Court rules for pension fairness

See pages 2 and 3

#163 • DECEMBER 2014 - JANUARY 2015O N T H E

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Illinois Council 31—American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees—AFL-CIO

2 On the Move December 2014 - January 2015

BY ROBERTA LYNC H

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Standing our groundon pensions

On the MoveAFSCME Illinois On the Move ispublished six times annually by Illinois Public Employees Council31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO. Send correspondence to:dmiller@afscme31.orgor: AFSCME, On the Move, 205 N. Michigan Ave., 21st Floor,Chicago, IL 60601

Roberta Lynch, Executive DirectorMike Newman, Deputy DirectorDavid Miller, EditorDolores Wilber, Designer

Council 31 Executive Board OfficersSTATE EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENTLori Laidlaw, Dixon CCLocal 817CITY/COUNTY EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENTCarmin Willis-Goodloe, Cook County Hospital, Local 1111PRIVATE SECTOR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTYolanda Woods, Hope InstituteLocal 2481UNIVERSITY EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENTDorinda Miller, U of I Clericals, Local 3700SECRETARYPat Ousley, Department of Employment Security, Local 1006TREASURERRob Fanti, Sheridan CC, Local 472

Board MembersSTATE CONFERENCE BOARD CO-CHAIRS

Gloria Arseneau, (RC-14), Northeastern Illinois State Employees,Local 2794Kathy Lane, (RC-63), Northwestern Illinois State Employees,Local 448

REGION I VICE-PRESIDENTS

(COOK AND LAKE COUNTIES)

Safiya Felters, Department of Health-care and Family Services, Local 2854Ellen Larrimore, Northeastern IllinoisUniversity, Local 1989Steve Mittons, Department of Childrenand Family Services, Local 2081John Rayburn, Chicago Public Library,Local 1215Kobie Robinson, Cook County Asses-sor’s Office, Local 3835

REGION II VICE-PRESIDENTS

(NOTHERN ILLINOIS)Garry Cacciapaglia, city of Rockford,Local 1058Gary Ciaccio, Shapiro DC, Local 29Dave Delrose, Will County, Local 1028Ralph Portwood, Stateville CC, Local 1866Ruby Robinson, Illinois State Employ-ees, Local 2833Yurvette Simmons, United CerebralPalsy of Will County, Local 3237

REGION III VICE- PRESIDENTS

(CENTRAL ILLINOIS)Mark Kerr, McFarland Zone Center,Local 2767Gary Kroeschel, Sangamon CountyState Employees, Local 2224Matt Lukow, Springfield Area StateEmployees, Local 1964David Morris, Illinois State Employees,Local 805Steve Nordyke, Department of Health-care and Family Services, Local 2600Trudy Williams, Fulton County SheriffsDept. & Courthouse, Local 3433

REGION IV VICE-PRESIDENTS

(SOUTHERN ILLINOIS)Chris Milton, Madison County, Local 799Duane Montgomery, Metro-East StateEmployees, Local 1805Cary Quick, Choate MH/DC, Local 141Mike Turner, Southern Illinois Depart-ment of Corrections, Local 415

TrusteesCarlene Erno, Illinois State Employees,Local 2615Tom Minick, Moline Board of Education, Local 672Miguel Vasquez, Aurora Sanitary District, Local 3297

Retiree Chapter 31 RepresentativeLarry Brown

WHILE SOCIAL SECURITY REMAINSTHE BEDROCK OF FINANCIAL STABIL-ITY FOR THE ELDERLY, IT PROVIDESonly enough to ward off pover-ty. To assure that the goldenyears actually have a little bit ofgleam, workers have alwayscounted on supplementalretirement income, primarilyin the form of employer-pro-vided pension benefits.

This has been particularlytrue in the public sector wherejobs often paid less than in theprivate sector, but benefits,especially guaranteed retire-ment benefits, were a key ele-ment of the compensationpackage.

“Guaranteed” is the opera-tive word. The defined-benefitpensions that were once sowidespread in this countryassure a fixed monthly benefitthat cannot be altered no mat-ter how long a person lives. Yetit is a historical irony of thefirst order that as life spanshave steadily lengthened, aconcerted effort is now under-way to erase such pensionplans from the employmentlandscape.

Over the past threedecades, many private-sectoremployers have wantonly shedtheir defined benefit plans infavor of risky 401(k) plans thatdo not provide a fixed monthlyincome. Not coincidentally,this massive transfer of liabilityfor retirement security frombig employers to lone individu-als occurred in conjunctionwith the steep decline of unionrepresentation in the privatesector, and – another non-coincidence – the rapid growthof a financial sector that madebillions off these new forms ofretirement investment.

So we come to the pitchedbattle raging today to preservedefined-benefit pensions –guaranteed retirement security– for millions of employees atevery level of government.

Because union representa-tion—with its potential for col-lective action--remains wide-spread in the public sector,public employees have not pas-sively surrendered their pen-sions, but rather have risen upto defend them.

Nowhere is this battlemore hard-fought than here inIllinois, where both state andlocal governments have failedspectacularly in their responsi-bility to make pension fundcontributions – even asemployees have faithfullymade theirs. Rather than hon-estly confront the revenuemeasures needed to pay forgovernment services vital tothe well-being of citizens,politicians simply “borrowed”from employees’ retirementfunds.

Now that the piper mustbe paid, those officials aresinging a different song. Sud-denly it’s all about fiscalresponsibility, with a chorusthat seeks to shift the blameonto the only trustworthy partyin this whole mess – publicemployees themselves.

The state’s corporate elite,with a multi-million dollar warchest, launched a campaignwith a single goal: drasticrestructuring, possibly evenelimination, of public pensionplans. Political leaders of bothparties quickly climbed on thebandwagon.

“Illinois is broke” becametheir mantra – and publicemployees became their scape-goats. Legislation to slash pen-sion benefits to the bonequickly emerged in the statelegislature.

In response, AFSCMEhelped lead the way in forgingan unprecedented coalition oflabor unions representing pub-lic sector employees. Teachersand state employees, as well aspolice officers, firefighters andother local government work-

ers came together to form theWe Are One Illinois coalition.

Pooling resources anddeveloping joint organizingstrategies, the union coalitionacted swiftly to redefine theissue in the public mind. Itdeveloped a major public rela-tions campaign of its own, withcompelling TV ads that put ahuman face on the nurses,EMT’s, teachers and otheremployees who serve the pub-lic every day and making thecase that it was politicians, notemployees or retirees, who haddriven Illinois into such a deepfiscal hole.

The coalition alsolaunched the most massivegrassroots lobbying effort everseen in Springfield, arguingthat pension cuts not onlyharmed workers’ retirementsecurity, but also violated theprotections embedded in thestate’s constitution. Unionmembers flooded legislatorswith phone calls and e-mails,visited them, picketed themand, more than once, packedthe Capitol rotunda in protest.

For two years, this inten-sive pressure beat back thestate’s entire power structure.And when that elite finally didsucceed in pushing through apension-cutting bill in early2014, the battle didn’t endthere. We Are One Illinoisimmediately headed to court,securing an injunction thatprevented the new law frombeing implemented.

In November, union mem-bers won the biggest round yetwhen the circuit courtdeclared that law null and void“in its entirety,” directly affirm-ing that public employee pen-sions are protected by the stateconstitution.

As public employees nowawait a final ruling from theIllinois Supreme Court, it isworth reflecting on how farwe’ve come and how we gothere. Working togetherthrough our unions, publicemployees had a voice in thepolitical, legislative and legalsystems – and with that voicewe have clearly asserted thatdignity and security in retire-ment is vital for all.

As life expectancy increases and moreAmericans can assume not years, butdecades, of retirement, concerns

about how we will sustain ourselves over thattime have begun to grow as well.

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When attacks on retirement security came to Illinois,public employees fought back

STATE AND LOCAL

GOVERNMENTS

HAVE FAILED

SPECTACULARLY

IN THEIR

RESPONSIBILITY

TO MAKE

PENSION FUND

CONTRIBUTIONS

On the Move December 2014 - January 2015 3

Even before theGeneral Assem-bly passed leg-

islation cutting thepensions of state andstate universityemployees and teach-ers, many predictedthe law’s fate wouldultimately be decidedby the IllinoisSupreme Court.

THAT PREDICTION IS NOW COM-ING TRUE: ON NOVEMBER 28,ATTORNEY GENERAL LISAMadigan notified the courtshe would appeal a circuitcourt ruling that declared thelaw, passed as SB 1, “unconsti-tutional and void in itsentirety.”

What few predicted,though, was how quickly thecase would reach such apoint. Thanks to two courtrulings that came down deci-sively in favor of publicemployees and retirees, alegal battle that once threat-ened to last years could nowbe over in a matter of months.

“AFSCME and otherunions in the We Are One Illi-nois coalition always believed

these attacks on publicemployees’ retirement securi-ty were unconstitutional,”Council 31 Executive DirectorRoberta Lynch said. “So weare very pleased at how swiftlyand decisively the courts ruledin favor of our core argumentthat the state constitutionmeans what it says.”

Two strong decisions

THE STAGE FOR SUCH A FAST

resolution was set in July,when the state SupremeCourt overturned a lowercourt’s dismissal of a separatelawsuit challenging a law thatallowed the state to set higherpremium costs on retirees.The court’s decision restedprimarily on its support forthe “plain language” of thestate constitution’s pensionprotection clause, whichholds that retiree benefitscannot be “diminished orimpaired.” (For more on thiscase, see Retiree Notes, pg.14)

Knowing that a bipartisanmajority of the court backedsuch a strong interpretationof the constitution’s language,lawyers for the We Are OneIllinois coalition went intoaction. They filed a motionasking the circuit court judgehearing the lawsuit againstthe pension-cutting law to

apply the Supreme Court’sreasoning and declare thatlaw, which impacts active andretired members of SERS,SURS and TRS, unconstitu-tional.

Agreeing to such amotion would override thestate’s attempt to invoke“police powers” based on theargument that the state’s fis-cal woes were sufficient to jus-tify violating the constitution’spension protection clause.

On November 21, relyingheavily on the reasoning usedby the Supreme Court earlierin the year, Sangamon CountyCircuit Court Judge John Belzagreed with the coalition’smotion for summary judg-ment, striking down the law.Belz also imposed a perma-

nent stay on the law’s imple-mentation.

“The Court finds that, onits face, the Act impairs anddiminishes the benefits ofmembership in State retire-ment systems in multipleways,” Belz wrote in his deci-sion. “Illinois Courts haveconsistently held over timethat the Illinois PensionClause’s protection againstthe diminishment or impair-ment of pension benefits isabsolute and without excep-tion.”

Belz also zeroed in on thestate’s “police powers” argu-ment, finding that it provided“no legally valid defense.”

“The Pension ProtectionClause contains no exception,restriction or limitation for an

exercise of the State’s policepowers or reserved sovereignpowers,” Belz wrote. “Illinoiscourts, therefore, have reject-ed the argument that theState retains an implied orreserved power to diminish orimpair pension benefits.”

The final step?

AS ON THE MOVE WENT TOpress, the Supreme Court hadannounced plans to take upthe attorney general’s appealin March. At that time,AFSCME and its partners inthe We Are One Illinois coali-tion will be ready.

The union is also readyfor other attacks on retire-ment security – the state’spension shortfall remains aserious problem and somepoliticians, including incom-ing Gov. Bruce Rauner, haveindicated a clear hostilitytoward defined-benefit pen-sions.

“We hope that the newgovernor and the GeneralAssembly will work with orga-nized labor in good faith tosolve the problems facing ourstate,” Lynch said. “But makeno mistake: Whether it’s inthe Capitol or the courts, weand our allies will fight anyplan that undermines theretirement security of hard-working public employees.”

Union challenge to pension cutstakes quick path to Supreme Court

FILED DEC. 16, THE LAWSUITARGUES THAT ACTIVE AND RETIRED

CITY EMPLOYEES EARNED THEIR

promised pension in retire-ment and always paid theirshare into the pension fund.Meanwhile, politicians failed tomake adequate payments andnow seek to force workers andretirees to bear the burden ofcuts alone.

As is the case in the legalfight against pension cuts forteachers, state and state univer-sity employees, the lawsuit chal-

lenging City of Chicago pen-sion cuts argues that the law,passed as SB 1922, violates thestate constitution’s pension pro-tection clause, which holds thatretiree benefits cannot be“diminished or impaired.”

“The constitution saysclearly that pension benefitscannot be diminished orimpaired, but that’s exactlywhat this legislation does to themodest pensions earned by cityworkers and retirees,” AFSCMECouncil 31 Executive Director

Roberta Lynch said. The cuts to the pensions of

City of Chicago employees andretirees, backed by MayorRahm Emanuel, were passed inApril over the strong objectionsof AFSCME and other unions.

The plan would not onlycut benefits for active andretired city employees, but alsoincrease employee contribu-tions and raise the retirementage for some workers. The cutsin the law would reduce thevalue of a pension for many cityworkers by 30 percent over twodecades.

Joining AFSCME in thelawsuit are the Chicago Teach-ers Union, the Illinois NursesAssociations and TeamstersLocal 700, as well as 12 individ-ual plaintiffs – several of themAFSCME members – who workin or are retired from citylibraries, schools, and thehealth, aviation, transportation

and streets and sanitationdepartments.

However, several otherunions, including SEIU Local73, supported the changesembodied in SB 1922.

The cuts are especially dev-astating because city employeesare not eligible for Social Secu-rity – their pension is often thesole source of income duringretirement – and because theEmanuel administration hassimultaneously pushed to slashsubsidies that kept health careaffordable for city retirees, par-ticularly those not eligible forMedicare.

“The proposals put for-ward by the Emanuel adminis-tration are nothing less than acomplete dismantling of thesafety net for many retired cityemployees,” Lynch said. “Afterdecades of service to the city,employees should have moreawaiting them than skyrocket-

ing health care costs and bene-fits that are worth less and lessevery year.”

In the time since SB 1922passed, the legitimacy of pen-sion-cutting legislation hasbeen cast into doubt. After thestate Supreme Court, in a caseon state retiree health carebenefits, indicated strong sup-port for the “plain language” ofthe pension protection clause,a state Circuit Court relied onthat reasoning to strike downpension cuts for downstateteachers and state and stateuniversity employees. That caseis now before the SupremeCourt (see related story on thispage).

Lawyers representing theplaintiffs will seek an injunctionto prevent the legislation fromtaking effect on January 1, 2015as scheduled. The initial hear-ing in the case was set for Dec.29.

AFSCME, other unions, sue tooverturn City of Chicago pensioncuts

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AFSCME, and three other unions –along with 12 active and retiredemployees, including AFSCME mem-

bers – have filed a lawsuit in Cook CountyCircuit Court seeking to overturn a law thatwould cut the pensions of City of Chicagoemployees and retirees.

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4 On the Move December 2014 - January 2015

Looming state budget hole putsjobs, services at risk

The clock willbe tickingtoward layoffs

and closures oncethe new GeneralAssembly convenesand Bruce Rauner issworn in as governor.

GOV. PAT QUINN’S DEFEAT IN

THE NOVEMBER ELECTION TOOK

THE WIND OUT OF THE SAILS OF

an effort to extend theincome tax rates passed in2011. With that went theopportunity to pass a robuststate budget that would haveallowed for improved services,more jobs and possiblereopening of closed facilities.

Instead, Illinois will con-front the prospect of a drasti-cally trimmed-down state gov-ernment where services andthe people who rely on themwill suffer – unless the legisla-ture and the new governorcan come to an agreement to

substantially boost revenues.“Too many of the politi-

cians in Springfield see thissituation as some kind ofgamesmanship,” Council 31legislative director JoannaWebb-Gauvin said. “But we’regoing to remind lawmakersthat there will be real, severeconsequences throughout thestate if revenues aren’trestored.”

Without any action, cur-rent-year revenue will fall by$1.6 billion, the impact ofwhich will begin to be feltwithin a few months. InMarch, the Department ofCorrections will start to runout of personal services funds,which includes money forstaff salaries. Personal servicedollars in the Department ofHuman Services will start torun low in May. Some essen-tial services, such as earlychildhood education, will seesteep funding shortages asearly as January.

The funding shortfall willdramatically increase afterthat, hitting $5 billion in the

following year.“If we go into the next fis-

cal year without a solution toprovide more revenue, layoffscould be widespread,” Webb-Gauvin said.

Waiting for leadership

DURING HIS CAMPAIGN FOR GOV-ernor, Bruce Rauner said hewanted to see the currentincome tax rates rolled back.However, he declined to provide specifics on timing,whether he would seek another source of revenue, orwhat kinds of cuts he wouldpursue.

Now, only a few weeksfrom taking office, Raunerhas still refused to get intospecifics on the budget.

At a press conference inDecember, Rauner expressedsurprised about what hecalled “booby traps” in thestate budget.

“The deficit is far worsethan has been discussed,”Rauner said. “Our financial

condition here in Illinois isdire. It is very bad. Worsethan has been reported.Worse than has been dis-cussed publicly.”

Yet Rauner’s feigned sur-prise rings hollow unless hereally hasn’t been paying anyattention to the state’s fiscalcrisis – the “booby traps” he’slamented have been widelyreported in the media and byseveral civic groups.

Rauner has been trying tolay the blame for the state’s

fiscal troubles on “misman-agement,” but the numbersdon’t back him up. The expi-ration of the tax increaseleaves an enormous hole inthe budget that no one couldlegitimately claim can bemade up through better man-agement.

Time to pay attention

ONCE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYreconvenes and Rauner takesoffice, the budget battle couldbegin to move very quickly. Inorder to protect services andjobs, AFSCME members willneed to pay close attentionand be ready to take actionquickly.

“We need to make it veryclear to lawmakers that thefocus here should be on pro-tecting vital services and goodjobs our state needs,” Webb-Gauvin said. “Whether it’sthrough phone calls, e-mailsor visits to the Capitol, that’sthe message that must getthrough.”

Community disability agencies fear cuts

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GOVERNOR-ELECT BRUCERAUNER HAS INSISTED THAT HE

WILL NOT ALLOW THE CURRENT

income tax rates to remain inplace, opening up a miles-wide gap in the state’s budgetduring the current fiscalyear – and next year as well.

So even as AFSCME anddisability agencies continue topress for wage increases fordirect support personnel(DSPs), those agencies arenow facing the very realthreat of cutbacks and evenlayoffs.

“In Springfield, this is apolitical fight, but it has real,human consequences,” Coun-cil 31 public policy directorAnne Irving said. “A cut infunding to these agencieswould force direct support

staff to continue to struggleunder the poverty line – ifthey’re able to keep their jobsat all.”

With so much on the line,AFSCME will join with otherconcerned groups to press forrestoring the tax rates thatexpired on January 1.

The union has joinedwith employers and advocatesto form the Care Campaign,an effort that has already suc-ceeded in raising awareness ofthe vital work performed bydirect support providers, thefinancial pressures placed onthem and the importance ofretaining quality, experiencedemployees who form tight-knit bonds with the individu-als they support.

When the General Assem-

bly reconvenes, The CareCampaign will press not onlyfor a responsible budget, but also for a long-term planaimed at bringing DSP wagesabove the poverty line. It supports legislation thatwould immediately raisewages by $1 an hour and ulti-mately bring them up to $13an hour.

Prior to the legislature’sadjournment, The Care Cam-

paign circulated a letter tolawmakers illustrating the dif-ficulties faced by direct sup-port providers.

“Many of these workersand their families have to fallback on public benefits suchas Medicaid and food stamps,creating additional expendi-tures for state government,”the letter noted. “The lack ofadequate wages for employeeswho perform the challenging

work of sup-porting indi-viduals withdisabilitiesresults inhigh employ-ee turnover,which in turnnegativelyimpacts the quality of servicesprovided.”

While2014 is end-ing on a dis-appointingnote, theeffort tobring fair

wages to direct support pro-viders will continue in 2015.

“These agencies shouldnot have to compete withfast-food restaurants onwages and should not be putin a place where they have to cut staff in order to sur-vive,” Irving said. “Direct sup-port providers and the peoplewho depend on them deservebetter.”

The outcome of the race forgovernor will be felt throughout Illinois, but especially at non-profit

agencies that care for people with developmental disabilities.

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Direct supportproviders may haveto lobby legislatorsagain to preventcuts to funding forcommunity disabili-ty agencies.

“We need to make it very clear to lawmakersthat the focus here

should be on protectingvital services and goodjobs our state needs.” —Joanna Webb-Gauvin

On the Move December 2014 - January 2015 5

When mem-bers of theAFSCME

State BargainingCommittee convenedfor the first time toprepare for nextyear’s contract nego-tiations, the outcomeof the race for gover-nor was still fresh ontheir minds – BruceRauner had won thecontest only ninedays earlier.

THOUGH HE’S TONED DOWN HIS

RHETORIC SINCE HIS ELECTION

WIN, RAUNER SPENT MONTHS OF

his campaign vilifying publicemployees and inveighingagainst labor unions.

Rauner has said nothingabout what approach he’lltake to collective bargainingwith his own employees, mak-ing it vital that the state bar-gaining committee – and allstate employeesin the union – beactive, involvedand informedfrom the outset.

“This isgoing to be animmensely chal-lenging time forour union,”Council 31 Exec-utive DirectorRoberta Lynchtold the commit-tee. “We have tobe prepared forwhatever is aboutto come.”

Accomplish-ing that willdepend largelyon MemberAction Teamswithin each local,Lynch said.

“We need tobe sure thatthere’s a struc-ture in place to keep everymember informed of what’shappening as contract negoti-ations get underway,” shestressed. “If we do that we willbe well-prepared for whateverhappens.”

Ready for the challenge

THE BARGAINING COMMITTEE IS

composed of more than 200representatives elected fromevery state local union.

Much of the committee’sfirst meeting was taken up

with reviewing scores of pro-posals that had been submit-ted by union members. Thecommittee split into five work-shops, each of which wasassigned to analyze a portionof the proposals. After votingwhether to accept or rejecteach proposal, each workshoppresented its report to the fullcommittee for debate, amend-ment and approval.

Bargaining committeemembers walked away fromthe meeting with a clear senseof purpose and an awareness

of the task confronting them.“I’m expecting the fight

of our life in terms of ourcontract,” said Arnold Black,president of Local 2971. “Thenew governor has already saidwe’re overpaid and that hewants to do things like theydid in Wisconsin.”

Black said his local wasalready putting its MemberAction Team to work and dis-tributing a local newsletter aspart of a broader strategy tokeep members informed.

“The message I’m bring-

ing back to members is to stayinformed, to get involved,” hesaid.

Bridget Mittons, a bar-gaining committee memberfrom Local 2854, said she’sconfident the bargainingteam will stand strong, butdoesn’t know what to expectfrom the other side of thetable. She believes keepingopen the lines of communica-tion will be vital to a success-ful negotiation.

“I think it’s really criticalto get the feedback from the

membership to see what theyreally want and what they’reOK with,” she said. “What areyou willing to fight for?What’s most important toyou?” Mittons said

The first meeting withnegotiators from the Rauneradministration won’t takeplace until February. That’swhen the bargaining teammay begin to get a clearersense of the Rauner adminis-tration’s approach to negoti-ating a new contract. And thatis when the real work of bar-gaining will begin.

“We stand on the shoul-ders of so many people whocame before us and helped toimprove the lives of countlessworkers” Lynch said. Ourresponsibility to them and toeach other is to make surethat this union continues tobe a force for fairness andprogress for all the memberswe represent.”

State negotiations set to start with new governor

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Keeping open the lines of

communication will be vital.

6 On the Move December 2014 - January 2015

Chicago elections stir political debate

Even though the dust hasbarely settled

from the November elections, the Feb. 24mayoral and alder-manic elections inChicago will presentimportant choicesfor union membersin the state’s largestcity.

AS WITH THE RECENT STATEWIDE

ELECTIONS, CAMPAIGN CONTRI-BUTION CAPS HAVE PROVEN

meaningless in the face of über-wealthy individuals whofind ways to pour big bucks into the campaign coffers of the politicians who do their bidding.

While Mayor RahmEmanuel’s administration andcity employees came to anagreement on a new contractlast summer, AFSCME has hada frequently rocky relationshipwith the first-term mayor, espe-cially in the early days of histenure when he tried to addressbudget problems by closingmental health clinics and cut-ting library hours. AFSCME hasalso engaged in pitched battleswith the administration overprivatization and cuts to retire-ment benefits.

More recently, Emanuelhas taken some steps to repairhis strained relationship withAFSCME and other unions,including establishing a jointlabor-management task force toexamine how privatized workcan be brought back “in-house”to be performed again by cityemployees.

Emanuel’s popularity inthe city is low. But both of hischallengers – Ald. Bob Fioretti

and Cook County Commission-er Jesus “Chuy” Garcia – faceuphill battles given the mayor’sfundraising advantages.

Emanuel’s apparentstrength heading into the elec-tion, however, means that alder-manic elections have taken onadded importance – the CityCouncil represents the poten-

tial for real debate onimpotant issues.

“The City Council has thepower to alter or even blockparts of the mayor’s agendathat run against the interestsof middle-class families andpublic employees,” said Adrienne Alexander,AFSCME’s City Council lobby-

ist. “We need to ensure theallies we have on the councilstay there, and elect new aldermen who pledge tostand with us.”

The union’s PEOPLE program determines which candidates will be endorsed.Those candidates will be eligi-ble to receive financial assis-

tance and have union volun-teers help them on the ground.

PEOPLE delegates electedby members of Chicago-basedlocals met in early December tobegin the process of makingendorsements. Delegates look at candidates’ voting records

The Quinn administra-tion began efforts to close thecenter in February 2012.Working together, AFSCMEand the MPA succeeded inblocking the movement ofresidents out of the center,effectively putting the closureplan on hold.

During the recent guber-natorial election, BruceRauner pledged to keep thefacility open if he becamegovernor.

“It is irresponsible toclose Murray Center unless

we can make absolutely cer-tain that the most vulnerableresidents are being cared forin an environment that is asgood as – or better than –Murray Center,” Rauner saidin April. “Right now, MurrayCenter is the best option forthese families.”

Soon after being elected,Rauner appeared to reaffirmhis commitment to keepingthe facility open when henamed the president of theMPA to his transition team.

Despite these develop-

ments, many questions sur-round the facility, the peoplewith developmental disabilitieswho live there and the employ-ees who support them.

“Rauner’s statement maymean only a short-termreprieve until he comes up withhis own closure plan and itdoesn’t rule out closing otherstate-run developmental cen-ters,” said Council 31 publicpolicy director, Anne Irving.

The governor-elect’s eva-siveness on revenue addsanother wrinkle – he will takeover state government just asrevenues are set to plungedue to his push to roll backthe income tax rates set in2011.

“Without adequate rev-enue, it would be difficult forthe state to continue the samelevel of care for people withdevelopmental disabilitiesthat exists now,” Irving said.“That puts the entire system –including Murray Center – atrisk.”

Focused on care

EMPLOYEES AT MURRAY CENTERare handling the uncertaintythe same way they alwayshave, by keeping their focuson providing top-level carefor the people with develop-mental disabilities they con-sider family – something theyhope to keep doing well intothe future.

Steve Koppen, presidentof Local 401, which repre-sents frontline employees atMurray Center, said no oneknows what to expect onceRauner is sworn in.

“I can’t tell you what he’s going to do, but it’s ascary situation, not just forMurray Center, but all thestate-operated developmentalcenters” he said. “He said he’s going to keep us open,but he has not said at whatcost. We just hope and prayfor the residents that livehere.”

Murray Center keeps hope alive

The campaign to save Murray Developmental Center in Centraliahas spanned several years, multiple

court rooms, numerous public hearings anddemonstrations of many kinds. It has beenjointly waged by AFSCME, which representsemployees at the facility, and the Murray Par-ents Association, which represents the fami-lies of the center’s residents.

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PEOPLE delegates from Chicago locals metwith and asked questions of city aldermen.

(From left to right) Chicago aldermen John Arena, Nick Sposatoand Roderick Sawyer met with PEOPLE delegates on Dec. 8.

Continued on page 13

On the Move December 2014 - January 2015 7

On November4, AFSCMEmembers

scored some impor-tant wins when leg-islative candidateswho’d stood withpublic employees oncritical issues likepreserving pensionbenefits overcamerelentless attacks tohold on to their legislative seats.

BUT UNION MEMBERS ALSO HADTO FACE UP TO THE FACT THAT

THE NEXT GOVERNOR OF THE

state of Illinois would be theman who had made a fetish ofdemonizing public workers.

Judy Baar Topinka andMike Frerichs both won theirstatewide races with strongbacking from AFSCME. Topin-ka, a Republican who was re-elected as the state comptroller,has been one of the few politi-cians of either party to vigorous-ly defend public employee pen-sions. Sadly, she passed away inearly December (see sidebar).Frerichs, a Democrat, was elect-ed as state treasurer, defeatingTom Cross, an opponent withfar greater name recognition.

AFSCME-backed candi-dates also won in several hotlycontested state legislative races.AFSCME members in the QuadCities went all out to helpincumbent state Rep. MikeSmiddy, who has a 100-percentAFSCME voting record, defeatan extremely well-funded oppo-nent. Rep. Kate Cloonen, fromKankakee, barely squeaked byto victory with big help fromAFSCME members in her dis-trict. And new state Rep. CarolAmmons won handily in Cham-paign with strong backing fromAFSCME.

Top of the ticket

BUT UNIONS DID NOT FARE SOwell at the top of the ticket.Despite an unprecedentedpush by a united labor move-ment, billionaire businessmanBruce Rauner defeated incum-bent governor Pat Quinn. Nodoubt, Rauner’s win was greatlyaided by the $26 million of hisown money that he poured intothe effort, along with millionsmore in donations from thewealthy elite.

The work of AFSCMEmembers and others in orga-nized labor definitely played a

role in making the race compet-itive – Quinn’s share of the votewas far above his low approvalratings – but it wasn’t able toovercome the deep voter dissat-isfaction with the incumbent,especially in the face of a well-funded opposition.

One thing was clear,though: Voters may have reject-ed the status quo, but they werenot embracing Rauner’s anti-worker agenda.

“The final tally in the gover-nor’s race should by no meansbe taken as an indication thatIllinois residents embraceRauner’s aims – especially hisgoals of eliminating pensionbenefits altogether or weaken-ing collective bargainingrights,” Council 31 politicalaffairs director John Cameronsaid.

The proof is in the result oftwo ballot initiatives that unionsworked hard to get passed.

Nearly 70 percent of voters

backed measures calling toimprove public school fundingthrough a higher tax onincomes over a million dollarsand to raise the minimum wage– far more support than for anyone candidate.

“It’s clear that most Illi-noisans are much closer to thelabor movement’s call torebuild an economy that worksfor all citizens than to Rauner’scommitment to aid big busi-ness,” Cameron said.

Despite the vitriol Raunerdirected toward public employ-ees and their unions during thecampaign, AFSCME signaledthat if the new governor wantsto work in good faith on solu-tions to move the state forward,he’ll have a willing negotiatingpartner.

“If the new governor showsthat he values working people,respects our right to have avoice through our unions andtruly seeks to find common

ground, we are prepared to work constructively with himwherever possible, just as we

did with his fellow Republi-cans, Jim Thompson, whosigned collective bargaininginto law in Illinois, and JimEdgar, who worked to improvethe inadequate pensions thatstate employees had at thattime,” the union said in a state-ment released after the elec-tion.

Weeks after the election,and only a few weeks fromRauner’s inauguration, itremains unclear what pathRauner will take once in office.The governor-elect has contin-ued to evade questions fromreporters and others regard-ing what he will do in office.

“There are a lot ofunknowns,” said Local 805President Dave Morris. “Hesaid so many things duringthe election and then wouldchange his mind later on.

“We have to get organizedand we have to get ready,” hesaid. “It’s not going away. TheKoch Brothers and others are

out there and they’re notgoing to stop.”

While state and state uni-versity employeeswill feel thestrongest impactof whatever agen-da Rauner pur-sues, all publicemployees shouldbe prepared –Rauner’s mentors,Wisconsin Gov.Scott Walker andformer IndianaGov. MitchDaniels, pursued

policies that hurt all publicemployees, and all unions.

“We’ve got to take noticeand we’ve got to pay atten-tion. We’re going to have tofight right alongside stateemployees,” said Garry Cac-ciapaglia, president of Local1058, which represents City ofRockford employees.

The good news is that theunion is better prepared forwhatever challenges it mayface in the coming years.

“AFSCME membersknocked on doors, madephone calls, talked to theirfriends and families, andhelped to bring out the vote,”Cameron said. “It wasn’tenough to overcome the oddsin the very tough gubernatori-al contest. But it was enough –and then some – to lay amuch stronger foundation forwhatever challenges thefuture may hold.”

Election 2014: Some good wins, but one big loss

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AFSCME volunteers hit the streets onElection Day to get out the vote.

Many throughout Illi-nois were shocked and sad-dened to learn of the death ofstate Comptroller Judy BaarTopinka on Dec. 10. Shepassed away following compli-cations from a stroke.

Topinka, a longtimeRepublican officeholder, hadwon a second term as Comp-troller in the November elec-tions. AFSCME proudlyendorsed her in that race, cit-ing her willingness to be oneof the few public officials tostand with public employees inthe fight against pension cuts.

“Judy believed in unions,and often proudly said she wasa card-carrying member oftwo,” Council 31 ExecutiveDirector Roberta Lynch said.“She told the truth about the

hard challenges facing ourstate and didn’t let anyone ofeither party get away with false-ly blaming them on workingpeople, especially those in thepublic service.

“Though Judy Baar Topin-ka is no longer with us,” Lynchcontinued, “her standard ofdecency, sincerity and respectfor working people is neededmore than ever and shouldinspire us all.”

Lane Evans, a longtimemember of Congress repre-senting the 17th District of Illi-nois, passed away Nov. 5 aftera long battle with Parkinson’sdisease.

A true man of the peoplewho insisted on being knownto all simply as Lane, he was achampion of organized labor.

A Vietnam-era veteran, he was a fierce advocate for allwho served in the military.First elected to the U.S. Houseof Representatives in 1982 atthe age of 31, he became arole model to generations ofleaders from Jan Schakowskyand Paul Wellstone, whoserved with him in Congress,through Phil Hare and MikeSmiddy, who worked on hisstaff.

“He cared about the vets.He cared about blue-collarworkers. He’d fight for anyonewho needed his help,” Lane’sfriend and legal guardian,Mike Malmstrom, told theRock Island Argus. “I’d like tothink, because of him, we havea greater nation. People onboth sides of the aisle, whether

they agreed with him or not,respected him.”

In recent years, LaneEvans resided at the HopeCreek Care Center, a publicnursing home owned by Rock Island County where theemployees are members ofAFSCME Local 2025. Lane was a strong supporter ofthe home as a public safety net for all residents ofRock Island County, andfought those trying toµprivatize it until his very lastdays.

“Lane was one of thegreatest individuals I have hadthe privilege of knowing,” stateRep. Smiddy told the Argus.“Thank Heaven for LaneEvans.”

Remembering two friends of public employees

AFSCME and the Illinois labor movement aremourning the loss of two elected officials known fortheir strong support of working people.

8 On the Move December 2014 - January 2015

In 2012, over the strenuous objectionsof mental health advocates andAFSCME, the state closed Tinley Park

Mental Health Center in southern CookCounty and Singer Mental Health Center inRockford. That same year, the City ofChicago ignored protests by a coalition thatincluded AFSCME, community and advoca-cy groups and cut the number of public

mental health clinics in half – only six remain open today.Those closures were part of a decades-long neglect of mental health

services by federal, state and local governments. In Illinois, if lawmakersand incoming Gov. Bruce Rauner do not agree on a way to make up therevenue lost by expiring income tax rates, further cuts could be on theway.The impact of this disturbing trend has fallen squarely on the shoul-

ders of men and women who are not only coping with mental illness, butalso often lack the financial resources or insurance coverage to receivequality care.“People with mental illnesses have been left out in the cold, some-

times literally, by the steady decline in services,” said Jo Patton, Council31’s director of special projects. “Meanwhile, the cuts have put a strainon the facilities that remain and the employees who work there.”

STATE HOSPITALS: UNDERSTAFFED,

LACKING CAPACITYIn the past 20 years, the capacity of the state’s psychiatric hospitals

has declined by more than 60 percent – from more than 3,200 beds in1994 to about 1,200 today. When Singer and Tinley Park were closed, officials promised that

money would “follow the patient.” That hasn’t translated into adequatestaffing levels at other state hospitals, though.“There’s been a constant staffing problem,” said Michelle Hubbard, a

Two years after awave of cuts to mental health

services throughoutthe state,

the system on which somany depend has yet torecover – and may beabout to erode further.

A F T E R T H E C L O S U R E S :

In 2012, Chicago residents and mental health advocatesprotested Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to close six of

the city’s 12 mental health clinics.

“There’s noplace for peopleto go, there’s notenough peoplefor them to talkto, there’s notenough resourcesto allow them to thrive.” — Mindy Zimmerman, Choate Mental Health Center

Mental health safety n

On the Move December 2014 - January 2015 9

social worker at Madden Mental Health Center who had previouslyworked at Tinley Park. “Right now we’re very short on social workersand nurses. It puts a hardship on all of us. We have to work overtime.The staff morale at Madden is, for lack of a better word, the pits.”“We’ve had administration that says it cares about staff, but you give

them all kinds of suggestions on improving the relationship and theywon’t do anything that helps morale,” said Beverly Noble, an activitytherapist at McFarland Mental Health Center.

CHICAGO CUTS HAVEDEVASTATING

CONSEQUENCESWhen Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration closed six of the city’s

12 mental health clinics, advocates warned that many individuals inneed would have a hard time getting access to care.Those predictions have unfortunately come true. With the closures

disproportionately hitting the city’s South Side, many who used the clin-ics had to change their schedules and routines to travel greater distances– a difficult proposition for individuals who are struggling with mentalhealth issues.Some who had depended on the clinics stopped using them entirely,

sometimes with tragic consequences. For example, Jeannette Hanson, awoman who credited the staff at her Beverly/ Morgan Park clinic withhelping her remain employed and fought against its closure, died earlierthis year. Her life became significantly more challenging once mentalhealth services became less accessible.“Her whole support network went away and the city is responsible

for that,” said N’Dana Carter, who meets regularly with a therapist atthe city’s Greater Grand/Mid-South clinic and is a leader of the MentalHealth Movement that is seeking to have the clinics reopened. “Shebecame paranoid and didn’t trust people because the city took her life-line away.”The clinics that remain open are hamstrung in several ways. They

refuse to take patients covered by Medicaid and the administration does

little to make residents aware the services even exist.“The directors ought to be out in the community making sure people

have the benefit of what it is we have to offer,” said Dan Badur, a thera-pist at the Chicago DPH North River Mental Health Center. “Our admin-istrators do not go out into the community to make sure that those inneed of help know where to turn.”

A REVOLVING DOOROutside of Chicago, county mental health services are often a prima-

ry source of care, particularly for people who have left state hospitals.Recently, though, counties haven’t had the resources to provide the helppeople need.“The biggest thing that has happened is that the state has cut back

DHS funding for community mental health services,” said Mark Heyr-mann, a professor at the University of Chicago law school’s Mandel Clin-ic, which provides legal services to people with mental illness. “Whenpeople leave the hospitals there’s almost nowhere else for them to go.”When individuals with mental illness fall through the widening holes

in the safety net, they become more likely to commit crimes and wind upin the criminal justice system, which has become overburdened withinmates who need mental health treatment. In a recent Chicago Tribunecolumn, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart noted that the county jail waseffectively the largest mental health hospital in Illinois.These developments have left employees who work in the mental

health profession frustrated. While the quality of the care at the remain-ing hospitals and clinics is high, breakdowns throughout the systemmean many people come in and out of state hospitals or, even worse, gofrom the hospital to jail.“Whether you go back to your apartment or your group home, if you

don’t have support within the community – whether it’s transportationor access to medicine or a crisis worker – that’s a breakdown of the sys-tem,” said Mindy Zimmerman, a technician at Choate Mental HealthCenter in downstate Illinois. “There’s no place for people to go, there’snot enough people for them to talk to, there’s not enough resources toallow them to thrive.”

“There’s been atremendousamount of

confusion and alot of people getting lost.”

— N’Dana Carter, Mental Health Movement

net suffers in wake of cuts

10 On the Move December 2014 - January 2015

Maryville Academy employees ratify inaugural contract

After more than a year at the

bargaining table,Maryville Academyemployees are nowworking under theprotection of theirfirst union contract.

THE THREE-YEAR CONTRACT

ADDRESSES MANY OF EMPLOYEES’REASONS FOR FORMING A UNION

with AFSCME. It provides fairstandards for discipline, astructured grievance proce-dure and committees that willgive employees greater inputat the workplace. It alsoincludes guaranteed payincreases in each year of theagreement.

Though negotiationswere relatively smooth, theywere also slowed down inMarch when Maryville, a resi-dential program for troubledyouth, announced that itwould close its behavioralhealth hospital. The hospitalwas eventually sold to USHealthVest, a private firm.

The hospital sale tookmanagement’s attention awayfrom negotiations, but eventu-ally the two sides came to anagreement that was ratified by

employees on December 3.“I think we had a really

good bargaining team,” Coun-cil 31 staff representativeKathy Steichen said. “Theywere not on paid time whenwe met for negotiations sothey were committing a lot oftheir free time to participat-ing. That was a big commit-ment.”

That commitment yieldeda contract that bargainingteam members hope willboost morale and reduceturnover, allowing employeesto focus on helping troubledyouth instead of worryingabout whether they will haveto go another year without araise, or will be powerless todo anything about safetyissues.

“We take care of our girlsbut there’s a lot of stress onus,” said Martha Stroger, ayouth care worker who servedon the bargaining team. “Toknow that we’ll be gettingmore money down the roadhelps us out and will make thejob a little easier. Once peo-ple realize they’re going to begetting raises, we’re going tohave fewer people quitting.”

Maryville employees workdaily with children andteenagers who often comefrom broken homes. They’vebeen exposed to domestic vio-lence and addiction at an

early age. Many of them haveanger management issues andwill lash out – verbally andphysically – at staff members.

Those issues will remain,but now employees will haveinput into how they’readdressed. Each of Maryville’sthree facilities will have a safe-ty committee, as well as a joint

labor-management committeethat will focus on matters ofmutual concern not laid outin the contract.

The contract also con-tains language aimed at end-ing erratic scheduling andinconsistent policies that hadmade work difficult.

“Some of the policies that

are put into place by the con-tract won’t allow supervisorsand management to get awaywith a lot of the things theywere doing in the past,” saidMargurite Davis, a licensedpractical nurse who was onthe bargaining team.

Adjusting to a new reality

MANY MARYVILLE EMPLOYEES

are new to the experience ofbeing union members and therights they have under a collec-tive bargaining agreement.

The contract aims to helpemployees transition byrequiring management tonotify employees of their rightto have union representationpresent during any meetingthat could result indiscipline.

“Before, when we came toour boss or supervisor, we hadnothing behind us,” Strogersaid. “Now we’ve got theunion behind us and we’vegot rights.”

“Just over the last fewmonths, I’ve heard a lot ofpeople asking for the numberto the union rep because peo-ple know they can’t be mis-treated anymore,” Davisadded. “The morale was onceso low and I’ve seen it shootback up. You feel like youwant to be here and this is theplace for you”

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THE CONTRACT, RATIFIED OVER-WHELMINGLY ON DECEMBER 4,INCLUDES WAGE INCREASES, MOREpaid holidays, a signing bonusfor employees and languagethat will help protect workersfrom unjust discipline and sus-pensions. It also gives employ-ees a voice in shaping the ser-vices they provide.

“Before, we didn’t havethe opportunity to grieve any-thing or stand up for our-selves,” said Lindsay Williams,a direct support provider and

member of the bargainingteam. “Pretty much whatevermanagement said, that was it.Now we have room to standup for ourselves and be treat-ed fairly.”

While negotiations withmanagement hit a few stick-ing points along the way, thetwo sides were able to workout their disagreements calm-ly, Council 31 staff represen-tative Sara Dorner said.

“It got a little more diffi-cult when we started talking

about economics, but overallit was an agreeable negotia-tion,” Dorner said.

A remarkable turnaround

EVEN BEFORE THE FINAL CON-tract settlement was reached,the bargaining committeewas able to convince man-agement to change one ofits most troublesomepractices – requiringemployees to find theirown coverage when theyhad to miss work due toillness.

“We learned thatthings could be fixed dur-ing the process,” saidNicole Henson, a directsupport provider and bar-gaining team member.“That was kind of nice

because we’d never had avoice before, not withoutfear.”

Employees adaptedquickly to having a union,exercising their right to haverepresentation present atinvestigatory meetings.

“It’s very intimidatinghaving to go to a disciplinarymeeting,” Williams said. “Themembers are happy to knowthey have people who will gowith them, keep things calm,and just have somebodythere.”

The bargaining teambacked up its work at thenegotiating table with direct

action, paying a visit to Mile-stone’s board of directors tomake a presentation showingthe tough financial choicesemployees had to make onwages that hadn’t increasedin years.

“It was an emotional pre-sentation. We had peoplebreaking down telling theirpersonal stories,” Hensonsaid. “We told them how wefelt about working at Mile-stone. We told them we justcouldn’t make ends meet.”

Taking pride in work

EMPLOYEES ARE HOPEFUL THATthe steadily improvingatmosphere at Milestonewill help the individualsthe agency serves.

“We have awesomelong-term staff we want tokeep and I think it willhelp us get people in thedoors,” Henson said. “Weare a stand-up facility inour area. We take especial-ly good care of our clientsand give them a family-like setting. We’re betterable to provide that whenthe staff is consistent.”

Thirteen months after voting to form a union with AFSCME, employees atMilestone – a care provider for

children and adults with developmental disabilities – are now working under theprotection of a union contract.

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First contract forMilestone employees

On the Move December 2014 - January 2015 11

An ongoingproject toimprove safety

and security withinthe Department ofCorrections hasspawned a new train-ing program that’shelping cadets betterintegrate into the staffat their respectivefacilities.

TYPICALLY, NEW CORRECTIONAL

OFFICERS ATTEND A SIX-WEEK

TRAINING PROGRAM IN SPRING-field. While this program pro-vides cadets with informationand training applicable to allDOC facilities, in otherrespects it was found to be lack-ing.

“There’s long been com-plaints that cadets fresh out ofthe academy weren’t gettingthe information and training

they needed to be safe andeffective on the job,” Council31 regional director Ed Caumi-ant said. “We developed a solu-tion with the department thatputs cadets in a situation wherethey’ll be getting the best quali-ty training possible.”

The mission of the cadettraining program is to “providea quality entry program intoIllinois Department of Correc-tions facilities that establishesguidance, training, staff devel-opment, camaraderie, and pos-itive relationships between thecadet, management and theunion.”

In addition to the trainingreceived in Springfield, all newcadets will also participate in a3-4 week program at their per-manent facility. Cadets areguaranteed a meeting withboth prison administrators andthe leadership of their localunion.

The program was firstdeveloped by Randy Hellmann,the former president of Local943 at Pinckneyville CC whoalso serves on the Joint Safety &

Security Committee, a labor-management panel that is inthe process of reviewing everyDOC facility in the state. Thecommittee’s work has alreadyresulted in numerous changes –some unique to a particularfacility, with other changesbeing applied system-wide.

Hellmann says the cadettraining program was so suc-cessful at his facility that thejoint committee decided toimplement it system-wide.

“I’ve heard nothing but

positive feedback from bothlabor and management,” Hell-mann said. “The cadets arecomfortable and we’re com-fortable because we didn’t putthem out there in a dangeroussituation.”

A key goal of the process isto demonstrate to cadets thatthey are part of a team andhave the full support of thedepartment and the union.

“We want them to knowthey’re part of the family fromday one,” said Ralph Portwood,

president of Local 1866 at Stat-eville CC and a member of theJoint Safety & Security Com-mittee. “We don’t just givethem a week of training andput them on a shift.”

Upon graduation from theacademy, cadets report to theirfacility, where they shadowmore experienced staff mem-bers who instruct them on theprocedures, practices and cul-ture unique to where theywork.

“Our seasoned staff isteaching them the nuances ofknowing your surroundings,keeping your eyes open andyour head up,” said Jon McE-lyea, a correctional sergeantand current president of Local943. “They learn little thingslike not walking around withyour hands in your pocket –most people take that forgranted. If you have yourhands in your pocket, youcan’t defend yourself.”

The program exposescadets to the variety of differ-ent tasks performed by correc-

Labor-management initiativestrengthens DOC cadet training program

Saving lives is inthe job descrip-tion of many

public employees,but even when it’snot, AFSCME mem-bers are often quickto step into danger-ous situations whenneeded.

THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAP-PENED ON OCTOBER 23, WHEN

FOUR AFSCME MEMBERS AT A

Department of Human Ser-vices office in Jackson Countywere alerted to a potential dis-aster unfolding just across thestreet from their office.

“A client who had been inthe office came in screamingthat the house across thestreet was on fire,” saidSpencer Sagaskie, a human

services caseworker. “Therewas quite a bit of black smokebillowing out. The whole backwas on fire.”

Sagaskie’s colleague, JudyBost, was the first to arrive atthe scene. She quickly realizedthat more than a house was atrisk.

“A little girl was yellingthat her mom was still in thehouse,” Bost told The South-ern Illinoisan newspaper. “Iwent into the house to lookand the mother was near thefront door laying on theground.”

Bost and Sagaskie werejoined by two other co-work-ers, Donna Allison and DonBurk. Together, they decidedinstantly to take action andenter the burning home.

“It was pitch-black inside,”Allison said. “We went into thefront of the house. We onlywent a few feet into the livingroom to where she was on theground.”

Working together, the fourAFSCME members pulled thewoman to safety. While thehouse was lost to the blaze, noone inside was seriously injured– even the family’s pet cat wasrescued. The woman carriedout to safety was treated forsmoke inhalation and laterreleased. Sagaskie and Allisonbriefly went to the hospital forevaluation.

Sagaskie said he and hisco-workers didn’t hesitate to

act when they saw a life at risk.“Honestly, I didn’t really

think about it,” he said. “Assoon as we knew there wassomeone in the house and wesaw her, there wasn’t anythinking. We just went in andgrabbed her. We did what hadto be done.”

Allison, Belk and Sagaskieall have military experiencethat helped in dealing withsuch an emergency.

“I think the training for

the military in general pre-pares you to react and to helpwhenever help is needed,”said Allison, who served inKuwait and Iraq.

While a typical day at acounty DHS office doesn’tinvolve daring rescues, thework performed there serves asimilar purpose: Helpingmembers of the public inneed. Sagaskie, a former cor-rectional officer, said he andhis co-workers are drawn tothat kind of work – just as hewas drawn to help during anemergency.

“Before corrections I wasa combat medic in the Armyand I worked drug rehabbefore that. I’ve always beeninto professions that allow meto help people,” he said.“This was a natural professionfor me. I feel really stronglyabout advocating for individ-uals that can’t help them-selves and for helping thecommunity.”

DHS employees rescue womanfrom burning home

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DOC cadets graduate from training.

From left to right: Donna Allison, SpencerSagaskie, Don Burk and Judy Bost.

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Continued on page 14

12 On the Move December 2014 - January 2015

ON THE LOCAL LEVEL

Jackson County CircuitClerk employees provetheir worth

Heading into negotiationswith Local 2464, managementwas intent on keeping wageincreases to a minimum,expecting the local’s bargain-ing team to accept the sameterms agreed to by otherunions.

Instead, the local was ableto show they deserved morethan what management hadproposed – and would notback down.

Thanks to the bargainingteam’s determination, the twosides agreed to a four-yearcontract under which wageswill rise 12 percent, well abovemanagement’s original pro-posal.

Local Secretary-TreasurerJill Stokes said the tone ofnegotiations shifted when thebargaining team presentedmanagement with a detailedanalysis of the work per-formed by bargaining unitmembers – and how under-paid they were for doing it.

“We had done a bit ofresearch and we brought thatto their attention,” she said.“It wasn’t anything they didn’tknow, but they didn’t realizewe knew it too. Once they sawwe weren’t going to just backdown they started workingwith us.”

“We kept showing them

what each individual in thebargaining unit did,” Council31 staff representative JeremyNoelle said. “Toward the endthey saw what service the peo-ple in the courthouse are pro-viding to the community andthe county.”

The bargaining teamincluded Noelle, Stokes,Tammy Ehlers, Lisa Jacquotand Robin Crabtree.

Contract for 13th Cir-cuit Court employeescorrects inequities

A five-year contract for 13thCircuit Court employeesincludes wage increases forall, including significantadjustments for probationand detention officers whosesalaries had fallen behind.

The Local 978 bargainingteam won a 3.5 percent wageincrease over the first twoyears of the contract for allbargaining unit members, fol-lowed by “me too” provisionsin the final three years thatwill allow Circuit Courtemployees to keep pace withother employees in LaSalleCounty.

The agreement alsoincludes equity adjustmentsfor probation and detentionofficers that will bring theirsalaries in line with others incomparable positions.

“We showed managementcomparables throughout the

state of other probation offi-cers and juvenile detentionofficers,” said local PresidentVickey Leadingham. “We havesomeone here who’s beenhere for 20-plus years makingwhat a five-year employeemakes elsewhere.”

The bargaining commit-tee had to take the unprece-dented step of threating to goto arbitration, Leadinghamsaid.

“Enough was enough,”she said. “We had a mediatorwho came to a few sessionsand told the county we werein a good position.”

Council 31 staff represen-tative Randy Dominic led thebargaining team and wasjoined by Leadingham andNancy Anderson Snow.

City of DeKalb employ-ees make best of a badsituation

Despite negotiating with anassistant city manager moreconcerned with sending amessage than treatingemployees fairly, the Local813 bargaining team won athree-year agreement thatincludes several improve-ments.

Wages will rise by 6.25percent over the life of thecontract. Local President TimShipman said he’s especiallypleased about a provision thatloosened a residency require-

ment that had mandatedemployees live within sevenmiles of city hall.

“They were hiring man-agerial positions that didn’thave to live within that areabut they wanted us to,” hesaid. “We have a much biggerarea now. The other big issuewas holding the line onhealth insurance costs.”

Talks hit a major setbackwhen the bargaining team wasnotified that three buildinginspectors would be laid off.The local filed a grievanceover the layoffs, which is set togo before an arbitrator.

“That eradicates any kindof trust or mutually-beneficialarrangement,” Council 31staff representative KenAnderson said. “The guy wewere negotiating with, theassistant city manager, was try-ing to curry favor with thenew city manager.”

The bargaining team, ledby Ken Anderson, includedShipman, Mike Taylor andMatt Anderson.

Smooth negotiationsfor McLean Countyemployees

The new, three-year contractcovering McLean Countyemployees is the product of alongstanding, productive rela-tionship between Local 537and management.

The bargaining team won

a 6.8 percent wage increaseover the life of the agreementand also convinced manage-ment to drop its demand forunnecessary languagechanges.

Local 537 President PhilBossingham said reaching theagreement wasn’t difficult.

“We have a unique situa-tion in that our employer-employee relationship is real-ly good here,” he said.“Everyone understands thecontract and works together.”

Council 31 staff represen-tative Renee Nestler led thebargaining team, whichincluded Bossingham, AdamMcKinney, Craig Romine andKyle Batterton.

Show of solidaritymoves things along inFox Lake

After a slow start, the bargain-ing team for Local 3905 wasable to win a new contract forFox Lake sewer and wateremployees that will increasewages by at least 5 percentand provide for an improvedsick leave policy.

The bargaining teamfound themselves across thetable from a group completelydifferent than in previousnegotiations: a new city man-ager, new assistant city manag-er and a new law firm.

The budget battle playingout in Spring-

field has hamperedefforts to pay remain-ing back wages owedto thousands of stateemployees.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY’SREFUSAL DURING THE FALL VETOSESSION TO EXTEND THE

income tax increase passed in2011 – plus the decision tonot hold the usual Januarylame duck session before Gov.

Pat Quinn leaves office –means that any significantspending legislation is onhold for the time being.

“This is a twin failure onthe part of the GeneralAssembly,” Council 31 legisla-tive director Joanna Webb-Gauvin said. “They not onlyfailed to finish paying off thedebt owed to state employees,but also created a revenuecrunch that will make it diffi-cult to keep state agenciesoperating over the comingmonths.”

Thousands of employeesin the departments of Correc-tions, Juvenile Justice, NaturalResources, Human Servicesand Public Health are still

owed a bit more than half ofthe increased wages called forin the previous state mastercontract.

Employees in thosedepartments received about45 percent of wages owedafter a dogged lobbying cam-paign by AFSCME Back PayBrigades during last year’sspring session. The unionmade clear then that the fightwould continue until all themoney owed is paid.

“The principle involvedhere is fundamental to thecollective bargaining process,”said Council 31 ExecutiveDirector Roberta Lynch. “Aunion contract is a legallybinding document and it can-

not just be set aside based onchanging circumstances.”

Given the uphill battle forpay justice at the state capitol,the union will continue topursue a lawsuit to force thestate to pay wages owed – alegal strategy that has so farproven successful.

In late September a panelof appellate court judgesruled that employees must bepaid what they are owed, evenwithout an appropriationfrom the legislature.

The appellate court’sdecision remanded the caseback to circuit court foraction – action that is now onhold pending a decision byAttorney General Lisa Madi-

son as to whether she willappeal the decision to the Illi-nois Supreme Court.

”Enough is enough,”Lynch said. “First, an indepen-dent arbitrator agreed thatwages owed must be paid.Then a Circuit Court judgealso sided with state employ-ees. Now the appellate courthas also weighed in. All ofthem agree: A contract is acontract and it must beupheld.

“We hope the attorneygeneral will see that anotherappeal would only postponethe inevitable,” Lynch contin-ued. “But if she does not, wewill not relent until justice isdone for all state employees.”

Back pay bill stalls in legislature,but fight continues in court

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Continued on page 13

On the Move December 2014 - January 2015 13

Rockford’s repu-tation as a“union town”

has been on full dis-play in the fight byRock River Academyemployees for unionrecognition.

EMPLOYEES AT ROCK RIVER, ARESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY AND

SCHOOL FOR TROUBLED ADOLES-cent girls, voted in August toorganize with AFSCME,despite a vicious anti-unioncampaign by management.

Since the vote, the admin-istration at the facility hasn’tsoftened its stance. Along withchallenging the outcome ofthe vote, the facility’s manage-ment has suspended and firedpro-union employees, amongother unfair labor practices.

A complaint issued by theNational Labor RelationsBoard alleges that the facilityput employees under constantvideo surveillance in order tocrack down on organizingefforts and even threatenedthat, if the employees chose

to union-ize, man-agementwould nolongerintervenewhenemploy-ees wereattackedby resi-dents.

“TheCEOspendshis entireday in anofficewith anarray of monitors watchingpeople,” said Dave Malesky, abehavioral technician.Malesky and six other employ-ees presented managementwith a petition signed by 39staff members urging the cen-ter to respect the results ofthe union election and workwith employees to improvethe facility.

“We call on Rock River tostop spending money, timeand other resources on effortsto undermine our Union,”the petition read. “Moneyspent on these divisive tactics

is money that could be spenton programs, staff develop-ment and retention, wagesand our facility.”

After a confrontation inwhich CEO Monge Codiorefused to accept the petition,the employees who presentedit were fired or suspended ontrumped-up charges.

Community support

WITH MANY OF THE MOST VOCAL

pro-union employees unable toenter Rock River and those stillon the job facing threats andintimidation, the organizing

committeereached outto commu-nity, laborand faithleaders inRockford –and found awellspring ofsupport.

Dozensof leaders inthe commu-nity signedon to a lettercalling onRock River’smanage-ment to

respect the wishes of employ-ees and negotiate with theunion.

“We write to ask that youmove past previous hostilitiesand work to improve your rela-tionship with frontline employ-ees,” the letter read. “Webelieve that only by puttingaside past differences, treatingemployees with respect andallowing them a seat at thetable, can Rock River move for-ward.”

When the letter wentignored, employees and theirsupporters took the fight

before the public, holding acandlelight vigil that was cov-ered on TV and in the localnewspaper.

“It means a lot to us, espe-cially the clergy being thereand having peers there whenyou’re faced with a difficultbattle,” Malesky said.” It rein-forces your convictions and itshows that other people areconcerned about this issue,too.”

The community is rallyingbehind Rock River employeesin other ways, too. AFSCMEand other unions have startedan “adopt-a-family” program tosupport the 11 employees whohave been unfairly dismissedsince the organizing fightbegan.

On top of the “adopt-a-fam-ily” program, several Rockford-area labor organizations havedonated grocery store gift cardsthat will be given to familiesbased on their size and need.

“Hopefully these men andwomen get their jobs backsoon, but we wanted to helpthem get through the holidayseason,” Council 31 staff repre-sentative Jay Ferraro said.

Rockford rallies behind Rock Riveremployees who seek to form aunion

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Chicagoelections

and their level of support forunion-backed measures, as wellas reviewing questionnaires.The PEOPLE Committee willmeet again in January to final-ize the list of endorsed candi-dates.

Susan Linton, president of Local 2946, said privatizationof city jobs and services wasamong her top concerns whenconsidering which candidatesto support.

“When we went to the bar-gaining table we tried to restrictthe role of privatization but itstill exists,” she said. “People getlaid off, they lose their jobs,they can’t pay their mortgageand their rent. It affects us indi-vidually and it hurts neighbor-hoods.”

Linton’s also curious what candidates have to sayabout pensions, especially givenrecent court rulings that indi-

cate pension cuts for cityemployees and retirees may beheld unconstitutional.

“I’m going to ask them,‘What are you going to do?’”she said. “We want to know ifwe’re going to have a pensionto stand on when we retire. Weknow the system has a problem,but the only way we’re going toresolve this is to come togetherand come up with somethingthat works for everyone. You’vegot to be committed to workingwith us.”

Progressive voices facechallenges

THIS YEAR’S RACES ARE ESPECIAL-ly important because most ofthe City Council’s strongestadvocates for progressive poli-cies and workers’ rights facestiff challenges.

In the northwest side’s45th Ward, Emanuel’s politi-

cal operation is hoping todefeat Ald. John Arena, oneof the few members of thecouncil with a 100 percentAFSCME voting record. Hehas two challengers, includingone who he beat by only 29votes in a runoff election in2011.

Directly south, Ald. NickSposato is running in the 38thWard. His current ward wassplit in half by redistrictingand he now must introducehimself to new voters in orderto prevail. Sposato also has a100-percent AFSCME votingrecord.

In the 16th Ward – in theheart of the city’s south side –Ald. Toni Foulkes is also con-fronting a ward map changedby redistricting. Foulkes, whohas an 83-percent AFSCMEvoting record, will face offagainst a fellow alderman,Joann Thompson.

There are also a fewchances to elect pro-workercandidates in wards spreadthroughout the city, particularlyon the south and west sides.

No time to lick wounds

UNION MEMBERS IN THE CITY

need to get involved in localraces, said Abram Hackman, amember of Local 2060 whoworks in the Cook Countystate’s attorney’s office. Hesaid he’s ready to hit thestreets in February and hopesothers join him.

“We have to think aboutthe people who have a sayover our pensions,” he said.“We have to look for candi-dates who will work not onlyfor us now, but for people inthe future as well. You have toput candidates you trust inplace.”

Continued from page 6

LocalLevel

Continued from page 12

Continued on page 15

“Originally things start-ed slow and they didn’tseem to be taking it too seri-ously,” Local PresidentTrevor Warren said.

That’s when the negoti-ating team called in forbackup – from the entirebargaining unit.

“We had the whole bar-gaining unit show up atnegotiations and it made abig difference,” Council 31staff representative MattLaPierre said. “We had justabout all of them at everysession and we got a lot oflousy stuff taken off thetable.”

The three-year agree-ment includes wage increas-es in the first two years and areopener in the third. It alsoallows for unlimited accrualof sick leave.

Supporters of Rock River employees fight-ing to organize held a candlelight vigil.

14 On the Move December 2014 - January 2015

RETIREE NOTES

City of Chicago retireesurge action on skyrocketing healthcosts

CITY OF CHICAGO RETIREES

are urging Mayor RahmEmanuel’s administration totake action now to preventcrippling health insurancepremium increases set to gointo effect next year.

In 2013, the Emanueladministration announcedthe phase-out of subsidizedhealth care for City retirees.Despite strong oppositionfrom AFSCME Retirees Sub-chapter 60, the City Councilapproved the plan, which willresult in increases in retireehealth care costs of as muchas 79 percent.

“The city is abandoning

its responsibility to retireeswho devoted their workinglives to providing importantservices to the public,” saidMary Jones, president of Sub-chapter 60, at a press confer-ence in November.

“This is not a question ofresources,” Jones said. “Thecity clearly has the resourcesfor private corporations, TIFdistricts and big projects. Thisis a question of priorities.”

Without any action,health insurance premiumsfor many retired city employ-ees would end up doublingover the course of two years,hitting more than 2,500 non-Medicare-eligible retireesespecially hard. Many wouldwind up having to pay 25 to30 percent of their annualpension – which averages a lit-

tle more than $27,000 – oninsurance premiums.

The Emanuel administra-tion has claimed that retireescan “avoid these increases” byselecting an alternate plan.However, the alternate plansoffered by the city provideinferior benefits to the origi-nal plans, such as dramaticallyincreased out-of-pocket costsor reduced network access.

At AFSCME’s urging, theEmanuel administrationannounced it would doublethe funding for subsidies tolow income retirees. Thesesubsidies only help a verysmall group of retirees, butthe move from City Hallshows that further progressmay be possible.

AFSCME is urging allmembers who live in Chicago

to call their alderman withthe message: “The budget haspassed but retirees still needhelp. Work with us for a fairsolution to skyrocketinghealth insurance costs.”

State and universityhealth care premiumrefunds could come byspring

STATE AND STATE UNIVERSITY

retirees could start receivingrefunds for unconstitutionalhealth insurance premiumincreases this spring.

Retirees in the SERS andSURS retirement systems wereforced to begin paying largerpremiums for health carebenefits starting in July 2013.This stemmed from a state lawpassed in 2012 that effectivelyended the guarantee ofaffordable health care forthose retirees by allowing theDepartment of Central Man-agement Services to unilater-ally set rates.

The union immediatelychallenged the law in court,arguing that it constituted aviolation of the constitution’sprohibition against diminish-ing or impairing retirementbenefits. This past July, theIllinois Supreme Court sidedwith retirees and ruled thatthe law was unconstitutional.A lower court then orderedthat insurance rates return tothe affordable levels thatexisted before the law’s pas-sage.

Union attorneys are nowworking to ensure that moneyalready paid for health care pre-miums is refunded in an order-ly and accurate manner. Thestate has collected, and will like-ly have to refund, more than$59 million from state and uni-versity retirees for health insur-ance premiums.

As On the Move went topress, the next hearing onhealth care premiums was setfor December 18 in Sanga-mon County, where finalarrangements for the refundschedule are expected to beput in place.

Study: Pensions more effective than 401(k) plans

NEW RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY

the National Institute onRetirement Security showsthat defined-benefit pensions,like the ones earned by mostpublic sector retirees, aremore efficient and cost-effec-tive than 401(k)-style privateaccounts.

The research showed that

pensions deliver the sameretirement income at a 48 per-cent lower cost than 401(k)-style accounts. Defined-benefitpensions achieve these savingsthrough pooling risk among alarger group of workers andgenerating much higherreturns than 401(k)-typeplans.

This is evident in stateslike Michigan, which closed itspension system and beganenrolling all new state employ-ees in 401(k)-type plans. Sincethen, unfunded liabilities haveskyrocketed from $697 millionin 1997 to $5.4 billion in fiscal2012. The funding status ofthe plan dropped from ahealthy 92 percent to 60.3 per-cent. The result? Because oftheir switch to 401(k) plans,Michigan must now cut themonthly pension checks ofcurrent retirees.

Similarly, in West Virginia,the state switched from adefined-benefit pension planfor public employees to adefined-contribution 401(k)-style plan in 1991. As a result,the costs of retirement to thestate skyrocketed, and thepension funding leveldropped to 18 percent. In2005, West Virginia reversedcourse and switched back to adefined-benefit pension plan.As a result, the state is project-ed to save $1.2 billion and itspension funding level is up to60 percent.

AFSCME Retireesubchapter steps upbig in food drive

AFSCME RETIREES FROMSouthwest Illinois are steppingup in a big way to support theircommunity during the holidayseason. In what is now a five-year long tradition, members ofRetirees Sub-chapter 56, whichrepresents Randolph, Washing-ton, Perry, and Monroe coun-ties, organized a food drive tofill the shelves of local foodbanks.

“We collect non-perishablefood items all year and givethem away in November, andevery year we have surpassedthe previous year’s goal,” saidLarry Brown, president of bothSubchapter 56 and AFSCMERetiree Chapter 31.

“One of the reasons thelocal food pantry is so successfulis because of the efforts of ourmembers,” Brown said.“AFSCME retirees spent theircareer ably and professionallyserving the public, so it is onlynatural that we continue to stayinvolved in such a meaningfulway.”

tional officers and, throughshadowing more senioremployees, creates an environ-ment where cadets are encour-aged to ask questions.

“It’s nothing but a win-winfor everybody,” Portwood said.“The cadets feel more acclimat-ed and more comfortable with

the routine. Instead of justbeing in school for a week andput into the fire, they can askquestions, work different posts,work with a variety of people.”

The improved training hashad some secondary benefitsas well, including making theunion stronger.

“We had every personbecame a full dues-paying

member immediately andeveryone became PEOPLEmembers immediately,” Hell-mann said of the first group ofcadets at Pinckneyville to gothrough the program. “Theybecame more engaged and feltthat we wanted them there.”

McElyea said veteran COshave found that, by being putinto a teaching role, they’realso getting a refresher courseof their own.

“It allows that older, sea-soned staff to repurpose them-selves and train that new staff,”he said. “New staff is learningand older staff is teaching andthey’re kind of teaching them-selves, too. It keeps everythingfresh.”

DOC training

Continued from page 11

On the Move December 2014 - January 2015 15

Illinois’ first exper-iment with priva-tizing the state

lottery has been abust – but it’s unclearif public officialshave learned anylessons.

IN AUGUST, GOV. PAT QUINN

ANNOUNCED HE WAS TERMINAT-ING THE STATE’S CONTRACTwith Northstar Lottery Group,a private firm that had man-aged the lottery since 2012.The company took over oper-ations with high expectationsbut – as has been the casewith so many privatizationschemes – fell far short of itsgoals.

Northstar failed to meetits profit goals three years in arow. According to a ChicagoTribune report, the companyfell $242 million short of itsfiscal 2014 goal, and has fall-en $480 million short since itbegan managing the lottery.

While Northstar took overmanagement of the lottery,AFSCME members continuedto work in frontline positions,working with retailers whosold lottery tickets at theirstores. They saw Northstar’smistakes up close.

“They had these bigdreams of thousands of moreretailers they were going toget and they’ve fallen wayshort,” said Tad Hawk, a lot-tery sales representative andmember of AFSCME Local1805. “The ones they’vebrought on board aren’t qual-ity retailers. They don’t bringin enough money to be worththe time and effort.”

Northstar also askedmore and more of retailers,Hawk said, without consultingthe frontline employees whotalk to store owners on a dailybasis.

“Decisions are beingmade without input from thefield,” he said. “Northstarasked retailers to do moreand more as if promoting thelottery is their main responsi-bility. They just want to crameverything down our throatsand the retailers’ throats anddon’t want to listen to peoplewho know the business betterthan they do.”

Breaking the rules

THE STATE’S ARRANGEMENTwith Northstar failed in moreways than one. In November,in response to an AFSCMEgrievance, an arbitrator foundthat Northstar employees hadbeen assigned work normallyperformed by bargaining unit

employees.The dispute stemmed

from the state’s decision touse Northstar employees for a“retail optimization project” –the description of which wasstrikingly similar to workalready being performed bylottery sales representatives.In all, more than 1,000 retaillocations were placed in thehands of Northstar employ-ees.

In response, the unionfiled a grievance that eventu-ally went before an arbitratorwho found that the state’sargument for contracting out

the work was “not persuasive.”He ordered that work to beimmediately returned to bar-gaining unit employees.

“It was a threat to ourlivelihoods,” Hawk said. “Wewere getting them trainedand worried that eventuallythey’d just take over our posi-tions completely.”

A bad habit

DESPITE NORTHSTAR’S FAILURES,the state appears intent onseeking out another privatemanager for the lottery.AFSCME is using the opportu-

nity to point out that North-star wasn’t the real problem.Instead, it was privatization ofan inherently governmentalservice.

A report released byCouncil 31 notes the biddingprocess that led to the North-star contract – a process thatwould likely be repeated tofind another vendor – lackedtransparency and failed toattract a large number of bid-ders.

“It would take many yearsof experience to achieve thelevel of knowledge of publiclottery managers,” the reportnotes. “And if a private man-agement contract is rebid, wewill have to start the learningprocess all over again. Thiswas costly to Northstar and itwas quite costly to the taxpay-ers of Illinois. It will remain adrain on revenues for thestate.”

Hawk said that if the statewas serious about addressingits fiscal issues, privatization ofthe lottery would be off thetable.

“We need to keep everydollar we can get, and they’renot doing anything we can’tdo,” he said. “It’s just paddingthe pockets of cronies andfriends of politicians. It’s anextra layer of complication.”

State lottery’s privatization gambleproving costly

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Joining LaPierre andWarren on the bargainingteam were John Thompsonand Don O’Boyle.

Labor-managementcooperation set toincrease at Smith Vil-lage retirement home

SMITH VILLAGE RETIREMENThome employees didn’t get allthey wanted in a new, three-year contract, but they arehopeful the agreement setsthe stage for improvementsdown the road.

The contract includes a 3percent wage increase in thefirst year with reopeners inthe following two years. It alsoestablishes a joint labor-man-

agement committee that heldits first meeting in December.

“We’re hoping that theunion and management canwork together to try to makethings better around theworkplace,” Local 919 Presi-dent Charla Swain said. “It’sgoing to be a new experiencefor us.”

Council 31 staff represen-tative Ken Anderson said thecommittee may help improverelations after a difficult con-tract negotiation.

“Things got really heatedat times,” he said. “Hopefullythe process of forming thiscommittee will build strengthand unity.”

Anderson led the negotia-tions, joined by Swain, DawnCaldwell, Denise Coleman,Sheila Jenkins and CarletaHale.

New wage structurefor City of Mattoonemployees

NEWLY-HIRED EMPLOYEES IN

Mattoon will enjoy increasedwages under a new four-yearcontract negotiated by theLocal 3821 bargaining com-mittee.

Average wages will rise byat least 8.5 percent over thelifetime of the agreement,though health insurance costswill rise somewhat as well.The contract also expandsvacation time and bereave-ment leave.

The contract was not woneasily, Council 31 staff repre-sentative Michael Wilmoresaid.

“They’ve got a conserva-tive city council that doesn’twant to do anything aboutraising revenue,” Wilmoresaid. “We went to city councilwith a petition and eventuallygot them to back way downfrom what they wanted to do.And we were even able tomake some gains.”

The contract helps lockin overtime pay for water andsewer employees, said TimRitter, the local’s former pres-ident and a member of thebargaining team.

“They didn’t really have aschedule and the superinten-dent was just kind of makingup stuff as he went along,”Ritter said. “Now the overtimewill be there and they knowwhat their schedule is.”

Along with Wilmore and

Ritter, the bargaining teamincluded Kevin Hamilton,Ethan Ervin and RobLecrone.

O’Fallon EMS employ-ees win wage increase

EMS WORKERS IN O’FALLONwill see wages rise 9 percentover three years thanks to anew contract won by Local2817.

Local president MartyNungesser said the contract’ssolid economic package is acontrast from previous agree-ments.

“This was the first yearwhere the financial part ofthe contract wasn’t an issueand we were able to secure athree-year contract with thebest financial package we’vegotten in 10 years,” he said. “

In exchange, the bargain-ing team agreed to alter theirscheduling regimen: Insteadof being on-shift for 48 hoursfollowed by four days off,employees will now work two24-hour shifts over four days,followed by two days off.

The contract alsoincludes an increased uni-form allowance and language

meant to ensure higher wagesfor certified paramedics.

Council 31 staff represen-tative Ed LaPorte led the bar-gaining team, which includedNungesser, Jason Butler andPat Battoe.

Monmouth 911 operators make gains

WAGES FOR 911 OPERATORS INthe City of Monmouth willrise by 4.5 percent under atwo-year contract ratified inSeptember.

Local 3071 PresidentGreg Sage said the finalagreement was much betterthan management’s initialproposal.

“The city just didn’t wantto budge on anything,” hesaid. “They wanted to takestuff away but things got towhere pretty much everythingstayed the same with a smallincrease in wages. The insur-ance didn’t go up, which wasa big thing in our favor.”

The bargaining team wasled by Council 31 staff repre-sentative Randy Lynch andincluded Sage, Kelly Lant andBecca Blackman.

LocalLevel

Continued from page 15

16 On the Move December 2014 - January 2015

But while university administrators seem intent on dragging theirfeet, Locals 3700 and 698 are on the move, keeping members active,organized and unified in order to win the best contracts possible.

Negotiations over the two contracts began in August. From theoutset, management indicated it wasn’t interested in reaching a dealquickly with either local by putting dozens of non-economic propos-als on the table.

“I’ve never seen so many proposals from management ever,”Council 31 staff representative Dave Beck said. “They are trying togut the contracts of anything different, unique or extra over the mini-mum required by civil service rules. That was a clear signal this wasgoing to be a hard fight.”

Some of management’s proposals are completely “off the wall,”Beck said. For example, the university has proposed that employeesin both locals undergo routine drug testing, be required to provide –at management’s whim – medical documentation of their mental andphysical fitness for work, and have their out-of-work conduct moni-tored.

“We asked if they had problems with our locals and drugs orconduct and they said no. So then why do they need it?” said NadjaRobot, a member of the bargaining committee for Local 3700, whichrepresents support staff. “The academic professionals don’t have anykind of that monitoring going on. The administration doesn’t respectthe work we do.”

Widening wage gap

University employees also feel disrespected by the administra-tion’s willingness to hand out large bonuses to high-profile profes-sors and administrators while at the same time offering little in theway of wage increases to those toiling day after day on the frontlines.

“The Board of Trustees gave the outgoing president a $180,000bonus as a thank-you, I guess,” Ward said. “He had already gotten a3.5 percent raise in September.”

One year ago, a Council 31 study of university salaries found thattotal salaries paid to the top 1 percent of earners at the university in

2013 nearly equaled salaries paid to the bottom 10 percent of earn-ers. What’s more, the value of raises paid to the top 1 percent overthe last three years could have provided a $3,128 pay increase toeach employee in the lowest 10 percent wage tier – a raise that wouldlift many out of poverty.

But instead of trying to lift its own employees out of poverty, theuniversity’s negotiators seem intent on going after the step plan thathelps salaries keep up with inflation.

Beck said management not only wants to weaken the step planfor those already on it, but also keep employees new to the bargain-ing unit – child care and university extension employees – off itentirely.

Building solidarity

Union members are getting organized to fight back. Members ofboth locals attended a Sept. 11 rally at the university president’soffice. In Local 3700, the Member Action Team has been building sol-idarity within the local and reaching out for support from the rest ofthe university community, including faculty.

“We do wristbands every other Tuesday,” Robot said. “We’vebeen communicating with our members throughout our MemberAction Team, which is great because this campus is huge and we’reall spread out.”

In Local 698, many of the members are new to the union. There,the focus is on signing up dues-paying members and ensuring strongcommunication between the bargaining team and all representedemployees.

“We’ve been transparent about what management’s pushingfor,” Ward said. “We all agree these proposals are ridiculous andwe’ve got to fight them off.”

Robot said that while negotiations has been frustrating at times,she and other bargaining team members haven’t wavered in theircommitment to securing a fair contract.

“We’re not going to throw in the towel,” she said. “They can playwhatever kind of games they want. We’ll still show up and fight.”

U OF I LOCALS BUILD

strengthAS CONTRACT TALKS CONTINUE

After months at the bargaining table, talks betweentwo AFSCME locals and the University of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign have made little progress.