Progress Illinois

Less than one week after UNITE-HERE Local 1 members who work at four Chicagoland Hyatt locations gave themselves the option to strike, the Chicago-based hotel chain posted $25 million in second quarter profits. The cause? Demand for high-end lodging is improving.

That stat sort of nullifies the argument that the hotel industry must seek concessions from workers because it's likely to struggle for the next several years, doesn't it?

Later this afternoon, UNITE-HERE Local 1 members and labor allies from across Chicago will head down to the Congress Hotel on Michigan Avenue to mark the seventh anniversary of the hotel employees' strike. As we wrote this time last year, a trip to the Congress picket line has unfortunately become an annual summertime rite for the city's progressive community. Today, Illinois' own Rep. Luis Gutierrez is scheduled to address the union workers.  We'll be at the rally, so check back for more coverage tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, you can learn more about this labor dispute -- the longest-running in the country -- by reading our 2008 article "Walk The Line."