The City of Chicago Teamsters Local 700 will allow their leaders to strike if the need arises. The final tally is from about 2000 ballots sent out. The good men and ladies voted 753 yes to authorize leadership the ability to strike if needed. 248 voted no because they do not wear the pants or dresses at home, and 7 ballots were considered spoiled. This is the unofficial tally as of a few hours ago. When you give men and women the ability to make up their own mind and not cave-in to bully demands like other unions, you have freedom. Time to follow in the footsteps of Chicago Teamsters. Photo by Patrick McDonough
8 Replies to “City of Chicago Teamsters 700 Vote. Give leadership strike rights”
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HI.PAT.
IT’S A GOOD FEELING TO HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE .IF IT’S YES OR NO THE MEMBERS MADE THEIR OWN DECISION AND NO ONE WAS LOOKING OVER THEIR SHOULDERS OR TELLING THEM HOW TO VOTE.
NO MORE YEA OR NAY.
THANK YOU.
Wants authority restored in exchange for agreeing to be investigated
March 3, 2010
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com
If Mayor Daley wants to empower Chicago’s corruption-fighting inspector to investigate aldermen, he should give the City Council something in return: oversight over city contracts, alderman said Tuesday.
Aldermen Robert Fioretti (2nd), Walter Burnett (27th), Scott Waguespack (32nd) and others said the mayor’s controversial proposal has breathed new life into efforts to reclaim contract oversight stripped away by Daley in 1989.
Council oversight over all contracts over $50,000 was an outgrowth of “Council Wars,” the 1980’s power struggle that saw 29 mostly-white aldermen led by Edward R. Vrdolyak (10th) thwart then-Mayor Harold Washington’s every move.
Daley took the power away shortly after taking office and has resisted periodic attempts to snatch it back amid a steady drumbeat of contract cronyism. The mayor has long argued that contract oversight would literally require the Council to meet every day.
Now, aldermen see their best opening yet to reclaim the crucial power.
“There’s a system of favoritism here. When all these secret deals have erupted, indictments happen — the Hired Truck scandal, especially,” Fioretti said.
“Could the Council have stopped all that corruption? I don’t know. But, at least we ought to be out there fighting…Rather than read in the papers about a contract awarded for $150 million, it’s time for everyone to participate.”
Last year, Fioretti proposed City Council oversight of contracts over $25,000. Waguespack argued that a threshold in the $500,000-to-$2 million range would be sufficient to police the City Hall equivalent of “insider trading.”
“We constantly hear of people connected to the mayor and connected to his administration getting contracts with no one knowing about it until you report it. We’re reading the papers saying, ‘Wait a minute. This didn’t come through committee. And we’re bearing the burden for his mistakes,” he said.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported last month that Daley’s proposal to expand the inspector general’s investigative range had touched a raw nerve with aldermen who believe the mayor is diverting attention from scandals of his own making.
Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th) then went public with his colleagues’ concerns about the impact Daley’s plan would have on the separation of powers. Burke said he doubted the mayor had the 26 votes to win City Council approval.
But, Burnett insisted Tuesday that momentum to reclaim contract oversight was not “a revenge thing” against Daley.
“People just want to be transparent. … We always have these minority hiring challenges with the contracts,” he said.
Another alderman, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “Every time Daley gets his … in a ringer, he throws it on the aldermen. If he really wants this, he should give us something.”
Last week, Inspector General Joe Ferguson and Intergovernmental Affairs director Joan Coogan met privately with aldermen to lobby for the mayor’s proposal.
On Thursday, Rules Committee Chairman Richard Mell (33rd) has scheduled closed-door briefings with Corporation Counsel Mara Georges. That’s when aldermen are likely to learn what changes the mayor is prepared to make to accommodate their concerns.
Mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard had no immediate comment on the drive to reclaim contract oversight.
Wear the pants in the family? . . Us drivers never had it so good 1. We dont take furlough days 2. We just got a $2.50 raise 3. We still get paid for holidays . . .Drivers never had it so good . . Why because there sending 50 drivers home that have under three year home after two hrs. ? . . o well.. . These liars we got in the union been here 4months and already talking strike?. . .Not even the corrupt morons we had before we that dumb.
‘There’d be 50,000 people applying for those jobs,’ he says
March 4, 2010
By FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Mayor Daley today shook off a 3-to-1 strike-authorization vote by city of Chicago truck drivers and vowed to keep O’Hare and Midway Airports open even if the drivers walk off the job.
“You know what? There’d be 50,000 people applying for these jobs,” Daley said. “I mean, there’s so many people out of work. If you were ever to open employment, there’d be 50,000. These are good-paying jobs. Everybody would like to not work and get two hours’ pay.
“I don’t know how they can strike,” the mayor said. “My argument is that, if there’s no work to be done and they’re getting two hours’ pay, they should be very thankful to taxpayers that they’re getting two hours’ pay.”
For decades, roughly 300 “pool motor truck drivers” hired for the snow season at O’Hare and Midway have been guaranteed eight-hour shifts.
When runways were clear and no snow was forecast, they were assigned to training or other odd jobs, including towing, repairing and washing vehicles and driving tradespeople around the airport.
Since Dec. 15, dozens of pool drivers have been sent home when there is no snow to remove and none forecast.
The two-hour workday at O’Hare and Midway is just one of many union beefs that triggered the strike-authorization vote. The union also has accused the city of a “wholesale repudiation” of its contract.
On Thursday, Daley again highlighted the airport issue because it has the potential to strike a raw nerve with taxpayers.
“In good times, they would hire the Teamsters … and pay ’em [for] eight hours” whether or not there was snow to be removed, Daley said. “But this is such an economic crisis that you can’t sit there and not do work and be paid for eight hours … You can’t plow if there’s no snow and you can’t put salt down. So, appropriately then, after two hours, you have ’em go home. Usuually, they’d be laid off for four months completely.”
Although the Teamsters have authorized a strike, no date has been set. The vote merely empowers union leaders to pull the trigger whenever they see fit.
City Hall maintains that the Teamsters’ contract includes a no-strike clause that allows the city to discharge those who walk off the job while taking civil action against their union. A strike by 2,000 truck drivers could also affect garbage collection and snow removal on Chicago streets.
YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG FRANK.
HERE ARE THE MANDATORY FURLOUGH DAYS THAT HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY THE WATER DEPARTMENT HEADS. FEB.15.2010
MARCH.19.2010
JUNE.11.2010
AUGUST.20.2010
NOVEMBER.11.2010
DECEMBER.27.2010
THIS CITY IS FU*KED UP.WHY DO SOME CITY EMPLOYEES HAVE TO TAKE DAYS OFF?THE POLICE,FIRE AND THE TEAMSTERS DO NOTHING TO HELP IN THIS TIME OF NEED. WE ARE ALL BLESSED TO HAVE JOBS LIKE WE HAVE.THE WHOLE WORLD IS IN TROUBLE.COME ON GUYS THINK ABOUT IT.HOW MANY PEOPLE DO WE ALL KNOW THAT HAVE NOT WORKED IN MONTHS OR YEARS.WE ALL NEED TO PULL TOGETHER IN THIS BATTLE.YES DALEY IS A TRUE ASSHOLE BUT LETS THINK ABOUT THE LONG TERM.WE WANT TO KEEP ARE JOBS.PAT NOT ONE OF US CITY WORKERS WANT TO TAKE DAYS OFF BUT THESE ARE THE TIMES.GET ON THE BOAT OR SINK.
Who still gets paid for overtime?. . Snow guys did pretty good this year. . . . i cant stand the mayor myself, but do you think for a minute he dosent have plans in case of a walk out.. . . you know how fast those jobs will be replaced? faster than Xs can be put on a live runway !
TEAMSTERS SUCK,THEY ARE LAZY AND DO NOTHING.REPLACE THEM ALL AND LET THE OTHER TRADES DRIVE THE TRUCKS TO AND FROM THE JOBS. KEEP THE ONES AT THE AIRPORTS AND THE ONES TRAINED IN SNOW REMOVAL.BUT THE REST KISS THEM GOOD-BYE.