WBEZ on the struggle at the Bissell warehouse
Temp Agency Defends Warehouse Dismissals
Produced by Chip Mitchell on Friday, November 13, 2009
A firm that supplies labor for a southwest suburban warehouse is disputing a claim that it’s firing workers because they petitioned for a union.
Michigan-based Bissell Homecare distributes vacuum cleaners out of a warehouse in Elwood. Bissell pays a Danish company called Maersk to run it. Maersk contracts with Atlanta-based RoadLink to provide about 70 workers at the warehouse.
Last month, most of them signed a petition for representation by the United Electrical Workers.
Then RoadLink started laying them off. A union complaint to federal authorities accuses Maersk and RoadLink of retaliation.
RoadLink says the company simply decided not to pursue a new contract at the warehouse. Maersk says neither it nor Bissell are responsible for the workforce.
But Maersk could face penalties under at least one law. Illinois allows contracting for labor through a temporary agency only if that agency is registered with the state Department of Labor. RoadLink is not registered.