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Hundreds of O’Hare airport workers vote to strike

In this May 17, 2016 photo, Tom Balanoff, president of SEIU Local 1, speaks at a news conference in Chicago. O'Hare International Airport workers that are trying to unionize have voted to go on strike ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Officials with the Service Employees International Union Local 1 said Thursday Nov. 17, 2016, that about 500 workers have committed to strike. "They don't expect to shut the airport down," Balanoff said. But he does expect disruptions. (Lou Foglia/Sun Times via AP)
In this May 17, 2016 photo, Tom Balanoff, president of SEIU Local 1, speaks at a news conference in Chicago. O'Hare International Airport workers that are trying to unionize have voted to go on strike ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Officials with the Service Employees International Union Local 1 said Thursday Nov. 17, 2016, that about 500 workers have committed to strike. "They don't expect to shut the airport down," Balanoff said. But he does expect disruptions. (Lou Foglia/Sun Times via AP) In this May 17, 2016 photo, Tom Balanoff, president of SEIU Local 1, speaks at a news conference in Chicago. O'Hare International Airport workers that are trying to unionize have voted to go on strike ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Officials with the Service Employees International Union Local 1 said Thursday Nov. 17, 2016, that about 500 workers have committed to strike. "They don't expect to shut the airport down," Balanoff said. But he does expect disruptions. (Lou Foglia/Sun Times via AP)

By Associated Press 2 min read

CHICAGO (AP) – Hundreds of O’Hare International Airport workers have voted to go on strike ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Service Employees International Union Local 1 officials said Thursday that about 500 workers have committed to strike. Union spokeswoman Izabela Miltko-Ivkovich said the strike “will definitely take place in the coming days,” though she didn’t specify which day it will start.

The workers involved have been trying to organize with the union’s help. They work mainly for private contractors at the airport.

“They don’t expect to shut the airport down,” SEIU Local 1 President Tom Balanoff said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times (http://bit.ly/2g0mq1X ). “That’s not what they’re trying to do. Oh, there will be disruption.”

Balanoff said a walk out could slow but not shut down airport operations. He said what workers are trying to do “is get the powers that be to hear their voice.”