Labor

Despite the reputation of Bloomington-Normal as a staid, quiet community with nicknames such as "Borington" and "Insuranceville," the Twin Cities has a long history of protests. While there have been a lot of non-violent political protests around Bloomington-Normal lately, some past actions were not so civil.

The Bloomington-Normal area's jobless rate fell to 2.8% in April, down over half a point from this time a year ago. That's tied for the lowest among any metro area in the state.

A group of non-union workers at Illinois State University threatened to unionize during Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting. Organizers say over 200 ISU employees have signed a petition asking for raises, in the wake of other collective bargaining on campus.

The Bloomington-Normal labor market, which includes all of McLean and DeWitt counties, lost 2,700 jobs in manufacturing from February 2024 to February 2025.

Workers at the East Empire Street store have joined three New York City-based stores in ratifying contracts as members of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

The charge, made by the United Faculty of Illinois State University on Thursday, comes after members chanted prior to a recent contract negotiation session. ISU said it denies the allegations.

Charles McCubbin and several other former Rivian employees told WGLT they believe production demands and employee turnover combined with a lack of training have compromised safety conditions at the plant.

Labor leaders say contractors working on a renovation of the Uptown Normal hotel are violating prevailing wage and other laws for workers at the site.

The Starbucks store at the Shoppes at College Hills in Normal has formally voted to unionize.

Demand for skilled trades workers is on the upswing, but there's a huge untapped resource to fill — women.