CHICAGO – The largest public employee union in Illinois is exaggerating its support and pitting members against taxpayers in its announced willingness to strike, a conservative think tank attorney said during a recent interview.
AFSCME – the state’s largest government-worker union – spent two years pushing for contract provisions that would cost state taxpayers billions. Now that the union has lost before the state labor board, it has issued a “framework” for compromise. But that “framework” is merely a publicity stunt to make the union appear reasonable while union leaders threaten a strike to obtain contract provisions that burden state taxpayers.
Illinois judges continue to prolong the life of the contract that covers about 38,000 state employees in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
MOUNT VERNON – St. Clair County Circuit Judge Robert LeChien must review his order extending the union contract of 38,000 state employees in light of a state agency’s opposite decision, Fifth District appellate judges ruled on Dec. 16.
St. Clair County Circuit Judge Robert LeChien has granted a temporary restraining order for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 to block contract terms imposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Over the years, AFSCME – the state’s largest government-worker union – has amassed incredible benefits for state workers through contract negotiations with the state. When AFSCME comes to the bargaining table, it isn’t AFSCME versus the governor – it’s AFSCME versus the state taxpayer. And AFSCME holds extraordinarily more power in the process than the state taxpayers footing the bill.
By demanding a larger share of the state’s limited resources, AFSCME is depleting state funds and keeping them from social service providers and other Illinoisans who most need them.
By demanding a larger share of the state’s limited resources, AFSCME is depleting state funds and keeping them from social service providers and other Illinoisans who most need them.
SPRINGFIELD — Reversing two lower courts and an arbitrator, the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the state is not on the hook for back-pay raises to some 24,000 employees unless the General Assembly passes an appropriation.
SPRINGFIELD — House Democrats on Tuesday again passed a bill that could send the stalled contract talks between Gov. Bruce Rauner and the state’s biggest employee unions to a panel of arbitrators.
SPRINGFIELD — Talks between Gov. Rauner’s administration and the state’s largest public-sector employee union broke down Friday. There are no talks scheduled for next week, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 and the Rauner team are blaming each other for Friday’s events. There’s also no agreement on whether the talks are at impasse, which AFSCME says the Rauner team declared.
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Bruce Rauner has implemented a merit-raise system for non-union employees, as well as roughly 5,000 workers represented by smaller state-government unions, according to a memo from his lead attorney. The Republican governor is also proposing many points of the same to the state’s largest employee union — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Councl 31 — which has been without a contract even after a year of negotiations.
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration on Wednesday announced it has reached new four-year deals with several trade unions, as well as with Service Employees International Union Local 1 of Chicago and the International Union of United Food and Commercial Workers.
State employee unions have returned to court in an effort to lock in continued pay for the fiscal year, get medical claims paid, stop layoffs and retain step pay raises and semi-automatic promotions despite lack of a contract. At the end of June, Illinois entered fiscal year 2016 without a budget and without new labor contracts, and its biggest unions sought to make sure their members in state government continued to be paid. The unions have so far succeeded in the courts, and their members co
SPRINGFIELD — At the moment, one four-digit number — 1229 — is the watchword for the struggle between first-year Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrats who hold supermajorities in the General Assembly. That struggle is anticipated to come to a head Wednesday in the House, when Democrats are expected to attempt an override of Rauner’s veto of Senate Bill 1229, the interest arbitration or “no-strike/no-lockout” bill. The measure would allow mandatory arbitration should either the state o
Illinois Human Services case worker Barb Reardon didn't want to talk politics when it came to her union's request to force the state to pay her and tens of thousands of state workers Wednesday.
