Chicago Federation of Labor

Working families cheer historic financial reform

Working families cheered the clearing of the most sweeping reform of financial markets since the Great Depression. The measure passed the U.S. Senate with the 60 votes needed to prevent a Republican filibuster in a victory for President Obama, Democratic lawmakers and, most importantly, working families who have been the victims of the recession spurred by the meltdown of the nation's financial industry.

On the same day as the vote, working families affected by the recession protested outside of Representative Mark Kirk's office in Northbrook, taking him to task over standing with Wall Street by voting against the financial reform bill, as well as voting against job creation measures and extending unemployment benefits.

Financial Reform has the Necessary Votes

President Obama has lined up the necessary votes in order to pass a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations in the U.S. Senate. The bill has already passed the House and is expected to clear the Senate on Wednesday.

The bill is aimed at Wall Street greed that sparked the recession, costing millions of jobs and skyrocketing unemployment over the last several years. In Illinois, the unemployment rate is 10.8 percent and roughly 750,000 men and women are out of work, not to mention those who are underemployed and unable to find full-time employment.

Judge: Blackstone Hotel illegally laid off workers

Hotel ordered to offer jobs back with back pay and benefits; Union estimates lost earnings and benefits to total at least $250,000

In a major ruling this week, an administrative law judge of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found that owners and management of the Blackstone Hotel had violated federal labor law by illegally firing workers, cutting staff benefits, and circulating a petition to decertify the union. The Blackstone Hotel was ordered to offer jobs back to 14 employees who were laid off on June 15, 2009 and compensate them with any lost wages and benefits resulting from the company’s unlawful actions against them, with interest. The decision represents an important victory for workers at the Blackstone Hotel, who have been battling the Hotel for more than a year to bring workers back to work and win a first contract.