CHICAGO - Service Employees International Union Local 1 janitors working at O'Hare Airport are outraged because "job killer" and "union buster" Mayor Rahm Emanuel chose to award next year's contract to another provider, United Maintenance, a non-union firm. The SEIU members are expecting to be laid off 10 days before Christmas. A group of 40 of the 300 affected janitors protested in front of Emanuel's home Thursday night, as they have been also picketing at the airport.
Below is a video SEIU Local 1 has just added to their website. It features Tom Balanoff, president of Service Employees International Union Illinois Council and the Vice President of its International Executive Board, as well as the President of SEIU Local 1 with 40,000 janitors and security guards. He comes from a family of labor union officials. His father, James Balanoff, Jr., was the president of the largest steelworker’s local in the country (Local 1010 based in East Chicago, Ind.). He received a Master's degree in Labor from the University of Illinois.
Balanoff gave a speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, supporting Barack Obama for President. He is believed to be the unnamed "SEIU official" mentioned in the December 9, 2008 federal criminal complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Wikipedia reports. His name was also mentioned at the Blagojevich trial as a person Barack Obama called to help Valerie Jarrett replace him as a senator.
