A Sun-Times series spotlighting the people and professions that keep Chicago thriving.

In a vote Monday, 98% of voters at UChicago moved in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU), which represents staffers at Northwestern.
The agreement was announced late Tuesday by SEIU Local 73, which represents more than 2,200 park district workers. Negotiations had been ongoing for nine months.
SEIU Local 73 members seek pay raises, more hiring and health benefits and have called on Mayor Brandon Johnson to intervene.
In July the regional office of the NLRB found merit in accusations against Howard Brown by union members alleging the organization bargained in bad faith amid layoffs last year. The agency has been seeking a settlement between the two sides.
National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United — which represents 2,800 nurses in the health system — said the one-day strike set for Thursday was canceled after a tentative contract was reached.
Faculty at two campuses serving the Latino community are asking for competitive wages, hiring more teachers, more bilingual staffing and special education teachers.
Interns, residents, chief residents and fellows at the McGaw Medical Center voted 794-148 in favor of union representation, a federal spokesperson said.
Darryl Price claims he and other Black workers were denied the opportunity to transfer to other departments and missed out on overtime opportunities.
Workers who were let go in September delivered a petition signed by 1,000 people who say they won’t patronize the space atop the former John Hancock tower unless the former restaurant’s workers are offered their jobs back.
Still hurting from the pandemic, the nonprofit said it is trying to sell its apartment buildings to operators who will maintain the sites as affordable properties.
After nearly four months, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists approved a three-year pact with 78% voting in favor.
Owners cited ‘expenses of increased security, insurance and licensing, equipment, rent, and more’ as some of the reasons for the LGBTQ+ community anchor’s closure.
Workers in the manufacturing, warehousing, food service, janitorial and restaurant industries gathered to protest workplace harassment, including intimidation, degradation and identity-based targeting.
The union’s demands include a raise of the minimum hourly wage from $16.07 to $21, affordable health insurance, layoff protection, remote work options and negotiations before changes of job duties.
The new $3.2 billion venture will begin production in 2027 and create 1,400 new jobs, executives with both firms say. Another Kokomo battery plant will start production in 2025.
On Wednesday evening, the UAW shut down the largest and most profitable Ford plant in the world, where profitable large pickups and SUVs are built.
Mayor Brandon Johnson also joined the rally, asking the cheering crowd “Is this a union town, or what?”
Hospitality union Unite Here Local 1 says 132 Signature Room workers got no advance notice of plans to close the restaurant and lounge at 875 N. Michigan Ave., the former John Hancock Center
The UAW, without an agreement with the Detroit Three, initiated walkouts early Friday at one GM, Ford and Stellantis plant each in Missouri, Michigan and Ohio.