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NALC member and Aurora letter carrier Suzie Murray (left) and a volunteer unload donated food during Saturday’s Stamp Out Hunger event at the USPS processing facility on Broadway Avenue in Aurora.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Aurora area letter carriers collected about 26,000 pounds of food May 12 during the 20th annual Stamp Out Hunger event.
It was the 19th year Aurora has participated, and the food collected for those in need totalled about 31,000 pounds, including surrounding communities. The Stamp Out Hunger food drive is the nation’s largest single day food drive, having collected more than one billion pounds of food since its inception in 1993.
In 2011, generous Americans donated 70.2 million pounds of food, which marked the eighth consecutive year that at least 70 million pounds were collected.
Head organizer, Aurora letter carrier and National Association of Letter Carriers Local 219 Trustee Mary Kluber said donations were down about 6,000 pounds since last year, but she’s not discouraged.
“I really think it just means people don’t have the extra food to give. Everyone’s struggling,” she said. “The way I look at it, this is 31,000 more pounds of food than what people had to eat before. So I’m glad we did it, and I’m happy with the totals.”
Aurora letter carrier Suzie Murray was busy May 12, unloading postal service boxes full of food from her van at the Aurora processing facility on Broadway Avenue. She’s been a letter carrier in Aurora nearly 10 years and participated in the Stamp Out Hunger drive every year.
She said her favorite part of the job is being independent, out in the neighborhood talking to the people on her route on the west side of the city, but she’s noticed more housing foreclosures in the last few years.
“It’s a good feeling to collect food for those in need. The last few years, yeah, we haven’t collected as much food. I just think money’s tight,” she said.
A recent survey conducted by Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization, found that nearly half (46 percent) of households served reported having to choose between paying a utility bill or purchasing food. This is a decision that hits close to home for many letter carriers as postal facilities are shut down throughout the country, and hours are cut back.
Murray said she is opposed to the Postal Service moving to a proposed five day delivery schedule. She’s happy to walk her five mile per day route even on Saturday, during the winter.
“Things will be delayed if we go five days. Not a lot of people realize they need things delivered on Saturday. Medications, paychecks, bills,” she said.
Kluber looks forward to organizing the Aurora food drive for years to come, and thanks all those who help out.
“All the volunteers are a Godsend. By the end of the day I’m glad it’s over, it’s a lot of work for us,” she said. “But we’re so happy when this food goes to people. Our hearts go out to them, I really hope we’re helping people. And of course, I’m already coming up with ideas on what to do next year to make the food drive even better.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

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IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger told the crowd of union members and their families that they should never give up the fight for a fair contract.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
JOLIET — An estimated 500 union workers arrived by bus, car, foot, motorcycle and bicycle May 11 to rally in solidarity with the striking machinists outside the Caterpillar plant in Joliet.
While Caterpillar’s history of union busting policies weighed heavily on everyone’s mind, several speakers took to the portable stage in front of the plant to remind the 780 workers that they do not stand alone.
“Brothers and sisters. Look around you. You are not alone. Do you see red?” asked Steve Jones, directing business representative of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 851. Jones repeated the question after taking the stage in between speakers, referencing the red T-shirts that everyone wore in solidarity.
“For America to be strong, the middle class must be strong,” said Congressional candidate Bill Foster as he took the stage. “Let’s not forget that the middle class needs a champion, and labor is that champion.”
Foster said he believed Caterpillar should share its 2011 profit of more than $4 billion.
“There used to be an understanding that if companies were doing well, they would share their wealth in good times,” he said. “Not any more.”
Back at the main Caterpillar gate, everyone was on their best behavior as they picketed while at least six security guards and two police officers stood watch. Gone were the over the top taunts to every car earlier that week that dared enter the Caterpillar grounds.
“We just don’t want to give them a reason to shut us down, so we toned it down,” said a man on the picket line.
Dozens of others lined Channahon Road, holding signs and getting honks of encouragement from passing motorists.
Back at the stage, Congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth used the opportunity to voice her disdain for Caterpillar the company.
She explained how she and her husband had invested in Caterpillar stock years ago when she received a payment from the government over her military injuries.
“I’m a stockholder. We believed in the company back then and what it stood for. Now, this is not OK. I don’t like this,” she said.
Local Lodge 851 President Tim O’Brien said he was proud of his membership for showing up in strong numbers.
“I’m proud of the membership standing tall at the picket lines and coming out today,” he said. “We’re showing this company that we mean business.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

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Aurora police officer Pedro Rodriguez is emotional as Aurora Police Chief Gregory Thomas presents him with the Aurora Exchange Club’s Officer of the Year award.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Officer Pedro Rodriguez of the Aurora Police Department said he re-lives the actions that he took everyday during the fateful drive home of Jan. 7, 2011.
Rodriguez, a 12 year veteran of the force, was awarded the Aurora Exchange Club’s Police Officer of the Year award May 15 for his actions that day.
Rodriguez had just finished his shift and picked up his 13-year-old daughter from school. At about 3:30 p.m., as he was driving his personal vehicle northbound on Fifth Street at South Avenue, he saw a subject shooting a revolver at a group of other teenagers.
Officer Rodriguez, who was in full uniform, stopped and exited his vehicle after telling his daughter to “get down.” He confronted the gunman as the offender chased one of the other teens across Fifth Avenue with the gun still in his hand.
Rodriguez identified himself as an Aurora Police officer and ordered the subject to drop the gun. The offender refused, continued to run toward the other teen, turned toward Rodriguez and pointed the gun at him.
Fearing for both his life and that of his daughter, Officer Rodriguez fired, fatally wounding the suspect. When the assailant fell to the ground, Rodriguez immediately radioed for medical assistance for the offender who was a 15 year old Aurora juvenile.
Rodriguez said he was overwhelmed with emotion when it was announced he won the award.
“When the event is talked about, you tend to re-live it in your mind. I re-live it everyday,” he said.
Rodriguez said he credits his training for ensuring a positive outcome that day.
“You have to make quick decisions and not second guess yourself,” he said. “People say I didn’t decide that person’s fate that day, they did.”
This year’s keynote speaker at the event was Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon, who credited Rodriguez with protecting lives.
“We don’t celebrate death, we celebrate life here today, which Officer Rodriguez served to protect. I thank all the officers here for their dedication. With that, Aurora will continue to be a great place to work, live and raise a family.”
Four other officers were nominated for displaying outstanding efforts during 2011. Special Operations Group Investigators Nick Gartner, Chris Converse, and Abel Villanueva, whose actions resulted in attempted murder and other felony charges against four men in connection with a July 20 shooting.
Also, Investigator Robert Myint was nominated for establishing the needed resources to investigate the possession and trafficking of child pornography in Aurora. He also networked with child pornography investigators from other law enforcement agencies to gain knowledge and experience and eventually enlisted their assistance on cases being worked by Aurora Police.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
ELGIN — The audience of educators at the meeting in Elgin May 12 feared the only way for people to take action is during a crisis. In terms of teacher’s pensions and solving the state budget woes, Illinois may be in that crisis already.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed solving Illinois’ budget crisis by dramatically changing the public school teachers retirement system. As of last year, the pension system was $43.8 billion under-funded.
Quinn has been supported by the Illinois Policy Institute in looking to reduce state payouts to Illinois schools to cover teacher pensions, and proposing initiatives that would pass retirement costs along to schools.
Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice hosted a panel of education experts that spoke about the current issues teachers are dealing with today, and how to possibly solve them.
“Illinois doesn’t have a pension problem, it has a serious revenue problem,” said Maria Owens, a career educator with more than 30 years in education. “The future doesn’t look good under these proposed cuts. We’ll have teacher shortages, an increased burden to homeowners, inequality of education across the state, negative economic effects, poorly producing schools, and an under-educated work force.”
Dan Kenney, a fourth grade teacher in the DeKalb School District, agreed. He said teachers that usually received excellent ratings from state review boards are now receiving satisfactory scores merely because a mandate was handed down that too many excellent scores were being given.
He also said the reality is that many students come from poverty.
“It’s about poverty. We don’t want to face the facts that 22 percent of our students are living in poverty and what that means for learning,” he said.
According to the Illinois Policy Institute report findings, the pension system in Illinois asks public school teachers to pay almost 9.5 percent of their paychecks into the Teachers Retirement System. Yet teachers pay less in two-thirds of all districts in the state, and some don’t contribute at all.
Under Quinn’s proposal, teachers would experience a 3 percentage point increase in the member contribution, from 9.4 percent to 12.4 percent. The retirement age will be gradually increased over several years to age 67.
Upon retirement, the cost of living adjustment (COLA) will be changed from 3 percent compounded to a COLA that is capped at 3 percent or one-half of the consumer price index, whichever is less. The new COLA is not compounded. Also, a member’s COLA will not begin until 5 years of retirement, or age 67, whichever comes first.
“The future of our country depends on what is going on in our schools. We are abandoning public education. We can’t let this happen,” said Kenney.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

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Last week was a week of protests against Wis. Gov. Scott Walker who was visiting Illinois. They started April 17 in Springfield, then came to Chicago April 20.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
CHICAGO — Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said April 20 at an appearance in Chicago that he does not expect to be recalled in a June election, but the hundreds of union members crowded outside where he spoke disagreed.
“These kind of attacks against our livelihood can go on no longer,” said Chicago Federation of Labor Secretary-Treasurer Robert Reiter, addressing the crowd on the sidewalk on the 100 block of S. Lasalle Street. “Let’s tell Governor Walker that his tactics will not stand in Illinois. Go back up to Wisconsin and get yourself recalled.”
Walker spoke at an Illinois Policy Institute luncheon in front of about 200 people, where he defended his behavior of slashing collective bargaining rights.
“We avoided massive layoffs, you won’t know that from some of the guys out in front, but the irony is what we did allowed us to avoid massive layoffs of public employees in our state and local government,” said Walker.
He expects to be elected again, but it will be a “nasty campaign.” Criticism from unions in Wisconsin and Illinois is at an all time high, alleging Walker has stripped public employees’ collective bargaining rights, slashed their pensions and benefits, and just recently repealed the state’s equal pay protection law, all within only two years of being in office.
Walker gave his speech on the same day it was revealed he had reinstated merit-based pay increases for more than 220 Wisconsin state workers, costing the state $765,000. This clashes with his image as a budget balancing governor.
He also faced heat from Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, who issued a statement clarifying Illinois job creation statistics, after Walker claimed in Springfield April 17 that Illinois had fallen behind Wisconsin under his governership.
“Since Governor Walker took office, Wisconsin is dead last among the 50 states in job growth,” said Quinn in his release.
According to a report by Bloomberg News, he’s correct.
The report states: “Illinois ranked third while Wisconsin placed 42nd in the most recent Bloomberg Economic Evaluation of States index, which includes personal income, tax revenue and employment. Illinois gained 32,000 jobs in the 12 months ending in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found. Wisconsin, where Walker promised to create 250,000 jobs with the help of business-tax breaks, lost 16,900.”
Walker will face his special recall election June 5, with the Democratic primary to occur May 8. Four Democrats have declared their candidacies: Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, former Dane County executive Kathleen Falk, Wisconsin secretary of state Doug LaFollette and state senator Kathleen Vinehout.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

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Lieutenant Pat Devaney of Firefighters Local 1260 in Champaign speaks to the crowd of 2,500 in Champaign April 19 criticizing Right to Work laws.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
CHAMPAIGN — Illinois union members turned out in force at a rally in Champaign April 19 to make it clear that anti-union Right to Work legislation is not welcome in this state.
About 2,500 union members from all trades and professions gathered at the University of Illinois’ Assembly Hall parking lot for the Right to Work Won’t Work in Illinois rally, letting their voices be heard by visiting Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. Daniels was in town as a keynote speaker at the Champaign County Republican Lincoln Day dinner.
He recently signed legislation that makes Indiana a Right to Work state. Right to Work is a loophole created under the National Labor Relations Act that allows a state to enact a law prohibiting union security clauses in union contracts. Basically, it allows workers to not pay union dues even if a union bargains on their behalf.
The legislation effectively weakens unions, job security and collective bargaining.
“We are here to fight those that want to take away the fruits of our labor. Are we going to allow them to do that?” asked Lieutenant Pat Devaney of Firefighters Local 1260 in Champaign.
Devaney was one of several speakers that took to the mobile stage set up by Teamsters Joint Council 25. It wasn’t just firefighters and union leaders criticizing Daniels, teachers also voiced their opinions.
“The middle class is the backbone of this country,” said Kathi Griffin, vice president of the Illinois Education Association. “If any man tells you he loves America and hates labor, he is a fool.”
Dan Montgomery, president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, cited research that has shown Right to Work does not work.
“It doesn’t work. Research has shown, Right to Work does not help the economy or bring more work. It hurts jobs, and it lower the minimum wage. Governor Daniels is trying to take away our voice, but we won’t let him,” said Montgomery.
As the evening wore on, the protesters marched from Assembly Hall to the location of the Lincoln dinner, closing down several streets.
Inside, Daniels did acknowledge the crowd outside, a little sarcastically, however.
“Our good friends on the welcome wagon that were here to salute our evening — I was really tempted to go out and have a few words and talk to them,” said Daniels. “If you’re asking me about Illinois passing a right to work law, please don’t. We’re welcoming businesses (in Indiana) every day, and we would hate to have that advantage neutralized.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Governor Pat Quinn’s latest plan to fix the Illinois state public pension system is drawing criticism from government employees, who would be required to work longer with fewer benefits.
The $83 billion pension shortfall has been in the making for decades, caused by not enough money being put into the retirement fund coffers.
“I didn’t create the problem,” said Quinn at a press conference last week. “But I’m here to solve it. That’s my job, and I know I was put on Earth to get this done.”
The governor wants the General Assembly to raise the state workers and teacher retirement age to 67, and also to increase employee contributions by three percentage points.
This doesn’t sit well with Chicago union coalition group We are One, who released a statement on behalf of Illinois AFL-CIO president Michael Carrigan.
“The unions representing public employees are committed to working with Gov. Quinn and the members of the General Assembly to find a solution to the pension funding crisis caused by the state’s failure to pay its share,” he wrote. “It is crucial that the pension problem not be compounded by an unconstitutional solution that is unfair to public employees who have always paid their share. The average public employee pension is just $32,000. Because most public employees do not receive Social Security, this modest pension is their life savings.”
Carrigan also wrote that unions were not asked to be a part of Quinn’s pension working group.
“We strongly disagree with the proposals made today. Considering that the subject at hand is the ability of hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans to support themselves in retirement, we believe the proposals are insensitive and irresponsible,” wrote Carrigan.
Carrigan went on to call the proposal “illegal” because it forces public servants to choose between two sharply diminished pension plans.
“It is a clearly illegal attempt to solve the problem caused by past governors and the legislature solely on the backs of teachers, caregivers and other public workers. Public employees must be treated and heard as full partners in any substantive discussions. No one has a greater stake in solving the problem than we do. A serious problem deserves a serious effort at a solution. The unions are ready,” wrote Carrigan.
The deadline for the state legislature’s adjournment is May 31, and there will almost certainly be some changes to Quinn’s proposals by then.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.