Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, chicagotribune.com

Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz

chicagotribune.com

Chicago, IL, United States

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Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • chicagotribune.com
  • Orlando Sentinel
  • Sun Sentinel
  • New York Daily News
  • The Union-Tribune
  • Los Angeles Times
  • CapitalGazette.com
  • Hartford Courant
  • The Baltimore Sun

Past articles by Alexia:

Critics call tipping unfair and archaic. Pandemic emboldens Chicago restaurants trying to end the practice.

A handful of restaurants in Chicago are raising prices, adding service charges to bills or finding new sources of revenue to raise wages and move away from relying on tips to pay less than minimum wage. → Read More

Restaurants say delivery has been both a blessing and a curse during the pandemic. What happens as eateries reopen?

The pandemic has made food delivery central to people’s lives and boosted third-party delivery platforms, but the business relationship is fraught with problems. How are restaurants preparing to deliver for the long term? → Read More

Temp agencies have long been accused of discriminating against Black job applicants. An experiment set out to prove it.

A new report contains the results of an experiment designed to demonstrate what workers and activists have long alleged: that racial discrimination is rampant in Chicago's temporary staffing industry, depriving Black candidates of jobs and putting Latino workers in positions to be exploited. → Read More

Jewel-Osco’s 850 warehouse workers and drivers could strike as contract expiration looms

Jewel-Osco warehouse workers and drivers voted Friday to authorize a strike as contract negotiations continue without agreement on key pay and benefits issues. → Read More

Is Corona Hard Seltzer beer? Legal battle brewing between two beer giants.

Corona Hard Seltzer, a major competitor in the booming market for spiked fizzy water, has run into legal troubles over its name. → Read More

Kraft Heinz sells Planters peanuts to Hormel for $3.35 billion

Kraft Heinz has agreed to sell its legacy nuts business, Planters, to Minnesota-based Hormel Foods for $3.35 billion. → Read More

Amazon Fresh opens in Oak Lawn

Amazon Fresh opened Thursday in Oak Lawn, the third Chicago suburb in the past two months to launch the new grocery concept from the e-commerce giant. → Read More

Jewel-Osco loses bid to toss lawsuit alleging overtime violations against assistant store directors

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit alleging Jewel-Osco improperly denied overtime pay to assistant store directors, and a plaintiff's attorney estimates 500 to 600 current and former grocery workers could be eligible to join the case. → Read More

Four new food pantries to open on Chicago’s South and West Sides

Four new food pantries are set to open this spring as part of a major grant from the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which is shifting its funding strategy to focus on communities of color disproportionately affected by hunger and poverty. → Read More

Moms, particularly Black moms, are bearing the brunt of job losses during the pandemic, setting back efforts to climb the economic ladder

“Sometimes I will be sleeping and wake up to think, What did we do wrong?” said Marie Lourdie Pierre-Jacques, who lost her job at Swissotel in October. Women, though 47% of the U.S. labor force last year, accounted for 55% of 2020 job losses. → Read More

Former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook loses bid to toss lawsuit targeting his severance

A Delaware court on Tuesday denied a request by former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook to toss out a lawsuit that accuses him of lying about sexual relationships with subordinates and seeks to take back tens of millions of dollars of his severance. → Read More

McDonald’s to pay employees to get vaccinated

McDonald’s plans to give employees four hours of bonus pay to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the first major fast food employer to announce incentives to encourage inoculation. → Read More

Funny, heartwarming or serious: Will Super Bowl ads be super boring this year as brands skirt controversy?

After a harrowing year, companies are grappling with whether or not to advertise in the Super Bowl and what tone to strike with their spots. → Read More

Wow Bao is ‘growing exponentially’ by launching dark kitchens inside of other restaurants

Chicago-based Wow Bao, an Asian-style restaurant chain best known for its doughy steamed buns, opened 150 "dark kitchens" last year as it grows its footprint by focusing on delivery. → Read More

Beam Suntory to move global HQ to New York, but Chicago will remain its largest office

Beam Suntory, the liquor company behind Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark, plans to move its global headquarters from Chicago to New York City next year. Chicago will remain home to its North American business unit and its largest office in the world. → Read More

Essential workers are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines Monday, but still ‘a lot of unknowns’ in workplace plans

Starting Monday, Illinoisans who work in grocery stores, manufacturing plants and schools will be among those eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, presenting an opportunity — and challenge — for employers eager to see their workforces inoculated. → Read More

Jewel-Osco pilots automated pickup kiosk as online grocery shopping soars

A South Loop Jewel-Osco is the first grocer in the nation to pilot an automated pickup kiosk, one of numerous investments grocers are making to prepare for a future of more online food shopping. → Read More

Will jars of salad sell at a doughnut shop? Farmer’s Fridge is trying that at Dunkin’.

Farmer’s Fridge, best known for selling jars of fresh salads out of vending machines, is now hawking its healthy fare through an unlikely partner: doughnut titan Dunkin’. → Read More

Temp and warehouse workers, often the invisible hands in the food supply chain, must not be left behind in vaccinations, advocates say.

As COVID-19 vaccinations roll out, worker advocates are calling for food production, warehouse and temporary workers to be prioritized for inoculation. → Read More

Utz to acquire Chicago-based Vitner’s as it chases salty snacks in the Midwest

Potato chip maker Utz Brands plans to buy Chicago-based Vitner’s as it seeks a bigger bite of the salty snacks market in the Midwest. → Read More