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92_HR0884
LRB9216634LBpc
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Workers at Carousel Linen in Highwood, Illinois
3 wash and press linens in hot and unsafe working conditions;
4 several workers have reported suffering burns and other
5 severe injuries in this strenuous working environment; and
6 WHEREAS, The Occupational Health and Safety
7 Administration issued 11 citations against Carousel Linen for
8 serious safety violations including blocking fire exits,
9 failing to train workers on the use of hazardous chemicals,
10 and requiring unlicensed workers to operate forklift trucks;
11 and
12 WHEREAS, Workers at Carousel Linen work in these hard and
13 dangerous jobs but only earn $5.15 an hour, well below
14 standards for the laundry industry, with no family health
15 insurance benefits regardless of their seniority; and
16 WHEREAS, The Carousel workers have repeatedly been denied
17 requests for raises during their tenures on the pretext that
18 they do not deserve monetary increases because they do not
19 speak English; and
20 WHEREAS, An overwhelming majority of Carousel Linen
21 workers support forming a union; and
22 WHEREAS, Carousel Linen has been found by the National
23 Labor Relations Board to have repeatedly violated federal
24 labor law; workers have been on strike in response to these
25 labor law violations since October, 2001; therefore be it
26 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
27 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
28 the Illinois House of Representatives supports the right of
29 workers to organize a union free from harassment and
30 retaliation; and be it further
-2- LRB9216634LBpc
1 RESOLVED, That the Illinois House of Representatives
2 supports the striking Carousel Linen workers in their fight
3 to form a union and improve their wages and working
4 conditions; and be it further
5 RESOLVED, That the Illinois House of Representatives
6 calls on Carousel Linen to immediately improve the harsh and
7 unsafe working conditions at its laundry, to voluntarily
8 recognize the workers' union, and to bargain a fair agreement
9 with their workers to end the six-month labor dispute; and be
10 it further
11 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to Scott
12 Close at Carousel Linen.