Two events will highlight the concerns of women workers on International Women’s Day:  a rally at the Chicago Board of Trade highlighting low wages for women janitors paid by the highly profitable and tax-favored CME Group; and a hearing in Joliet focused on retaliation against women warehouse workers complaining of sexual harassment, including a case where a complainant was herself arrested.

Janitors represented by SEIU Local 1 will rally at the Board of Trade on Thursday, March 8 at 3:30 p.m. and march from there to the Willis Tower. Contract negotiations are starting for 13,000 area janitors, including 4,000 at downtown office buildings, whose contract expires April 8.

With annual pay ranging from $24,000 to $31,000, area janitors are classified “very low income” under HUD’s standards, and earn $20,000 or more below the Economic Policy Institute’s estimate of the cost of living for a family of four, according to Nell McNamara of Local 1.

The union is casting the issue as one of income inequality, noting soaring salaries and bonuses for CEOs while Chicago has the third highest poverty rate and the highest racial income disparity of any major U.S. city.

Janitors are calling on wealthy corporations “to do their part,” said McNamara.  “When hard-working people have good jobs with benefits, we’ll begin to restore balance to our economy and vitality to our neighborhoods.”

In December the state passed an income tax break worth $85 million a year to CME after the corporation threatened to leave town.  In 2009, Willis Tower benefited when United Airlines got a $31 million TIF subsidy to move its corporate headquarters into the building.

Arrested for complaining

In Joliet, in response to an increasing number of complaints of sexual harassment by women workers at warehouses in the area, Warehouse Workers for Justice is holding a hearing on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Mt. Carmel Church, 205 E. Jackson.

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With Governor Quinn set to call for major Medicaid cuts Wednesday, a new report says Illinois is losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year through corporate tax loopholes that other states have closed.

Indeed, Illinois leads the nation in revenue lost through several of the tax breaks, according to a report from Good Jobs First and Make Wall Street Pay Illinois.

The biggest loophole is the accelerated depreciation deduction, which costs the state more than $1 billion over three years – far more than any other state, according to the report.

The Illinois deduction is based on a tax break granted by the federal government, designed to encourage capital investment by allowing companies to write off new equipment immediately rather than over its expected lifespan.  Most states have “decoupled” from the federal measure.

“Forgoing revenue in the short term to help stimulate the economy is possible for the federal government because it is allowed to run a deficit,” according to the report.  “But for the states, with their balanced-budget requirements, such revenue loss during a recession would only force deeper budget cuts.”

Small businesses are covered by a separate deduction and wouldn’t be affected by decoupling, the groups say.  Decoupling from the accelerated depreciation deduction has been advocated by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (see Newstips from 2008 and 2011).

A break for Wal-Mart

Illinois could bring in $115 million a year by eliminating the sales tax “vendor discount,” a relic of the pre-computer age that gives retailers a portion of sales tax revenues to cover handling costs.  The groups estimate that Wal-Mart took in nearly $10 million from sales taxes paid by Illinois shoppers last year.

The state loses at least $63 million a year by using the single sales factor, which eliminates corporations’ taxable property and payroll share as factors in figuring income tax bills, instead using only their in-state sales.  Large manufacturers lobbied for the loophole, arguing it would create manufacturing jobs.  It hasn’t.

The formula can reduce the tax rate of Illinois-based corporations with significant production, payrolls, and property holdings here  but mostly out-of-state sales by 80 or 90 percent.

“We expect that the governor and general assembly will adopt a budget that protects revenue sources and provides for the educational, health care and infrastructure needs of the people of Illinois,” said Rev. Maggie Pagan-Banks of A Just Harvest, part of Make Wall Street Pay. “While the state is struggling to meet critical obligations to its citizens, it cannot afford to simultaneously subsidize corporate profits.”

At Clawback,Greg LeRoy of Good Jobs First, the report’s co-author, highlights recent layoffs at Sears’ Hoffman Estate headquarters – announced weeks after a $275 million property and income tax break designed to keep Sears here – calling it “the latest evidence that unaccountable tax breaks fail to promote investment for job creation.”

Workers fired from a Wal-Mart warehouse near Joliet after they filed a lawsuit charging wage theft say the company  has to stop hiding behind subcontractors and take responsibility for correcting legal violations.

Backed by Warehouse Workers for Justice  and joined by community supporters, they’ll deliver a complaint to Wal-Mart representatives at the new Wal-Mart Express store in Presidential Towers tomorrow (Thursday, February 16, 12 noon, Monroe and Jefferson).

In November, workers hired by Eclipse Advantage to staff the Wal-Mart warehouse filed suit charging they were paid below minimum wage and shorted on hours.  On December 29, 65 warehouse workers were informed that Eclipse was being replaced and they were out of a job.

On February 1 they filed a federal class-action lawsuit charging Eclipse had violated the federal WARN Act which requires 60 days notice for a mass layoff.   Their lawyers argue that while they were hired by a temporary agency, they were long-term employees (or “permatemps”). They also amended the original lawsuit, charging that they had been fired in retaliation for complaining about wage theft, in violation of state law.

They’re now filing a formal complaint with Wal-Mart charging that its subcontractor violated the company’s code of conduct for suppliers and demanding that workers be hired back and paid the wages they’re owed.

Corrective actions

Earlier, Wal-Mart seemed to suggest that Eclipse was replaced in response to workers’  allegations.

“We hold all of our vendors to high standards, and our expectation is they comply with all applicable laws,” spokesperson Greg Rossiter told WBEZ. “Our vendors, such as Schneider, may take whatever corrective actions may be necessary.”  Schneider manages Wal-Mart’s warehouse and contracted with Eclipse for personnel services.

Warehouse workers aren’t buying that.

“Somebody has to pay these workers the money they are owed,” said Mark Meinster of WWJ.  “If the firing was retaliatory, Wal-Mart has to correct the situation. Just putting these people out on the street is not a solution.”

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