With 81 percent of the vote, Service Employees International Union Local 880 of Chicago won the right to represent an estimated 49,000 child care workers in Illinois, the American Arbitration Association confirmed on April 7.
The win, after a months-long campaign, means the union will now negotiate a contract covering the workers with the Illinois Departments of Human Services and Children and Family Services, Local 880 lead organizer Keith Kelleher said at a telephone press conference with cheering, chanting unionists in the background.
Local 880 President Helen Miller praised her members "for hanging in there" in the drive, saying that it really began almost a decade ago, before workers had anyone to bargain with.
"This was an election about improving our strength in our communities. When we make a commitment to lift the providers out of poverty, we lift the children out of poverty, too," she added.
Most of Local 880's bargaining will actually be lobbying Gov. Rod Blagejovich and state legislative leaders, for funds to raise daily pay of the workers, who tend to 202,000 children. They earn as little as $9.48 per child per day for 12-14-hour days.
Local 880 won similar gains two years ago for another large group of workers, despite a budget crunch, Kelleher said.
The local will also bargain for health care coverage and hopes to gain an agency shop contract, possibly with a "fair share" clause for workers who don't want to formally join the local, he added.
Workers could vote for Local 880, no union or AFSCME Council 31. But AFSCME withdrew after an AFL-CIO-named impartial arbitrator, called upon under the federation constitution to resolve jurisdictional disputes, ruled for SEIU. SEIU got 13,484 votes, while 2,684 were for AFSCME, blank or void, and 359 for no union.
Local 880 fielded 500 organizers during its campaign and 200 organizers from the Laborers, the United Food and Commercial Workers, UNITE HERE and the Teamsters joined them in the final weeks, Kelleher said.
Mark Gruenberg writes for Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
Share
With 81 percent of the vote, Service Employees International Union Local 880 of Chicago won the right to represent an estimated 49,000 child care workers in Illinois, the American Arbitration Association confirmed on April 7.
The win, after a months-long campaign, means the union will now negotiate a contract covering the workers with the Illinois Departments of Human Services and Children and Family Services, Local 880 lead organizer Keith Kelleher said at a telephone press conference with cheering, chanting unionists in the background.
Local 880 President Helen Miller praised her members “for hanging in there” in the drive, saying that it really began almost a decade ago, before workers had anyone to bargain with.
“This was an election about improving our strength in our communities. When we make a commitment to lift the providers out of poverty, we lift the children out of poverty, too,” she added.
Most of Local 880’s bargaining will actually be lobbying Gov. Rod Blagejovich and state legislative leaders, for funds to raise daily pay of the workers, who tend to 202,000 children. They earn as little as $9.48 per child per day for 12-14-hour days.
Local 880 won similar gains two years ago for another large group of workers, despite a budget crunch, Kelleher said.
The local will also bargain for health care coverage and hopes to gain an agency shop contract, possibly with a “fair share” clause for workers who don’t want to formally join the local, he added.
Workers could vote for Local 880, no union or AFSCME Council 31. But AFSCME withdrew after an AFL-CIO-named impartial arbitrator, called upon under the federation constitution to resolve jurisdictional disputes, ruled for SEIU. SEIU got 13,484 votes, while 2,684 were for AFSCME, blank or void, and 359 for no union.
Local 880 fielded 500 organizers during its campaign and 200 organizers from the Laborers, the United Food and Commercial Workers, UNITE HERE and the Teamsters joined them in the final weeks, Kelleher said.
Mark Gruenberg writes for Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.