Community Renewal Society

The numbers say it all. The unionized workforce has shrunk  because manufacturing jobs have been going overseas and the job growth in sectors like retail and service, where there are few unions. Organized labor has tried to reverse the trend. The unions' methods range from welcoming immigrant workers into their ranks to having large demonstrations when state legislatures pass laws that curb the power of collective bargaining, like those passed in Wisconsin or Michigan. But despite unions efforts, a Chicago Reporter analysis of union data from the last 40 years found that their membership, both nationally and in Illinois, has been going down. Outsourcing manufacturing to other countries, where workers are paid less for producing a similar product, has been a large part of the big decline. In the past 10 years, the United States has lost more than 2.1 million manufacturing jobs, according a 2012 report by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan economic research group. Because unionized workers generally earn more than their nonunionized counterparts, one of the results of a shrinking unionized workforce has been a widening wage gap between the average worker and the top 1 percent of taxpayers. The Economic Policy Institute found that, between 1979 and 2007, annual earnings for the top 1 percent nationwide grew by 156 percent, while the paycheck of the average worker remained much the same. Organizers and activists are trying to tackle this problem by organizing workers outside of unions--through worker centers like Chicago's Arise Chicago Workers Center. Kim Bobo, a labor activist in Chicago and executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice, said it's increasingly clear that to help workers “we had to do more” than just work within unions. Sometimes, worker center campaigns even lead to a newly unionized shop. Workers recently voted to unionize as a Humboldt Park embroidery company, Artistic Stitches, a move they hope will lead to higher wages and holiday pay. Juana Cortez, a worker at Artistic Stitches, said in a statement from Arise that even without a union, there were ways to organize. “If something unjust is happening to you at work," Cortez said, "there are organizations … that can help protect you.”

Ondelee Perteet nearly became a statistic. When the 18-year-old was shot in the jaw in September 2009, the bullet severed his spine. He was told he would never walk again. Now, three and a half years later, he is slowly getting back on his feet. The Chicago Reporter sat down with Perteet and his mother to talk about his injury, recovery, and what the future holds. Read our first story in 2012 about Perteet, our latest interview with him and see more photos.

Obama Returns. President Barack Obama will visit Chicago Friday to discuss the gun violence in his home town. The announcement of his return comes shortly after the funeral of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old student who performed at Obama's inauguration ceremony and was fatally shot on Jan. 30. SRO Protest. The Lakeview Action Coalition had a demonstration outside 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney’s Ann Sathers restaurant. The crowd demanded to meet with him, but he wouldn’t come outside. Stay tuned for our slideshow on the incident. Segregation in CHA. How segregated is Chicago’s public housing? This week we use infographics to look at the demographics of the Chicago Public Housing Authority. CPS School Closing Hearings. Another week of community hearings about school closings in Chicago is coming. Some of the hearings so far have been raucous. Ex-offenders’ Employment. The City Council's Committee on Budget and Government Operations will consider an ordinance on whether to extend an employment program for ex-offenders. If passed, the city comptroller will be able to hire people with criminal backgrounds to help perform debt collection for the city.

On last week's Barber Shop Show, we touched on a timely topic here in Chicago: youth violence. Photographer Carlos Javier Ortiz from the Too Young To Die project joined us at Carter's Barber Shop, along with students from the Columbia Links youth journalism program who write about the violence they see happening around them. Here's Ortiz and student Diamond Trusty sharing their own experiences about why they've gotten involved in trying to raise awareness and combat  youth violence: On today's Barber Shop Show, we're taking on the city's black poetry scene. Joining us in studio will be Haki Madhubuti of Third World Press, Young Chicago Authors poet Malcom London, and poet and educator Avery R. Young. Tune in to the Barber Shop Show on Fridays at noon on Vocalo 89.5 FM or 90.5 FM WRTE, or stream it online at Vocalo.org. If you miss the show, you can always catch a rebroadcast on Saturdays from 12 to 1 p.m. or download our podcast.

More than 100 people marched on the campus of the University of Chicago last week to remember victims of gun violence and to ask for a Level I Trauma Center on the South Side. The students also wanted the university to drop charges against four protesters who were arrested the week before at a similar action. Students for Health Equity, one of the groups that marched at the vigil, say the lack of a trauma center for victims over the age of 16 is part of Chicago's "structural acceptance of violence." The University of Chicago says the region's nine trauma centers are already adequately serving the city's South Side.

#2young2die. Every day this week we'll be showcasing a photograph from our Too Young to Die series by photojournalist Carlos Javier Ortiz. Look out for them on our Facebook page. Front Lines. It's women on the front lines of the sex trade who bear the brunt of harsh policing against prostitution. One of our blogs this week contends that will continue to be the case unless the bigger picture, putting the onus on pimps and johns, is addressed. Honoring the victims. Community groups have held a flower vigil to remember the scores of young people lost to violence in Chicago. Our photographers were there to capture the moments. Uncertain Future. Curtis Horton and his partner Henrietta Riley don't know what they are going to do when the Chateau, a single-room-occupancy hotel the two are currently living in, is sold. Read the latest part of their story at Chicago Muckrakers this week. Celebrating Harold Washington. This is the 30th year of the election of Chicago's first black Mayor, Harold Washington. The Museum of Broadcast Communications will hold a month-long series of screening as well as a seminar Wednesday to celebrate his legacy.

We like to feature a range of issues on the Barber Shop Show--some serious, some more light-hearted. Our monthly WTF segment usually brings quite a few laughs. But lately, Chicago's news has been serious and so have we. Last week, host Richard Steele and sports reporter Cheryl Raye Stout discussed a shooting that took the life of a 17 year-old high school student after a basketball game at Chicago State University. Take a look: And this week, we'll be talking about The Chicago Reporter's latest installment of Too Young to Die, a series of documentary photos and articles on youth violence in Chicago. We'll have photographer Carlos Javier Ortiz talking about his six years spent taking pictures of the aftermath of shooting on the city's South and West sides. We'll also have students from Columbia Links, a youth journalism program, who are trying to combat the violence they see in their neighborhoods and create positive change. Today's guests, Lily Moore and Michael Wettig, both of whom contributed to Columbia Links investigative series on violence, "Treating the Violence Epidemic." Tune in to the Barber Shop Show on Vocalo, 89.5 FM or stream it live on Vocalo.org every Friday at noon to 1 p.m. Or if you miss the show, catch the rebroadcast on Saturdays at the same time or download our podcast.