd, in these times…) claims they need to cut 20% of AMR’s labor costs. [...]
IL Employers could save 15-35% on workers’ compensation costs…here’s how
34 states in these United States have implemented an “injury and illness prevention program.” Guess who hasn’t? ILLINOIS. Why? Ask your legislators, because there is absolutely no good reason not to have an injury and illness prevention program other than sheer laziness of our legislators or fear that businesses may cry about it. Illness and [...]
Will Indiana Labor “Occupy the Super Bowl”?
If that’s what it takes to derail the anti-union “right to work” bill being pushed by Gov. Mitch Daniels and Republican legislators … thousands of Indiana workers are ready to demonstrate in Indianapolis on February 5: Jeff Harris, spokesman for the Indiana AFL-CIO, said the union organization’s “focus is on defeating ‘right to work’ on [...]
Uninsured Employer/Dead Employee: The Tragic (perhaps criminal) End of Quelino Ojeda Jimenez
Quelino Ojeda Jimenez died in a rural Mexican hospital on New Year’s Day. He was twenty-one years old. In August 2010, Quelino fell from a roof while working for a nonunion contractor near Midway Airport, and was rendered a quadriplegic. You may remember the controversy a year ago when Advocate Christ Hospital, unwilling to absorb the costs of [...]
Next door in Indiana: A threat to union rights … and a small victory for free speech
The Indianapolis Star reports that Gov. Mitch Daniels has withdrawn controversial new rules limiting the number of Hoosiers allowed to enter their own state capital building to speak their minds. The new rules were announced, not-so-coincidentally, as Republican lawmakers introduced a proposed “right-to-work” law. The bill, which was shelved last year in the face of [...]
IL Dept of Insurance Releases Approved Preferred Provider List for Workers Compensation
The IL Dept of Insurance recently released the 3 companies that have been approved under the new PPP provisions of the WC Act. Remember, if your employer has a “PPP”, they must notify you in writing as soon as you report your injury. They must also provide a list of doctors and other providers who are approved [...]
State of IL Pols Played by IL Business again….
Within 2 weeks of blackmailing the State of IL into $150 million handout (or else we’ll leave), Sears promptly shut down 200 stores. The Chicago Tribune reported that “a spokesman for Sears Holdings said the timing of the announcement was in line with the company’s usual practices. ‘We typically publish a release after the holidays, as the [...]
HAPPY HOLIDAYS from EEA!
Please enjoy a safe and happy holiday season. We ask that you remember those less fortunate and give to your favorite charity at this, the end of another year. Thank you from everyone here at EEA as we look forward to 2012. Peace.
House Republicans: “No room at the inn” for 2.2 million unemployed
Early this morning, the Republican-controlled House Rules Committee voted to block a full House vote on the bipartisan Senate compromise that would have extended unemployment insurance benefits for the long-term jobless. The current program expires Dec. 31. I don’t have to tell most readers of this blog how tough times are for the 2.2 million [...]
Belleville News-Democrat: Continuing to ignore facts. Journalism at its worst.
Beth Hunsdorfer and George Pawlaczyk continue to publish headlines at the Belleville News-Democrat that grossly mischaracterize the facts at best, and bordering on outright lies at worst. One wonders where these two are getting their “facts” because it certainly is not from any objective source (because they clearly ignore those). Or perhaps their bias against injured workers [...]