TEAMSTERS UNION SLAMS GOV. PRITZKER FOR VETOING WAREHOUSE WORKER PROTECTION ACT
Billionaire Governor's Anti-Worker Measure Further Harms Amazon Workers
CHICAGO, March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teamsters Union is condemning Gov. JB Pritzker for vetoing House Bill 2547, the Illinois Warehouse Worker Protection Act (WWPA). The bipartisan legislation, which passed through the statehouse with overwhelming support, would have prevented companies like Amazon from abusing the workforce by regulating the use and disclosure of warehouse quotas.
'We are deeply disappointed that the governor has vetoed the Warehouse Worker Protection Act. In doing so, he has abandoned the very people who give their all every day, working under inhumane production quotas that are not only unacceptable but also dangerous,' said Thomas W. Stiede, President of Teamsters Joint Council 25. 'Having been a warehouse worker, I'm deeply familiar with the harsh and inhumane conditions in this industry, and I know firsthand why this bill is necessary. It's unfortunate that our Governor doesn't have those same experiences or sympathies. Warehouse workers, including those at Amazon, are simply trying to provide for their families honestly and safely, and the Illinois governor has turned his back on them.'
California, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and Washington have already passed their own versions of the WWPA, and a similar measure at the federal level has bipartisan support.
'The Warehouse Worker Protection Act is the most commonsense, effective solution to the rampant abuse of warehouse workers by greedy and dangerous companies like Amazon,' said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. 'The Teamsters will never stop fighting for it, both federally and in state houses across the country. In light of the governor's reckless act, Illinois clearly needs stronger leadership that has the backbone and compassion to put hardworking families first.'
Teamsters Joint Council 25 represents more than 125,000 hardworking men and women throughout Illinois and northwest Indiana.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Democratic governors Pritzker, Walz, Hochul to testify before House GOP panel about immigration policy
The House Oversight Committee will hear from the high-profile Democratic governors of Illinois, Minnesota and New York on Thursday during a timely hearing about their states' immigration policies that some members of the Republican-led committee call "sanctuary" policies that they claim shield criminal illegal aliens from immigration enforcement. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Kathy Hochul of New York will appear at the U.S. Capitol for a closely watched hearing that comes as another Democratic-led state -- California -- is grappling with a slew of immigration-related protests that triggered President Donald Trump to deploy U.S. Marines and the National Guard to the area. House Oversight Chair James Comer requested in April that these Democratic governors testify, claiming that the "Trump administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation, but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement." MORE: Protests live updates: DOJ calls lawsuit challenging federal deployment a 'crass political stunt' "The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable," Comer said in a media advisory for the upcoming hearing. Sanctuary states still enforce U.S. federal immigration laws, but the term often refers to a limited collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while enacting policies that are more favorable to undocumented people. The Democratic governors have been preparing to testify and getting ready to defend their records on immigration and public safety, according to hearing material reviewed by ABC News. They'll also highlight how their states cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. "Despite the rhetoric of Republicans in Congress, Governor Pritzker will share facts about how this bipartisan public safety law is fully compliant with federal law and ensures law enforcement can focus on doing their jobs well," a spokesperson for the Illinois governor said in a statement ahead of the hearing. Also ahead of the hearing, the state of Illinois retained outside counsel to provide expertise in order to respond to the committee's requests, the spokesperson said, claiming that "congressional Republicans are wasting taxpayer dollars all to find out that Illinois has always followed the law." MORE: As Trump escalates immigration fight, Democrats face high-stakes test: ANALYSIS A spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association also suggested that their leaders were focused on governing rather than spending time on "political stunts." "While Republicans in D.C. spend their time pulling political stunts, Democratic governors are busy getting real things done for their states, lowering costs, and keeping people safe," Johanna Warshaw, a spokesperson for the group, said in a statement. In March, the Oversight Committee held another newsy hearing with "sanctuary city" mayors including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Those leaders defended their actions on immigration enforcement while Republicans on the committee accused them of increasing crime by defying Trump administration immigration policies. On Wednesday, House Oversight Republicans released a three-minute digital ad to show "how sanctuary polices do not protect Americans," which features buzzy news broadcasts about immigration-adjacent crimes, testimony from mayors earlier this spring at the "sanctuary cities" House hearing and video clips of Pritzker, Walz and Hochul speaking about immigration policy. "Sanctuary governors are shielding CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS, then pretending the consequences don't exist. Tomorrow Hochul, Walz, and Pritzker will be in the hot seat as their policies cause CHAOS in their states. Here's what they don't want you to see," the Committee's official account posted on X. Democratic governors Pritzker, Walz, Hochul to testify before House GOP panel about immigration policy originally appeared on
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
The World's Largest Retailers 2025: Amazon Tops List Of Global Retailers Ahead Of Tariff Impact
Tariffs are all anyone in retail can talk about. But as global retailers prepare for higher prices and decreased consumer spending the world's largest companies can bank on a past year of growth. Jeff Bezos' Amazon ranked fifth in Forbes' Global 2000 and reigned up top for retailers for the second year in a row after being briefly displaced by Walmart in 2023. The company saw a healthy growth in overall sales to $638 billion, up 8% from last year. Holding strong are competitors Walmart (18), Alibaba (33), Home Depot (67) and Costco (93), which round up the five largest retailers on the Global 2000. Forbes uses data from FactSet research to create its annual list of the largest public companies based on assets, market value, sales and profit. Companies are ranked over their market value as of April 25, 2025. All largely benefitted from the increase in consumer spending over the year, which rose 5.2% to $724.1 billion from April 2024 to April 2025 in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. But not all benefitted equally. Pharmacy retailers CVS and Walgreens dropped 10 (now ranked 74th) and 167 (ranked 856th) slots respectively due to profit decreases. Both firms have suffered from a pullback in retail pharmacy shopping, with Walgreens posed to go private in a by Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm specializing in consumer investments. Including debt and possible future payouts, the deal is valued at $23.7 billion. The company saw a net loss of $6 billion last year. CVS suffered losses from high medical payments in health insurance subsidiary Aetna, leading the company to change up its leadership and wind down its Affordable Care Act business. Still, its profit decreased 37% to $4.6 billion on $37.3 billion in revenue. Forbes leading retailing company Amazon, has its own pharmacy aspirations. The company launched a new medication support package for Medicare patients on top of its online pharmacy offering as it tries to take market share away from the legacy players. Among the 80 retail companies that made this year's Global 2000 list sit five newcomers. Pet marketplace Chewy, the sole new American company, climbed 755 spots (now ranked 1,554) thanks to a final quarter of customer growth after two years of decline. Pet parents' one-time purchases and subscriptions to necessities like food and medicines pushed revenues to $11.8 billion, up 6.4% from last year. International newcomers include Brazilian retail chain Lojas Americanas ( think Target) which has slowly turned the company around after filing for bankruptcy in 2024 due an accounting scandal. Now valued at $206 million, the company is looking to launch a credit card program and a new loyalty program as part of its post-bankruptcy restructure. German retailer Zalando, known among GenZ and Millennial consumers for its tech-forward approach, has enjoyed a 4% growth in sales to $11.4 billion last year. Still, the impact of tariffs are looming on retailers globally. U.S. retailers Target (242), Best Buy (907) and Macy's (1,327) have already revised revenue and profit guidance down for the year as companies and consumers have frontloaded their spending in the first half of the year.
2 hours ago
Democratic governors Pritzker, Walz, Hochul to testify before House GOP panel about immigration policy
The House Oversight Committee will hear from the high-profile Democratic governors of Illinois, Minnesota and New York on Thursday during a timely hearing about their states' immigration policies that some members of the Republican-led committee call "sanctuary" policies that they claim shield criminal illegal aliens from immigration enforcement. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Kathy Hochul of New York will appear at the U.S. Capitol for a closely watched hearing that comes as another Democratic-led state -- California -- is grappling with a slew of immigration-related protests that triggered President Donald Trump to deploy U.S. Marines and the National Guard to the area. House Oversight Chair James Comer requested in April that these Democratic governors testify, claiming that the "Trump administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation, but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement." "The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable," Comer said in a media advisory for the upcoming hearing. Sanctuary states still enforce U.S. federal immigration laws, but the term often refers to a limited collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while enacting policies that are more favorable to undocumented people. The Democratic governors have been preparing to testify and getting ready to defend their records on immigration and public safety, according to hearing material reviewed by ABC News. They'll also highlight how their states cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. "Despite the rhetoric of Republicans in Congress, Governor Pritzker will share facts about how this bipartisan public safety law is fully compliant with federal law and ensures law enforcement can focus on doing their jobs well," a spokesperson for the Illinois governor said in a statement ahead of the hearing. Also ahead of the hearing, the state of Illinois retained outside counsel to provide expertise in order to respond to the committee's requests, the spokesperson said, claiming that "congressional Republicans are wasting taxpayer dollars all to find out that Illinois has always followed the law." A spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association also suggested that their leaders were focused on governing rather than spending time on "political stunts." "While Republicans in D.C. spend their time pulling political stunts, Democratic governors are busy getting real things done for their states, lowering costs, and keeping people safe," Johanna Warshaw, a spokesperson for the group, said in a statement. In March, the Oversight Committee held another newsy hearing with "sanctuary city" mayors including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Those leaders defended their actions on immigration enforcement while Republicans on the committee accused them of increasing crime by defying Trump administration immigration policies. On Wednesday, House Oversight Republicans released a three-minute digital ad to show "how sanctuary polices do not protect Americans," which features buzzy news broadcasts about immigration-adjacent crimes, testimony from mayors earlier this spring at the "sanctuary cities" House hearing and video clips of Pritzker, Walz and Hochul speaking about immigration policy. "Sanctuary governors are shielding CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS, then pretending the consequences don't exist. Tomorrow Hochul, Walz, and Pritzker will be in the hot seat as their policies cause CHAOS in their states. Here's what they don't want you to see," the Committee's official account posted on X.
