Come Join Us with AFSCME Council 31

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Scott Walker is coming to Springfield! Yes, Wisconsin’s governor—the man who led the charge to demolish collective bargaining rights for public employees in that state—is coming to our state capitol.

Can you be there on Tuesday, April 17, to make sure Scott Walker knows he’s not welcome in Illinois? Walker will be speaking to the Illinois Chamber of Commerce's annual Lobby Day, with a key focus on cutting public employee pensions. Walker slashed pension benefits in Wisconsin—and now big Illinois corporations want his help to do it here.

Today, public employees in Wisconsin no longer have the right to bargain collectively over wages, benefits and conditions of employment. Their pension benefits are lower and their health insurance costs higher.

We have to make sure that Illinois politicians get the message loud and clear that Scott Walker and his extreme politics are not welcome in our state. We’ll be there at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 17, in front of the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Springfield, to make our voices heard. Please join us! Check with your local union about buses, vans or car pools that may be coming from your area.

Whether you can be there in Springfield or not, you can help to “unwelcome” Walker by taking a minute right now to send a message to the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Click here to urge the Chamber's board of directors to rescind Walker's invitation.

Scott Walker is spearheading a nationwide movement—backed by the big bucks of the Koch Brothers—to wipe out public sector unions and lower the standard of living of all working families. We can’t let this attack on the middle class go unchallenged. You can help stand up against it in Springfield on Tuesday, April 17.

Sincerely,

Henry Bayer
Executive Director
AFSCME Council 31

Picket line in Peoria

CI News Now
CI Proud

Statewide Day of Action

Pat Quinn’s Budget Plan is Bad News for Illinois

Here is your chance to tell Quinn what you think of his cuts!


Thursday, March 15

* Pat Quinn says he’s for creating jobs, but his budget would destroy thousands of good Illinois jobs.

* Pat Quinn says he cares about people, but his budget slashes mental health services, care for the disabled and other vital safety net programs.

* Pat Quinn says he’s for public safety, but his budget wreaks havoc on the Illinois prison system.

* Pat Quinn says he’s for tax fairness, but his budget gives tax breaks to big business, while slashing vital services.

On March 15

Join with AFSCME members, families, friends

and concerned citizens throughout Illinois.

2:00 PM - 5:30 PM in front of the Jacksonville Developmental Center on Morton Avenue in Jacksonville, IL

Governor Quinn’s budget plan is bad for Illinois.

It would undermine public safety, harm services for the vulnerable and wipe out thousands of jobs.

Cutting Jobs.
Pat Quinn says his top priority is creating jobs, but his plan would eliminate nearly 3,000 middle-class jobs in communities across the state. State employees who provide important public services would be laid off throughout Illinois, and the ripple effects would be felt by scores of local business and community institutions.

Hurting Health Care and Human Services.
Pat Quinn’s plan would force individuals with severe developmental disabilities out of state centers that provide intensive round-the-clock support and services -- ignoring the pleas of their families. He also wants to shutter two state psychiatric hospitals, which advocates say means mentally ill individuals in crisis will end up in emergency
rooms, on the streets, or in jail. Quinn is trying to close 24 human service offices that provide Food Stamps and Medicaid to people in need, and in the child-protection agency, DCFS, he is ignoring a statewide staffing crisis that puts kids at risk.

Threatening Public Safety.
If Pat Quinn gets his way, two adult prisons and two youth centers will be shuttered, making every other prison more crowded and dangerous. He also wants to close six Adult Transition Centers, letting 1,000 inmates out of prison early -- even as he lays off half the parole agents responsible for monitoring them! Meanwhile, Quinn is trying to close a state police crime lab and move 21 local state police call centers into just four regional hubs, slowing emergency response times acrosshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Illinois. Giving Tax Breaks to Big Corporations. Governor Quinn claims he's cutting public services and thousands of jobs because he can't afford to pay for them. But just two months ago he signed a bill giving hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax breaks to corporations like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Sears -- which turned around and laid off hundreds of Illinois workers.

You can help!

1. Sign our petition at www.NoQuinnCuts.com.
2. Call your state legislator at 888-912-5959.
Tell them Pat Quinn’s budget plan is wrong for Illinois.

Message from Henry Bayer

Brothers and Sisters,

We're fighting with everything we have to stop Governor Quinn's terrible budget plan that would close important state facilities and offices and lay off thousands of employees. All across Illinois, AFSCME Council 31 staff is working with local unions and members like you to build coalitions against threatened closures, reach out to legislators and spread the word through the news media about the harm Pat Quinn's cuts would cause. And we're making plans for our statewide Day of Action to oppose these cuts, set for March 15.

Today we launched a tough new radio ad called "Shared Sacrifice" that is airing statewide, as well as an online petition and a Facebook page dedicated to stopping Governor Quinn's damaging cuts.

I hope you will be among the first to hear the radio spot and sign the petition at NoQuinnCuts.com.

After you have listened to our radio message and signed the petition, please share them with your friends. We all have a stake in saving public services like public safety and care for the most vulnerable -- not to mention protecting good, middle-class, union jobs. And to do that, we all need to get involved and make our voices heard.

In solidarity,

Henry Bayer
Executive Director
AFSCME Council 31

COGFA Hearing on the closure of the Jacksonville Developmental Center

Where: Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL
When: Wednesday, March 7th at 5pm.

Governor's Budget Response from Council 31

BUDGET
Governor Quinn’s budget address turned out to be nothing more than warmed over Rod Blagojevich. Like his former running mate, Quinn appears utterly indifferent to the real work of state government, the employees who perform it, or the citizens who rely on it.

Quinn callously boasted of eliminating the jobs of over 2,000 state employees since he took office, even though Illinois has the nation's fewest state employees per capita, and despite the fact that millions of citizens, especially the most vulnerable, depend on the services state employees provide.

The specifics of Quinn’s budget plan still haven’t been released even to members of the General Assembly, but Council 31 budget analysts are already at work gathering information from all possible sources. For now, only the broad outlines are known, and they aren't good.

The governor trumpeted the closure of 14 state facilities as the centerpiece of his FY13 budget proposal. In addition to the previously announced closures of Jacksonville Developmental Center and Tinley Park Mental Health Center, Quinn now says he wants to shutter Dwight CC, Tamms CC, Singer MHC, Murray DC, IYC Murphysboro, IYC Joliet and six DOC Adult Transitional Centers.

Closures on this scale would result in thousands of layoffs. And it doesn’t end there. Every department budget was cut by at least 9%. The DOC budget would cut parole staff by 50%. The DHS budget would consolidate 24 offices. And the Illinois State Police budget would close the forensics lab in Carbondale, as well as all telecommunications centers except those in Chicago, Springfield, DuQuoin and Sterling. (It’s important to note that the office closings/consolidations and layoffs listed here are based on preliminary information. Others could be announced in the coming days.)

Quinn’s cuts to state operations would cause great damage. He would increase tensions and danger in the state’s already overcrowded prison system, wreak havoc in the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, deny treatment to individuals with severe mental illness; decrease supports for children and families in need and weaken the ability of state agencies to fulfill their missions.

The governor's cuts would also cause immense damage to the thousands of state employees who would lose their jobs, to their families, and to the communities their wages help sustain.

Yet Quinn is proposing all these cuts shortly after signing into law $300 million in new annual tax breaks, mostly for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and other big corporations. And the Civic Federation and other big business honchos are applauding his cuts while defending a tax system that lets the rich get away with paying far less than their fair share.

Our battle against this bad budget plan has already begun, with AFSCME leaders across Illinois featured prominently in news reports criticizing the budget and pointing out the flaws in Quinn’s proposals. Today the fight intensifies, as we begin the member mobilization and community outreach that will be essential to persuading the General Assembly to defeat this plan.

It will take the active involvement of all AFSCME members to beat back these devastating service cuts and layoffs. It won’t be easy, but we’ve done it before. If we stay united and work together, we can do succeed this time as well.

PENSIONS
Another central element of Quinn’s budget address was a call for overhauling the state’s pension systems. Illinois pension systems face a severe funding crisis caused by the state’s failure, year after year, to pay its share of pension costs even as employees paid theirs. Now that the Quinn Administration has begun to make the full employer contribution, the dimensions of the crisis have become even clearer because those pension contributions—mostly to pay down the state's unfunded liability—are consuming an ever-larger portion of the state budget and squeezing out other important priorities.

That budget squeeze is a big reason why efforts by Big Business to effectively wipe out public pensions have gained so much traction over the past few years. SB 512, the CEO-backed pension bill, would force employees to choose between (1) paying up to 9% more to retain their current modest pension, (2) accepting the lower Tier II benefits that new hires get, or (3) leaving the pension system entirely with only a 401(k) to fall back on. AFSCME and other unions blocked passage of this measure in the last legislative session, but its proponents are back and pushing harder than ever.

In his address, Governor Quinn appeared to indicate that he did not support the approach embodied in SB 512. Rather he said he wanted to work toward a solution that would be “meaningful, constitutional and fair to employees who’ve faithfully contributed to the system.” He cited a pension work group he’s established made up of legislators from each caucus and both houses of the General Assembly.

AFSCME and other unions in the We Are One Illinois Coalition have met with the pension work group to make clear that no one has a bigger stake in stabilizing Illinois pension funds than the state and university employees, teachers and other public employees whose retirement security depends on keeping the pension funds solvent and adequately funded. AFSCME and our labor allies are insisting that any changes must be constitutional, fair to employees, and focused on guaranteeing public employees that their pensions will be there when they retire.

PAY RAISE
It didn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Quinn's speech made no mention of the money he owes to tens of thousands of state employees whose wage increases he is refusing to pay. The governor claims that funds aren’t available, but his recent round of tax breaks for Big Business proved he can find funding for what he believes is important.

AFSCME is fighting for these pay raises on several fronts, including both state and federal court. An arbitrator ruled in the union’s favor and ordered the governor to pay the raises, but the Quinn Administration appealed the arbitrator’s ruling to circuit court, where the judge has stayed the arbitrator’s order until the appeal is decided. Judicial proceedings are almost invariably slow, plagued by delays and continuances, and this case has been no different. It could take many more months before a decision is reached in Circuit Court.

That’s why it’s so critical to keep the pressure on in the court of public opinion. The union has held several direct actions that shine a bright public spotlight on the governor’s dishonesty and hypocrisy. Most recently, the members of the State Bargaining Committee—some 250 strong—marched on the Governor’s Office to deliver a giant “collection notice” for the raises owed. While the Governor’s staff hid, the media was out in force. The action garnered news coverage across the state.

AFSCME is also continuing to work with other affected unions to galvanize state legislators to stand up for state workers and press the Governor to pay the negotiated raises. Last week a bipartisan group of 36 state senators and representatives issued a public letter calling on the Governor to honor union contracts and pay the raises. And union members are keeping the heat on other legislators to add their voices to the growing chorus.

THE FIGHT IS ON
All across the country, public employees are under attack by elites with big bucks who want to weaken the public sector and destroy public sector unions. In Wisconsin, the battle continues after Governor Scott Walker—with backing from the notorious Koch Brothers—pushed through legislation that effectively outlaws collective bargaining and prevents labor unions from representing state workers. Now tens of thousands of public employees in Wisconsin no longer have the protection of a union contract.

Here in Illinois, the attack is led by the Civic Federation and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, bands of rich corporate elites who are out to slash government spending and undermine public employee unions. As Quinn made clear in his speech today, they’re the ones issuing his marching orders—to hand out tax breaks to big business and to eliminate solid middle-class jobs.

He’s clearly prepared to do their bidding, but fortunately many legislators don’t seem prepared to march off the cliff behind him. All across the state today, legislators of both parties joined AFSCME members in speaking out against Quinn’s budget cuts.

The message was clear: These devastating cuts can be stopped. But it’s up to us to build the public pressure that will convince the General Assembly to declare Quinn’s budget dead on arrival, and to get to work on shaping a budget that preserves vital services and good jobs—a budget that serves the interests of all Illinoisans, not just the privileged few.

Contract Negotiations Status - 2/17/2012

* Management is continuing to push for drastic changes to our contract that would effectively wipe out job rights and protections that we’ve struggled decades to achieve.


* Management did back off a few of their worst proposals, but they are still pushing hard for many others that are completely unacceptable to the Union Bargaining Committee. So the process is moving very slowly.


* Moreover, Management is continuing to use the excuse of the State’s fiscal crisis to resist even the smallest improvements in employees’ working conditions if they appear to have even minimal cost involved.


* Right now we’re only in the non-economic phase of negotiations. But you’ve got to remember that many of the most important gains made for union members over the years were achieved through negotiations over such matters as job rights, seniority, and layoff protections.


* You’ve got to know that if Management is making these kind of take-away proposals during this non-economic phase, the situation is only going to get much tougher when economic issues move front and center later in the process.


* And we’ve got to keep the fight to secure our negotiated pay raise in the current contract front and center throughout this process.


* That’s why the Union Bargaining Committee recently marched on the Governor’s Office with a giant “collection notice” demanding that he pay state employees’ the wage and step increases they are owed. The Governor’s staff refused to come out of hiding, but the media was out in force and there was widespread press coverage of our action.


* Then last week more than 40 state legislators sent a letter to Governor Quinn urging him to honor our union contract and pay negotiated raises. Bargaining Committee members are now reaching out to any of our legislators who did not sign that letter to urge them to send their own letters to the Governor with a similar message.


* But the Quinn Administration has to understand that it’s not just the Bargaining Committee that’s making this demand. It’s critical that union members back up the Committee’s actions with grassroots action at the worksites. That’s why the Bargaining Committee is calling for statewide informational pickets at all state worksites on Thursday, March 8 demanding that Quinn honor our contract and pay our raises. Let’s start planning now to make our picket a big success.

Bargaining Committee Takes It to the Governor

From the outset, the Union has made clear to Management that this round of negotiations is tainted by the Quinn Administration s failure to honor the existing AFSCME contract by withholding negotiated pay raises.

On February 2, the AFSCME Bargaining Committee took that message directly to Governor Quinn. When negotiations wrapped up on Thursday afternoon, the entire Bargaining Committee, some 240 strong, headed over to the State Capitol with a giant 6 X 3 ft. Collection Notice to deliver to the Governor's Office. With the Capitol Police barring the door to the Office, the Bargaining Committee with signs raised and whistles blaring pressed in behind Council 31 Executive Director Henry Bayer as he demanded that a representative of the Governor come out to receive and respond to the Collection Notice. But apparently fearful of its own employees, the Quinn Administration was in hiding and refused to show their faces.

Fortunately, however, the news media was out in force and heard our message loud and clear. You can view the extensive media coverage of the event by going to www.afscme31.org. The text of the Collection Notice—signed by all of the Bargaining Committee members read:

This is an attempt to collect a debt. On behalf of 30,000 Illinois state employees who care for the most vulnerable, keep prisons safe and much more, we are seeking to uphold and enforce our legally binding collective bargaining agreement with the State of Illinois and you, Gov. Quinn. You say you "believe in the right of working people to organize" and that unions exist to "make sure people get a decent wage." Yet you have failed to comply with our union contract and the law with respect to the pay schedule of the men and women who do the real work of state government. Instead you have chosen to provoke a costly court battle. Please immediately remit the amount you owe in full.

Hypocrisy Doesn’t Become You, Governor

Last week we saw Republicans in our neighboring state of Indiana strike a disastrous blow against working men and women with the enactment of a Right-to-Work-for Less bill that will greatly weaken the ability of unions to represent their members both in the private and public sectors. Governor Quinn was quick to criticize Indiana Republicans for their actions and he was right to do so. But what Quinn failed to note is that Democrats in that state fought a long and fierce battle trying to defeat this anti-union legislation and protect collective bargaining rights. At the same time, Governor Quinn, Illinois' leading Democrat, is seeking to undermine fundamental principles of collective bargaining by refusing to honor the contracts he negotiated with AFSCME and other unions representing state employees and withholding scheduled pay increases from union members. While the General Assembly contributed to the state s dire fiscal crisis by failing to appropriate sufficient funding for state operations, the blame for trampling on union contracts must lie with Governor Quinn, who alone made the decision to withhold the negotiated raises. The governor could have decided to stand up for what s right. Instead,he has chosen to break his promises and to launch an assault on state employees

Management Wants to Turn Back the Clock

Negotiations continue to focus on issues considered non-economic, i.e. those not deemed to have a direct economic cost for the State or for employees. It s important to remember that many of the most vital gains we’ve made over the years such as promotion standards, layoff protections, restrictions on management s control and authority, fairer hours and scheduling, workplace safety measures, binding arbitration of grievances and much more have all been achieved in this non-economic phase of negotiations. Management is using the State s economic crisis as an excuse to put forward a package of draconian proposals that drastically weaken even obliterate fundamental workplace rights that have been achieved for union members over the years. While Management did back off of a few of those proposals in the most recent round of negotiations, they continue to push for sweeping changes to contract language that would erase many of the gains we’ve made over the past three decades, making it very clear that it s going to take a real battle to protect the contractual rights that are so essential to fairness and dignity on the job.

Unity in Action

Your AFSCME Bargaining Committee is made up of elected representatives from every state local union. All Committee members have pledged to promote unity within the bargaining team in order to secure the best possible contract for AFSCME members. But even the strongest Committee, led by some of the most skilled negotiators in the state, cannot gain a good contract all on its own. Making the kind of progress we’ve achieved over the years has always required the active involvement of AFSCME members at the grassroots level. We’ve had green days, sticker days, solidarity days and just plain in-your-face days. We’ve had pickets, marches and rallies from our local worksites all the way to the State Capitol. It s early in the negotiating process, but from what we’ve seen across the table so far, there’s one thing we can say for sure: As hard as we’ve had to fight before, we re going to have to fight even harder this time. Now is the time for you to make the same commitment to secure a first-class contract that your elected representatives on the Bargaining Committee have already made.

AFSCME to Quinn: Honor the Contract

http://www.afscme31.org/news?id=0328

Local 3416 Contract Delegates Sign Collection Notice

Union members are negotiating a new contract in good faith with the State of Illinois in spite of the fact that the current contract has been broken. The issue of our raises is outstanding in the Judicial System. Regardless, we raise the issue at every session of bargaining. In this session, we will take the issue directly to the Governor's office. Here you see President Travis Smith and Treasurer Travis Houzenga signing the collection notice to be presented to the Governor. We are owed! We will collect! The message is not going away.

Time to revive the Blog

New Budget

Brothers and Sisters,

As you most likely know by now, last night the General Assembly passed—and Gov. Quinn signed—a new state budget. This means that virtually all state employees will be paid in full and on time. Consequently, Council 31’s lawsuit to compel the state to issue paychecks will not be pursued any further at this time.

While it is too early to say at this point exactly what the budget will mean for AFSCME members in state government, there is no doubt that it is an irresponsible budget that puts the state deep in debt and leaves it potentially vulnerable to mid-year funding shortfalls. At the end of the day, the sad fact was that too many legislators refused to honestly confront the state’s dire fiscal straits and raise the revenues urgently needed to fix the problem.

Legislators said in floor debate that this budget includes sufficient appropriation authority to maintain state operations at last year’s level and avert layoffs of state employees. But unfortunately, we cannot rely on those assurances for several reasons:
*No one can make a convincing case that this budget is balanced. Estimates of the potential shortfall are as high as $2 billion. Moreover, it is predicated on borrowing over $3 billion in “pension notes” with no plan at all for how that money will be paid back next year. In fact, just this morning the Wall Street bond-rating agency, Moody’s, announced it will review and possibly downgrade the state’s credit rating.
*So-called “grant” lines are only funded at 50% of last year’s levels—with an additional $3+ billion in “lump sum” spending authority given to the Governor to bring those lines up to an average of 86%. Although most of these “grants” go to nonprofit community human service agencies, there are also thousands of state employees who are paid out of grant lines. Depending on how Quinn chooses to allocate the “lump sum” dollars, those lines could be cut by as much as 50%.
*Even as debate on this budget plan was getting underway, Governor Quinn refused to commit that if it passed he would not lay off state employees or even to agree that he would reduce the number of potential layoffs from the 2,600 figure he had previously announced.
*Gov. Quinn already announced that given the potential funding shortfalls in this budget, he intends to ask AFSCME to reopen our contract and accept furlough days and/or a wage freeze for the coming year.

For all of these reasons, AFSCME opposed passage of this budget. We said—and continue to believe—that the only real solution to the state’s budget problems is enactment of a tax increase based on the blueprint set forth in HB174. It is the height of irresponsibility for legislators to refuse to act on that legislation when there is such widespread consensus that the budget as enacted is unsustainable. Senate President John Cullerton made clear in the floor debate that he does not believe this budget can meet the needs of the State of Illinois and he pledged to bring the Senate back into session in early January with its first order of business being to vote (once again) on the revenue-raising plan embodied in HB 174.

It will be absolutely essential that our union continue to do everything that we can to build support among legislators—especially in the House—for passage of this measure.

For now, given legislators’ statements that this budget does fully fund state operations, AFSCME is calling on Gov. Quinn to rescind the scheduled layoffs and halt any further layoffs. If it turns out that the budget as enacted cannot meet the state’s needs and instead threatens to result in cutbacks in services and layoffs of employees, the General Assembly should come back in Special Session or in the November Veto Session and pass the needed tax increase to prevent such cutbacks.

Later today we will be sending you a bulletin to distribute to your members with a report on the budget outcome—and next steps in our campaign for new revenues.

Nothing was more indicative of the crucial role that AFSCME will play in that battle than the “Send-Off” events that our Union organized on Monday of this week. We targeted 40 legislators—and ended up with effective actions at about 33 legislative offices. Given that there was only a week to put these events together, on the whole, local unions did an outstanding job. There really is no other organization in this state that has the geographic reach, the grassroots involvement and the capable local leadership to pull off so many successful gatherings. The events got terrific press coverage in many media markets—much of it presenting clear information on the harm that budget cuts would cause and positive statements about the need for a tax increase. That is just hugely significant given the current political climate. Whether or not the legislator was in his or her office, you can be very sure that they were keenly aware of your presence there and the message you were sending.

Most of you deserve high praise for your intensive organizing efforts to make these events a success. Local 1866, Local 29, Local 46 and Local 632—all of whom turned out over 100 folks—are particularly to be congratulated. However, it was disappointing to see that some locals did not make an effort to participate in these events at all. There will be many battles in the difficult days ahead, and it is important that each local carry its weight. To that end, staff representatives will be working with you to increase your mobilization capacity.

Finally, one piece of good news amidst all of the gloom. Earlier this week, Gov. Quinn announced that he is withdrawing his proposal to close down IYC Pere Marquette. This victory—like so many others we’ve achieved—is the result of the intensive grassroots efforts of AFSCME members, combined with the top-notch lobbying, policy and communications work of Council 31 staff. We’d like to say that’s an unbeatable combination—but we can’t count on never being beaten. What we can count on is that if we all continue to work together in unity and solidarity—using every resource at our disposal—we have the best possible chance of prevailing.

Sincerely,
Henry Bayer, Executive Director
Roberta Lynch, Deputy Director

New Budget Developments—Let’s Have Some Fireworks on the Fourth!

Brothers and Sisters,

*“No tax” budget is a “no solution” budget – The latest phony solution to the state’s budget crisis is a plan being circulated by some House Democrats that claims that issuing pension notes, sweeping some special funds, and changing some revenue assumptions in combination can “solve” the budget crisis without raising taxes. This is baloney, pure and simple. AFSCME budget analysts don’t believe that the revenue assumptions the House plan makes are correct. But even if they were, that plan still leaves a $3 billion budget hole—that’s the cost of the entire annual payroll for state employees. In other words, you’d have to basically shut down state government to fill a budget hole that big.

*Pension fund borrowing AGAIN? – The pension notes plan now under consideration is preferable to previous pension bonding or to just outright shorting the pension funds because it requires that all of the money be paid back within five years. However, this kind of short-term borrowing only makes sense if there’s reason to believe there will be additional revenues in the out years so that the debt can be repaid. And the only way that will happen is if taxes are raised now. The pension notes plan doesn’t make any sense unless it’s part of an overall revenue package that includes an income tax increase.

*Senate led the way with HB174 – The Senate has already stepped up to the plate and passed a revenue bill that would go a long way toward fixing the state’s fiscal mess now and in the years to come. It raises the income tax, expands the sales tax base and lowers property taxes. The key question now is: Why doesn’t the House do the same? And that means both Democrats and Republicans in the House because any bill now needs a 3/5 vote to pass.

*Don’t come home without it! – That has to be our message to our legislators. The danger now is that they will claim they can fix the problem without a tax increase—and then we’ll be facing big service cuts and layoffs just months down the road. We have to make clear to our state representatives that we know the problem can’t be fixed without a tax increase—and demand that they support it.

*Getting our message across – We’ve got to keep the heat on House Democrats and Republicans non-stop. We know that many of you are weary of the battle—but that is just what they want, to tire us out and make us go away. If we do that, we’ll be paying the price for years to come. So, please, get that second wind and head back into the ring.
Here’s what you can do:
**It is critical that you as the leader of your local immediately call the state representatives in your area whom you’ve met with in the past. Tell their office that it’s important that you speak personally with the representative. When you get him or her on the phone, let them know that you’ve heard about the new plan that’s circulating in the House (see above). Tell them it’s a non-solution and will still put thousands of jobs at risk and close down vital services. Tell the representatives you want them to support a tax increase plan like HB 174, as already passed by the Senate.
**Greet your state representative at the Fourth of July Parade in your communities. Legislators love parades—they like to smile and wave and think about all the good will they’re earning. This is our opportunity to let them know that we’re not going to let them go out and garner good will while they’re wiping out our jobs and the services we provide. Council 31 will provide you with signs to carry and flyers to distribute. The flyers will specifically focus on the state representatives likely to be in your local parades.
**If you can’t make it to the Fourth of July parade, look for other opportunities to leaflet at public events your state representatives will be attending. Council 31 can help you identify where they will be in the coming week or two.
Here are some of the things that Council 31 will be doing:
**At AFSCME’s request the State Federation of Labor is making robocalls to every union member in the districts of many of the House Democrats and Republicans who haven’t committed to support a tax increase. Mike Carrigan, State Fed President, told union members that jobs are the number one issue for working families in Illinois—and that without a tax increase, tens of thousand more jobs will be lost, weakening our state’s economy even further. He urged them to contact their representative (and gave the name) in support of a tax increase.
**AFSCME is sending out a “get active” email to a list of more than 10,000 citizens who have previously indicated their support for a tax increase to urge them to contact their legislators again.
**AFSCME will be running newspaper ads detailing the harm the cuts will do to appear in the paper in areas where the representatives have not yet committed to support a tax increase.

*”Sources” in Governor’s Office are misleading the press -- Last week, sources in the Governor’s office told the press that they were in ongoing negotiations with the Union regarding a demand for twelve furlough days and a wage freeze. All of you were at the only “negotiations” that have taken place thus far with this Administration. As you know, they lasted less than a day and did not include a specific request regarding either furlough days or a wage freeze. We will let you know if any further requests are made to the Union (as opposed to announced in the press).

*Keep on fighting!

Sincerely,
Henry Bayer, Executive Director
Roberta Lynch, Deputy Director

PSA Option 6 Salary Grade Placement

As you are aware, CMS and AFSCME Council 31 have been negotiating over the salary grade placement for the PSA Option 6 classification.

CMS had taken the position that the appropriate salary grade was RC-063-23. The Union had planned on taking the case to arbitration on June 9th, because we believed that, while most employees would have received a pay increase at salary grade 23, a strong case could be made for Salary Grade 24.

Shortly before the hearing, CMS contacted Council 31 with a new offer and we were able to reach an agreement. PSA Option 6 employees will be placed in RC-063-24. Placement will be retroactive to the date of certification (December 2, 2008). Option 6 employees will also get the January 1, 2009 increase (1.5%), retroactive to the first of the year, and the general increase due on July 1, 2009 (2.5%).

Negotiations over the salary grade for Option 6’s were particularly complex given the variance in duties and responsibilities within the classification. In recognition of this, CMS has also agreed to conduct a study of the PSA Option 6 classification. Studies involving large numbers of positions typically take some time to complete. Depending upon the results, it is possible the study will recommend that some positions be moved to a new title in a higher pay grade.

We will be sending out a memorandum of understanding on this within the next few days that will provide further details. Given the large number of employees in this classification, and the high level of interest in the scheduled arbitration hearing, we wanted to get something out to you right away.

The fight for union representation and fair pay for Option 6 employees has been long and difficult All those who have been involved in the fight are to be congratulated. Please be sure to ask any Option 6 employees who are not yet members to sign a dues deduction card right away.

Sincerely,

Mike Newman
Associate Director

Special Update

Bad Budget Passes
Legislative Session Ends with No Tax Increase

Keep Pressure on
to Prevent Layoffs and Service Cuts

The State Senate did its job—stepping up to the plate to vote to raise the revenues needed to keep state government operating and prevent layoffs and service cuts. Senators voted in support of HB174, legislation similar to SB750 which AFSCME has long supported. It would raise the income tax and limit property taxes, garnering sufficient new revenues to fund education, as well as vital state services.

The House fell down on the job—Speaker Madigan would not call HB174 for a vote in the House. The House did vote on a more modest temporary tax increase, but it was defeated when all Republicans and too many Democrats voted against it. (See reverse side for a list of those who voted wrong on this important measure.)

No new revenues equal bad budget—In the final hours of the legislative session, the General Assembly then went on to adopt SB1197 which, combined with some previously-adopted budget bills, will result in massive cuts to state services and layoffs of many state employees.

Budget bills put on hold—Gov. Quinn has strongly suggested that he would veto the budget as enacted—citing the damage it would do to vital services. The House and Senate leaders are now using a parliamentary maneuver to prevent the budget bills from going to the Governor’s desk, filing motions to have them reconsidered.

Scope and nature of the cuts not clear yet—Rumors abound, but because of the way that the budget was passed (with large lump sums allotted to agencies rather than all funds assigned to specific budget lines), it is still not known exactly where the budget cuts would be made. However, the Governor has told agencies they will need to cut their budgets by 25%. There’s no way to make cuts of that magnitude without large numbers of layoffs.

Still searching for solution—Even now that the legislative session has ended, the legislative leaders and the Governor are still meeting to try to come up with a compromise solution to the state’s budget woes. The task is tougher now because any revenue increase or budget revisions will require a 2/3 vote to pass—which means that Republican votes will be needed. Legislators have until the end of June when the current fiscal year ends. If there’s not a new budget in place then, state government would be faced with a shut down.

Pensions and health care safe for now—AFSCME and our allies in the labor movement won a major victory in beating back efforts to make state employees pay more toward their pensions, to make both active and retired employees pay much more for their health care, and to drastically cut the pension benefits of new hires. However, as negotiations continue among legislative leaders during the coming weeks, it is very possible that some of these cutbacks could resurface and be included in a “compromise” budget plan.

Keep the Pressure On – It is critical that we keep the pressure on. Council 31 and your local union will be reaching out to you to participate in efforts to turn up the heat on those legislators who voted against raising the revenues needed to prevent layoffs and service cuts—and to thank those who voted right. Make sure you make the calls, send the emails or attend the demonstrations that are needed to let your legislators know they need to do the right thing—and do it now!

Wrong Vote on RevenueState Representatives
Suzanne Bassi
Mark Beaubien
Dan Beiser
Patricia Bellock
Bob Biggins
Bill Black
Mike Boland
Mike Bost
John Bradley
Dan Brady
Rich Brauer
James Brosnahan
John Cavaletto
Franco Coladipietro
Sandy Cole
Michael Connelly
Beth Coulson
Fred Crespo
Tom Cross
Shane Cultra
John D’Amico
William Davis
Lisa Dugan
Jim Durkin
Roger Eddy
Keith Farnham
Bob Flider
Mike Fortner
Jack Franks
John Fritchey
Paul Froehlich
Careen Gordon
Jehan Gordon
Kay Hatcher
Jay Hoffman
Tom Holbrook
Kevin Joyce
Renee Kosel
David Leitch
Joseph Lyons
Sid Mathias
Karen May
Emily McAsey
Michael McAuliffe
Kevin McCarthy
Deborah Mell
David Miller
Bill Mitchell
Jerry Mitchell
Don Moffitt
Rosemary Mulligan
Rich Myers
Joann Osmond

Right Vote on Revenue
Brandon Phelps
Sandra Pihos
Raymond Poe
Robert Pritchard
Randy Ramey
Dennis Reboletti
David Reis
Dan Reitz
Chapin Rose
Jim Sacia
Angelo Saviano
Timothy Schmitz
Darlene Senger
Keith Sommer
Ron Stephens
Ed Sullivan
Jil Tracy
Michael Tryon
Ron Wait
Mark Walker
Jim Watson
Dave Winters
Michael Zalewski

State Senators
Pamela Althoff
Tim Bivins
Larry Bomke
Michael Bond
Bill Brady
Brad Burzynski
Dan Cronin
Gary Dahl
Kirk Dillard
Dan Duffy
Susan Garrett
Bill Haine
Randy Hultgren
John Jones
Chris Lauzen
David Luechtefeld
Edward Maloney
Kyle McCarter
John Millner
Matt Murphy
Carole Pankau
Christine Radogno
Dale Righter
Dale Risinger
Dan Rutherford
Jeff Schoenberg
Ira Silverstein
Dave Syverson

State Representatives
Edward Acevedo
Luis Arroyo
Maria Antonia Berrios
Dan Burke
Will Burns
Linda Chapa LaVia
Annazette Collins
Marlow Colvin
Barbara Flynn Currie
Monique Davis
Anthony DeLuca
Ken Dunkin
Sara Feigenholtz
Mary Flowers
LaShawn Ford
Ester Golar
Deborah Graham
Julie Hamos
Betsy Hannig
Greg Harris
Elizabeth Hernandez
Constance Howard
Eddie Jackson
Naomi Jakobsson
Charles Jefferson
Lou Lang
Michael Madigan
Frank Mautino
Jack McGuire
Susana Mendoza
Elaine Nekritz
Harry Osterman
Al Riley
Robert Rita
Kathleen Ryg
Michael Smith
Cynthia Soto
Andre Thapedi
Art Turner
Pat Verschoore
Eddie Washington
Karen Yarbrough



State Senators
James Clayborne
Jacqueline Collins
Maggie Crotty
John Cullerton
James DeLeo
William Delgado
Deanna Demuzio
Gary Forby Michael Frerichs
Don Harmon
Ricky Hendon
Linda Holmes
Mattie Hunter
Toi Hutchinson
Mike Jacobs
Emil Jones, III
David Koehler
Dan Kotowski
Kimberly Lightford
Terry Link
Iris Martinez
James Meeks
Antonio Munoz
Michael Noland
Kwame Raoul
Martin Sandoval
Heather Steans
John Sullivan
Donnie Trotter
Louis Viverito
A.J. Wilhelmi

June 1, 2009



No Tax Increase, Major Budget Cuts – The General Assembly failed to act to raise the revenues needed to address the state’s dire fiscal crisis, instead enacting a barebones budget in the final hours of the legislative session and then adjourning and heading home, leaving disaster in its wake.
The Senate, under the leadership of its new president, John Cullerton, did the right thing and actually passed HB174, a version of SB750, legislation AFSCME has long advocated that would have raised the income tax, while providing property tax relief. But Speaker Madigan refused to call the bill in the House. Instead the House voted on a smaller income tax increase which would have only been temporary—and even that failed by a wide margin.
Many legislators who should have stood with AFSCME members voted against the tax increase—and paved the way for enactment of a budget that will radically cut state services, as well as funding for other vital programs, such as the community disability agencies where thousands of AFSCME members work. (Council 31 will soon send out a list of those legislators who voted wrong to every local.)
The legislative leaders admit they have passed an unworkable budget—and say they will continue to seek a compromise to raise the needed revenue. But in meantime, the situation is dire. The legislature passed a budget in several parts. Funding for most staff and other operations from the General Revenue Fund, as well as staff and operations from dedicated funds, were passed at the level originally proposed by Governor Quinn. But a third bill containing programmatic staff and grant funding key to state operations was appropriated at only half of the Governor’s introduced level.
The bill cut funding for state employees in several agencies, as well as AFSCME members caring for the disabled in community based programs, to unsustainable levels. If this budget stands it will mean layoffs. And the bill also cut funding for programs affecting all state employees, like health insurance and Upward Mobility. Despite these cuts, the total budget as enacted – the three bills above plus Medicaid expenditures and two bills funding education – is short $2 billion. During floor debate legislators said they would short fund the pensions to make up the difference.
It is impossible to predict at this point what the fallout from these cuts will be. The budget bills appropriated money not by division or facility but in lump sums by agency. This gives the Quinn administration great authority to decide how the limited funding available would be used—if the Governor signs this budget. Gov. Quinn has already made clear that he recognizes that the budget as enacted is inadequate to meet the state’s needs. It is not yet clear whether he intends to veto it—or how the legislature will respond if he does.



Unions Beat Back Pension,Healthcare Cuts – In a remarkable demonstration of unity and determination, AFSCME joined with the teachers’ unions (IFT and IEA) in an intensive grassroots lobbying campaign that beat back an all-out assault by big business on public employee pension benefits. Seizing on the state’s current fiscal woes as a cover for their anti-government crusade, the Civic Federation and other corporate forces sought to create the impression that public employee pensions were excessively high and a drain on the state budget. In response to their pressure, Gov. Quinn’s budget plan included increases in pension and health care contributions for current employees, higher health care costs for retirees, and drastically lower pension benefits for new hires. Legislative leaders got on board with his proposals—and many claimed the changes were all but inevitable.
But AFSCME and our allies in the Illinois Retirement Security Initiative (IRSI) quickly went to work to build opposition. Union members fought back, turning out in droves for regional legislative forums and deluging legislators with phone calls and mail. After months of intensive lobbying, when the final bell rung, all of the pension cutbacks were off the table. Nor was any legislation ever moved to effectuate the employee and retiree health care cost increases that the Governor had proposed. However, it is important to note that the budget as enacted significantly underfunds group health insurance.
This critical victory in the effort to protect retirement security for AFSCME members is a clear indication of the importance of having a strong labor movement. In states without unions—or where unions didn’t organize and fight back—there have already been major cuts to pension benefits. This battle is by no means over. Our opponents have already made clear that they are mobilizing for another round when the legislature reconvenes. We’ll have to be ready to continue the fight—but for now, our retirement security remains strong.

No New State Aid to Local Governments – HB174 as passed by the Senate, would have brought significant new revenues to local governments all across the state that are struggling with their own fiscal crises. The failure of the House to concur in passing this legislation effectively robbed local governments of millions of dollars.

Community Disability Agencies Could Face Layoffs -- The budget as enacted drastically reduces funding to DHS which provides the funding to community agencies serving individuals with developmental disabilities, so there is a very real threat that funding to these agencies could be drastically reduced unless the legislature acts swiftly to repair the damage it has done by failing to enact a tax increase.

Legislation Leverages Historic Agreement to Limit Mandatory Overtime – SB1369, AFSCME’s legislation to force a total ban on mandatory overtime in state prisons, mental health and developmental centers and vets home had strong backing in the state senate, where it passed overwhelmingly. But the bill ran into resistance in the House because of opposition from Gov. Quinn. The Administration argued that it would be impossible to operate 24-hour facilities without being able to mandate overtime at critical points. AFSCME countered that under the Blagojevich Administration, mandation was not just used in emergencies as was the original intent, but had become a normal part of operations, relied on rather than hiring the staff that are needed to function effectively.
Sen. Mike Frerichs and Rep. Emily McAsey, the measure’s sponsors, asked AFSCME and the Governor’s Office to try to work out a compromise. The result was a landmark agreement reached in the final days of the legislative session. Entered into as a Memorandum of Understanding that will become part of the AFSCME Master Agreement with the state, it sets a goal of cutting overtime in half over the next two years. It states clearly that overtime should be the exception, not the norm, of state operations and, effective July 1, 2010, it prohibits disciplining employees for refusing mandation--unless the mandation occurred due to an unusual or unforeseen circumstance.
This historic agreement is another example of the ability of AFSCME to tackle a tough problem—and force management to respond. AFSCME began the campaign against forced overtime with a dramatic report documenting its consequences in human and financial terms which was issued last year. The report received press coverage all across the state and laid the basis for an intensive lobbying campaign in which dozens of legislators signed on to cosponsor legislation aimed at halting the widespread abuse of mandation in state government.

Questions Remain on Facility Closures -- The budget did not clearly restore the funding needed to keep IYC Pere Marquette open, nor did it ensure that Tinley Park MHC and Howe DC would have sufficient funds to operate for a full year. If this budget stands, AFSCME will be pushing to get some of the “lump sum” dollars in DOC and DHS budgets used to keep these facilities open.

Require legislative approval for closures (HB2376) -- HB2367, sponsored by Rep. Gordon/Sen. Crotty, would amend the state’s Facility Closure Act to require that if a facility or site is funded in the budget enacted by the General Assembly, it cannot subsequently be closed without a joint resolution of the General Assembly approving the closure. This legislation was vigorously opposed by those forces that want to close down all state mental health and developmental centers, as well as by the Quinn Administration. The measure was not called for a vote and AFSCME lobbyists are now trying to get the deadline extended till the end of the year.

Bring greater equity to the Unemployment Insurance program (HB2555 and SB1350) -- AFSCME sought to enact legislation (HB2555) that would expand UI benefits to those school district and university employees who are laid off in the summer months. However school districts and universities vigorously opposed this measure because of the costs involved.
In addition, Council 31 sought to enact legislation (SB1350) that would extend the time period for cut-off of UI benefits when an employer has locked out its employees. This measure was sparked by the experience of AFSCME members at Heartland Human Services in Effingham who have been locked out by their employer for nearly a year—and whose unemployment benefits expired many months ago. Even though the costs of implementing this bill were minimal, it was vigorously opposed by big business lobbyists who want to strengthen the hand of employers in labor disputes.
Neither HB 2555 nor the content of SB 1350 made it through the General Assembly this year. But AFSCME intends to continue its efforts to enact these important bills.

Improve health care quality for all AFSCME members/support nurse staffing ratios (SB224/HB485) --The American health care system is in crisis. The only real solution is a national program of universal health care—and Council 31 is participating in the AFL-CIO’s nationwide campaign to press for the development and enactment of major health care reform to meet that goal. At the same time, we will seek to address problems that can be tackled at the state level.
To that end, AFSCME has taken up the challenge of enacting legislation to establish required nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in Illinois hospitals and to provide for nurse input into staffing plans. SB224 and HB485 were held in committee pending negotiations with the Illinois Hospital Association, which is fiercely opposing to establishing required staffing levels.
During the coming months, the Coalition for Quality Patient Care, spearheaded by nurses from Resurrection Health Care hospitals who are part of the HEART/AFSCME organizing committee, will be engaging in grassroots activities through the state to build support for this important legislation.

Provide fairness for Corrections health care employees (SB1987) – AFSCME-represented medical vendor employees in DOC and DJJ have made steady progress through their union toward achieving wage parity with state medical personnel in these departments. However, they still have to pay significantly more for their health coverage and do not have a defined benefit pension plan. AFSCME pushed for passage of this legislation that would make employees of corrections medical vendors state employees and enable them to keep their union representation. The legislation met very strong opposition from the vendors (HPL and Wexford), as well as from the Illinois Nurses Association (INA), who effectively kept it from moving forward. The bill’s chief sponsor, Sen. John Sullivan, is very committed to the measure and has pledged to continue to work with the union to move it forward when the legislature reconvenes.

Restore and expand union rights (HB2445) -- Council 31 worked with the Illinois AFL-CIO to pass this omnibus reform of the Illinois public sector labor relations law in order to address the lengthy delays employees have experienced in obtaining union recognition. HB 2445 has passed both houses and now goes to the Governor.

Establish fair mileage reimbursement rules (HB 480) – AFSCME has been pressing for several years now to bring state mileage reimbursement regulations in line with federal protocols which are fairer to employees. HB480, sponsored by Rep. Boland, would accomplish that goal.
HB 480 has passed both houses and now goes to the Governor.

Establish MRSA protections in law (HB185) – Since MRSA infections first emerged as a serious health threat, AFSCME has led the effort to force employers to institute appropriate protocols to prevent the occurrence of such infections. Council 31 supported this legislation to make sure that every workplace in Illinois state government has appropriate employee protections in place to prevent the spread of MRSA. HB185 has passed both houses and now goes to the Governor.

Preserve Tamms CC role as IDOC safety valve (HB2633) – HB 2633 would have made it more difficult to transfer dangerous inmates to Tamms, as well as barred the incarceration of inmates with mental health problems at Tamms. It also established more clearly-defined procedures for inmates to be moved out of Tamms.
AFSCME opposed this measure as originally introduced because it could have greatly increased the danger at other correctional facilities throughout the system by making it more difficult to swiftly move an inmate who presents an immediate danger to Tamms. IDOC also opposed the bill. The sponsor, Rep. Hamos, has sought to bring together concerned parties—including AFSCME—to see if a compromise can be reached. The bill was never called for a vote, but discussions regarding how to changes procedures relative to the operation of Tamms are continuing.

Anti-Privatization bill blocked – As originally introduced SB 1602 was intended to place strong restrictions on the ability of state government to contract out bargaining unit work. It passed the Senate by a wide margin. However, Rep. Jack Franks, the bill’s sponsor in the House, allowed the Quinn Administration—which opposed the bill as introduced—to strip out all of the language restricting privatization and to substitute an unrelated measure.

Agency restructuring – In the final hours of the legislative session, a bill (HB 88) was enacted that would override Gov. Quinn’s Executive Order merging the Department of Natural Resources and the Historic Preservation Agency. It is not known whether the Governor will sign this bill; if not, then his EO will stand.

Legislation seeks alternatives to incarceration (SB1289) – In the final few weeks of the legislative session, a bill was introduced to foster greater use of alternative sentencing programs at the local level. While AFSCME believes that such programs can play a valuable role in the criminal justice system, the Union opposed the bill as originally introduced because it required that such programs be operated by private agencies (rather than counties or other local governments) and because it explicitly stated that funding for such programs would have to be reallocated from state correctional facilities. IDOC is supporting the bill. AFSCME lobbyists were successful in getting the bill amended to address the Union’s key concerns. As amended it will allow counties and other public entities to operate alternative sentencing programs and it will not require that funding for such programs be reallocated from state correctional facilities. SB 1289 has passed both houses and now goes to the Governor.

“Fumigation” bill (SB1333) – Legislation introduced to terminate state employees in certain exempt positions stalled in the Senate. Originally, this legislation covered all Rutan-exempt employees, but it has since been amended to only cover those who are both Rutan-exempt and exempt from the Personnel Code and to exclude bargaining unit employees. SB 1333 also codifies several the of the agency restructuring proposed by Governor Quinn via executive orders.


Employee privacy jeopardized – AFSCME strongly supports real reforms that would prevent the kind of gross ethical violations committed by the Ryan and Blagojevich administrations that have given state government such a black eye. However, the Union had to oppose Senate Amendment 6 to SB1013, Gov. Quinn’s ethics bill, because it would require the disclosure of the name and related information of any state employee who is disciplined before his or her due process rights are exhausted. In another blatant assault on employee privacy, HB 35, which provides for the establishment of a web portal listing all state employees’ names and salaries, passed both houses by wide margins. AFSCME was the only organization to oppose this measure. Amendment 6 to SB 1013 was never called for a vote. HB 35 has passed both houses and goes to the Governor.

Employee protection included in bill to privatize lottery management (HB255/HB2424) – This legislation is primarily intended to jump start a massive capital program to repair and rebuild our state’s infrastructure. However, it also includes language to allow for the privatization of the management of the Illinois lottery. AFSCME pushed for inclusion of strong employee protection language for lottery employees in this measure, but it was not included in the original bill that passed. However, as a result of the Union’s efforts, employee protection language was added to HB 2424 which is the budget implementation bill for the capital program.

Legislation To undermine sheriff’s deputies blocked (SB1817) – This measure would have encouraged the use of volunteer auxiliary deputies in county sheriff’s departments. AFSCME opposed the legislation which stalled in committee and was never called for a vote.

Measure sought to block expansion of services (SB682) – This legislation would have required that new state programs (or expansions of current programs) include a specific funding source. It would have made it very difficult to expand important services and made it even harder to achieve the additional funding needed to raise the wages of AFSCME members in community disability agencies. The measure passed the Senate by a wide margin, but at AFSCME’s request, the House sponsor (Rep. Will Burns) agreed to hold the bill

Limit outsourcing of DNA testing (SB2010) – Under the Blagojevich Administration, rather than hire needed staff, the State Police Crime Lab sent much of its DNA testing to outside labs—which often botched the job. This measure would make it more difficult for such outsourcing to occur. This legislation passed both houses and awaits approval by the Governor.

Campaign finance “reform” (HB7) – This very complicated and controversial legislation was adopted by both houses in the final days of the legislative session and could have a significant impact on labor’s participation in electoral politics. AFSCME is still analyzing the bill to determine whether it will level the playing field to enable working families to have a stronger voice in the political arena—or whether it will make it more difficult for that voice to be heard.

Mandatory Overtime Agreement

June 1, 2009


I am very pleased to report to you that AFSCME has taken a major step forward in addressing one of the most critical problems that our members face. Excessive amounts of mandated overtime have plagued our members ever since Governor Ryan’s early retirement program led to a mass exodus of state employees.

The problem was further exacerbated by former Governor Blagojevich who drove staffing levels down to a point where mandates became a part of everyday operations.

As you know, the union has vigorously pursued a solution to this problem first in the legislature and then at the bargaining table.

Despite hitting a brick wall in our initial efforts, we were not deterred and introduced legislation to deal with the overtime problem once again in this legislative session.

The Quinn administration insisted that, while recognizing the seriousness of the problem, it was opposed to a legislative solution. The administration did, however, express a willingness to sit down and try to work out an agreement outside of the legislative realm.

In response to the Governor’s concerns, the sponsors of the legislation urged us to try to work out an agreement with the administration.

The result is the enclosed agreement which includes the following provisions:

1) A goal of reducing overtime work by at least 30% in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009 and by 50% in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010 from the level of the fiscal year which ends on June 30, 2009.

2) An acknowledgement that mandatory overtime should not be routinely assigned and the right to refuse mandation effective July 1, 2010, unless there are circumstances beyond the employer’s control, e.g. last minute call off or a major disruption such as hurricane, flood, riot, etc.

3) A commitment, subject to budgetary appropriation, to have a minimum net increase in the number of staff hired in each agency to alleviate the overtime problem and to monitor progress on a regular basis to determine if additional staff are needed.

4) A prohibition against compromising security or care in order to meet overtime goals and a requirement that staff to patient ratios not be reduced or mandatory posts eliminated without prior notification and a meeting with the union.

5) Existing overtime procedures are not changed by the agreement, and facilities cannot reduce the number of employees permitted to take days off.

6) The employer will alter its hiring procedures to fill vacancies in a more expeditious manner in order to maintain targeted staffing goals.

It has been a long, hard road, one which required the union to keep constant pressure on lawmakers to ensure that the issue drew their attention. At last, through persistence at the grassroots level, in Springfield, and through the media, our message was driven home, and there will be relief for our members who suffered through this nightmare of mandatory overtime on a routine basis.

The uncertainty regarding the state budget will complicate implementation of the agreement, but the Council has every intention of pressing forward to make sure it happens. The issue is too important, and we’ve worked too hard to let this opportunity slip away now.

To all of you and your members who made phone calls on the legislation, who personally lobbied your legislators to bring the problem to their attention, or spoke out in the press about the burdens of mandatory overtime, let this agreement be a reminder that problems of this magnitude are not easily solved, but if we persist, we can prevail.

Sincerely,
Henry Bayer, Executive Director
Roberta Lynch, Deputy Director

AFSCME NEWS for PSA Option 6 Employees

EET Restored

As a result of the Unfair Labor Practice charge we filed, AFSCME Council 31 and the State of Illinois resolved the issue of Earned Equivalent Time. Up until July 1, 2007, EET not used by the end of the fiscal year was lost. This changed on July 1, 2007, when employees were first allowed to carry their EET over into the next fiscal year. Under the resolution, all EET employees had accumulated since July 1, 2007 will be restored. The memorandum of understanding is attached to this update.

“Fumigation” Bill (SB1333) Update

Speaker Madigan is pushing hard for passage of legislation that would terminate state employees in certain exempt positions. Originally, his legislation covered all Rutan-exempt employees, but it has since been amended to only cover those who are both Rutan-exempt and exempt from the Personnel Code and to exclude bargaining unit employees. AFSCME is further seeking to exclude employees who are included in petitions for union representation pending at the labor board from this legislation.

Salary Grade Negotiations

At this point, we have not reached a resolution for your salary grade. We remain hopeful that we will reach an agreement. However, if we cannot, your arbitration hearing on this issue is scheduled for June 9th.

Labor Board Update

The Labor Board has denied AFSCME’s petition to merge PSA Option 6 employees into RC-62/63. The Union had pointed out to the Board that it was SEIU, not AFSCME that petitioned for a separate unit. Since employees voted overwhelmingly to be represented by AFSCME, they should be represented as AFSCME had originally petitioned. The Labor Board’s denial means that RC-150 employees (PSA Option 6) do not have bidding rights to RC-62/63, though this is something we can seek in future bargaining with the State. Employees do have bidding rights to other Option 6 positions and, of course they have increased job security. In the event of a threatened layoff, they would have bumping rights into other AFSCME represented bargaining units, as well as rights to vacant positions in other AFSCME bargaining units. The RC-63 contract language still applies to RC-150 employees, but as a separate bargaining unit. AFSCME Council 31 will continue to seek to negotiate the expansion of your rights with the State.

Earned Equivalent Time Resolution and PSA Option 6 Update

As you may be aware, many Merit Compensation employees are not eligible for overtime, but earn something called “earned equivalent time” (EET). EET is similar to comp time, but is earned at straight time and only after 40 hours actually worked in a week. Several months ago, AFSCME learned that the state has been unilaterally taking accumulated EET away from newly organized employees as they won AFSCME representation. AFSCME Council 31 filed an unfair labor practice charge against the state challenging the state’s right to unilaterally change a condition of employment. We have now reached an agreement with the state which will resolve our unfair labor practice charge.

Up until July 1, 2007, EET not used by the end of the fiscal year was lost. This changed on July 1, 2007, when MC employees were first allowed to carry their EET over into the next fiscal year. Under the resolution, all EET (after July 1, 2007) that employees had at the time they became represented by AFSCME will be restored. Agencies should be adjusting employees leave balances to reflect the restoration of their EET.

The attached update is going out to all PSA Option 6 employees. The EET memorandum of understanding is attached to the update. Please note that the application of the EET MOU is not limited to only PSA Option 6’s. It covers all MC employees organized since July 1, 2007 who were previously eligible for EET. As we continue to organize new titles, it is also important to note that this MOU will apply prospectively as well. You should take this opportunity to urge any recently organized employees who have not yet signed a membership card that they should do so.

Sincerely,
Mike Newman, Associate Director
AFSCME Council 31