Organized Labor

Hours after its faculty union voted to authorize a strike, Illinois State University said Friday that it’s initiated “academic contingency planning activities” to minimize disruption if a work stoppage occurs.

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

One of the wrinkles in the downtown Bloomington Tax Increment Financing District the city council has just created is that if it doesn't perform, half the property tax money generated will go back to taxing bodies like Bloomington schools.

A third candidate has entered the race for mayor of Bloomington. Ward 6 Council member Cody Hendricks made his announcement at the electrical workers union hall on Tuesday. He joins current Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe and former State Rep. Dan Brady in the race.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is mixing into the unionization effort at the Rivian electric vehicle plant in Normal. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers is trying to organize the plant. Durbin says he has met with Rivian CEO R-J Scaringe and told him the company should support unionizing efforts.

With the Rivian plant in Normal adding a second shift, the United Auto Workers has been quietly contacting workers about a possible union-organizing campaign.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has settled a labor dispute with three companies doing work at the Rivian plant in Normal for $390,000 in back wages and penalties.

Union leader John Penn said as Labor Day approaches there is one particular labor everyone in the nation can perform: get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Illinois State University says it’s committed to “good-faith negotiations” now that a federal mediator has joined contract talks with the graduate workers…

Blue Ridge teachers Union President Don Anton said Tuesday he believes a tentative three-year contract agreement with the district is a good deal for…