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2 On the Move January-February 2014

BY HENRY BAYER

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Bruce Rauner’s big lie

THE REGULAR

GUY RAUNER

PLAYS ON TV

COULDN'T BE

MORE

DIVORCED

FROM WHO HE

REALLY IS.

On the MoveAFSCME Illinois On the Move ispublished 6 times annually by Illinois Public Employees Council31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO. Send correspondence to:[email protected]: AFSCME, On the Move, 205 N. Michigan Ave., 21st Floor,Chicago, IL 60601

Henry Bayer, Executive DirectorRoberta Lynch, 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 Labor,Local 1006TREASURERRob Fanti, Sheridan CC, Local 472

Board MembersSTATE CONFERENCE BOARD CO-CHAIRSGloria Arseneau, (RC-14), Northeastern Illinois State employees,Local 2794Kathy Lane, (RC-63), Northwestern Illinois State Employees,Local 448Randy Hellman, (RC-6)Pinckneyville CC, Local 943

REGION I VICE-PRESIDENTS(COOK AND LAKE COUNTIES)

Safiya Felters, Department of HumanServices, 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 3835Eva Spencer-Chatman, Chicago ReadMHC, Local 1610

REGION II VICE-PRESIDENTS(NOTHERN ILLINOIS)Garry Cacciapaglia, city of Rockford,Local 1058Gary Ciaccio, Shapiro DC, Local 29Dave Delrose, Will County Board, Local1028Ralph 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 Centeremployees, 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 2600Cameron Watson, Jacksonville CC,Local 3549Trudy Williams, Fulton County SheriffsDept. & Courthouse, Local 3433

REGION IV VICE-PRESIDENTS(SOUTHERN ILLINOIS)Chris Milton, Madison County employ-ees, 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

Cover illustration by Joe VanDerBos

BUT A SMALLER GROUP VOTED

“NO” BECAUSE THEY FELT THE

CUTS WEREN’T DEEP ENOUGH.They were taking their cuesfrom the leading Republicancandidate for governor, BruceRauner, who wants to elimi-nate defined benefit pensionplans and force publicemployees into 401(k)-styleplans, left to the vagaries ofthe stock market.

How did someone whowas a political unknown untilrecently gain such influence?It’s easy if you’ve got millionsof your own money to spendpromoting yourself. Raunerhas been “introducing” him-self to voters in phony, folksyTV ads seeking to disguise hisstatus as a venture capitalistwho made a good part of hisimmense fortune feeding offof those very public pensionfunds he purports to despise.

Rauner says he’s an “out-sider” to public service, buthe’s spent decades solicitingpublic pension fund dollarsfor his hedge funds to investfor a handsome fee. A fewyears ago, he received mil-lions in Pennsylvania pensiondollars to invest – after a$300,000 campaign contribu-tion to that state’s Democraticgovernor.

Here in Illinois, a compa-ny owned by Rauner paid amember of the Teachers’Retirement System Boardmore than $25,000 a month.Not coincidentally, his firmwas selected to handle TRSpension dollars. The TRSmember, Stuart Levine, isnow doing time in federalprison for public malfeasance.

Despite, or perhapsbecause of, his sordid recordof “paying to play,” Rauner is

attempting to pedal a largeload of hooey about “unionbosses” being in “control” inSpringfield.

One only has to look atthe passage of pension-slash-ing SB 1, which legislatorsenacted in violation of thestate’s constitution and overthe vocal opposition of thou-sands of union members, toknow who’s really calling theshots in Springfield. AFSCMEand other public sectorunions are important lobby-ing forces at the state capitol,but our influence (and finan-cial contributions) can’tbegin to compare to that ofthe corporate elite BruceRauner represents.

Of course, Rauner’s realtarget isn’t a handful of unionleaders, but the hundreds ofthousands of union memberswhose pay, pensions andworkplace rights he wants todiminish.

He’s out to wipe outunions in the public sectorbecause in his view they’veraised the salaries of publicworkers too high. It’s morethan ironic that a man whoreported $52 million inincome in 2012 claimsemployees who earn their rel-atively modest salariesthrough hard work are overlycompensated.

His claim that AFSCME’scontracts with the state arethe result of campaign contri-butions to the governors withwhom we negotiated is a flat-out falsehood. Yes, we’venegotiated contracts with thepast five governors of Illinoisthat improved the standard ofliving of union members. Butin most of those cases theunion did not even endorse

them in their runs for office.And, even when we did, theagreements often were onlywon after intensive membermobilizations all across thestate.

In Rauner’s world, thetruth doesn’t matter – butmoney most certainly does.His campaign is aboutwhether the big money cansell the big lie.

The regular guy Raunerplays on TV couldn’t be moredivorced from who he reallyis. He doesn’t want voters toknow he owns nine homesand has claimed tax breaks onthree, even though he’s enti-tled to just one such exemp-tion. He doesn’t want them toknow that while he lives in afancy suburb, he falselyclaimed residency in the Cityof Chicago, placed a call to atop schools official, and gothis daughter ‘clouted in’ to ahighly-regarded public highschool.

Rubbing elbows andscratching backs is whatRauner has done to amass hisfortune. He’s done it not onlywith Republicans, but alsowith Democrats like RahmEmanuel, who benefit fromRauner’s largesse and arequick to return the favor.

Bruce Rauner wants to begovernor to wipe out laborunions and destroy what littleremains of the middle class inour state – all while steeringmore money to him and hisfriends. He’s trying to prey onthe resentments of thosewho’ve already lost jobs andincome – turning their angeraway from the Wall Streetwolves who robbed them andonto struggling publicemployees.

We can’t let Rauner makeus the punching bag of thiselection season. There’s littlemore than 60 days left untilthe primary, and we are notabout to spend them hangingfrom the ceiling in the gym.Let’s step into the ring andstart fighting back before it’stoo late.

When the Illinois legislature audaciously looted the retirementsavings of the state’s public

employees, many lawmakers dissentedbecause the bill was clearly unconstitutionaland immoral.

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Don’t believe the GOP frontrunner’s folksy image – he’s out to take away pensions and destroy public employee unions in Illinois

On the Move January-February 2014 3

The passage of SB 1 isn’tthe only attack

on public employeepensions happeningtoday in America.

IN FACT, THAT BILL’S PASSAGE ISPART OF A COORDINATED ATTACK

BY AN ALLIANCE OF RIGHT-WINGlawmakers, a corporate eliteunwilling to pay its fair share,and “pro-business” Democratswho have lost touch with theneeds of the middle class.

The most outrageousexample of pension theft maybe in Detroit, where an unelect-ed emergency financial manag-er, Kevyn Orr, has steered the

city into bankruptcy, a processthat could result in pensions forcity workers being eviscerated.

Orr was appointed byRepublican Gov. Rick Snyder –the same governor who signedthe state’s “right-to-work” lawwritten by right-wing thinktanks designed to weakenunions.

In granting Orr’s request toput the city into bankruptcy, afederal judge found that theMichigan state constitution’spension protection languagedid not apply to a federal bankruptcy proceeding, settinga dangerous precedent thatother cities eager to cut benefitscould exploit.

The average pension ofDetroit retirees is just $19,000.Experts estimate that the bank-

ruptcy proceedings couldreduce it by as much as 50 per-cent.

“Those who play by therules every single day, whostruggle every day to put breadon their tables and pay theirmortgages, should not be pun-ished for problems they did notcreate,” AFSCME InternationalPresident Lee Saunders saidafter the Detroit ruling. “Theycannot restructure their debt asWall Street banks and corpora-tions can. It’s unfair andimmoral to attack these retireesand workers.”

While the pension crisis inDetroit has received nationalmedia attention, less sensationalattacks on the retirement securi-ty of public service workers aretaking place across the country.

In Florida, Americans forProsperity – the conservativepolitical organization funded byCharles and David Koch,patrons of the infamous Wis-consin Governor Scott Walker –is airing ads against three statesenators who voted against aplan pushed by the RepublicanHouse Speaker that would havecompletely eliminated pensionsfor incoming state employees,replacing them with 401(k)-style plans.

In Oklahoma, RepublicanGov. Mary Fallin and her alliesin the legislature are also push-ing to put some public employ-ees into 401(k)-style plans. Amajor proponent of makingsuch a change in Oklahomaand other places is the John &Laura Arnold Foundation – a

conservative foundation run bya former executive at Enron,the poster child of corporatefraud.

Dozens of other states inrecent years have enacted pen-sion cuts, often at the urging ofright-wing, corporate-backedgroups. These laws will oftenslash cost-of-living adjustments,raise the retirement age, ormake other changes that allhave the same result – weaken-ing the retirement security ofpublic service workers.

According to the NationalAssociation of State RetirementAdministrators, in 2013 alone,Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska,New Mexico, Oregon, Ten-nessee and Texas joined Illinoisin passing laws that weaken pub-lic employee pensions.

Pension attacks not limited to Illinois

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The fate ofretirementsecurity for

public service work-ers in Illinois will nowbe decided in court.

THE WE ARE ONE ILLINOISUNION COALITION – OF WHICHAFSCME IS A LEADING PARTNER

– is already working on a law-suit to challenge SB 1, thepension-gutting law the Gen-eral Assembly passed withalmost no time for review,scrutiny or lobbying by thoseit will affect most.

The legislation coversactive and retired participantsin the State Employees Retire-ment System (SERS), theState Universities RetirementSystem (SURS), the TeachersRetirement System (TRS) andthe General Assembly Retire-ment System (GARS).

The coalition’s actioncomes after one of the mostdisappointing days in Spring-field in recent memory – Dec.3, when, nearly simultaneous-ly, the House and Senate bothvoted to rob nurses, correc-tional officers, teachers, case-workers, caregivers and otherpublic service workers of theirhard-earned pension benefits.

Following the legislature’saction, the bill was quicklysigned into law by Gov. PatQuinn.

“Governor Quinn hasgiven hundreds of thousandsof working and retired teach-ers, nurses, police, caregivers,first responders, and othersno alternative but to seek jus-tice for retirement securitythrough the judicial system,”the coalition announced in astatement. “We will challengeSB 1 as violating the constitu-tion and ask for a stay of thelegislation’s implementationpending a ruling on its consti-

tutionality.”The lawsuit is based on

the new law’s violation of thestate’s pension protectionclause, which clearly statesthat the benefits of any publicemployee pension programcannot be “diminished orimpaired.”

Wasting taxpayermoney

ADDING INSULT TO INJURY, after passing SB 1 the Senatealso voted to lavish a tax breakon agri-business giant ArcherDaniels Midland, which had a

$2 billion profit in 2012 andhad already admitted that itfaced no state tax liability insome years.

“Many members of theHouse and Senate – Democ-rats and Republicans alike –showed their true colors inthese votes,” Council 31 Exec-utive Director Henry Bayersaid. “By gutting pensions andmoving to open yet anothercorporate tax loophole, theyshowed their loyalties lie withthe corporate elite. Not tax-payers, not their constituents,and certainly not the publicservice workers who provide

Illinois with vital services.”Yet the biggest waste of

money may come from SB 1itself. Its shaky constitutionalfooting means it may do littleto make state bonds appealingto investors and, if it is struckdown, the pension fundingcrisis will not only remainunresolved, but also havebecome much worse overtime.

“It didn’t have to be thisway,” the coalition noted afterQuinn signed the bill. “Bipar-tisan majorities in both cham-bers could have passed amuch fairer, legal, negotiatedsolution – with real, substan-tial savings.”

That plan, SB 2404, wassupported by the We Are OneIllinois coalition and hadalready passed the Senate witha large, bipartisan majority.But in the House, SpeakerMichael Madigan refused tolet the bill come to a vote.

Dire consequences

AS SIGNED INTO LAW, SB 1would make potentially devas-tating cuts to pensions foractive and retired publicemployees.

It slashes cost-of-livingadjustments (COLAs) andimposes COLA freezes of upto five years. Combined, thesetwo COLA cuts erode thevalue of a person’s pension bynearly one-third after 20 yearsin retirement – and depriveretirees of thousands of dol-lars of income in the first five years alone.

In one example, a statecaseworker, age 49, who

Pension battle heads to court

Continued on page 14

For moreinformationon the pension bill,including afactsheet, visitAFSCME31.org.


Strike brings home fair contractfor Will County employees

For 16 days,nearly 1,000Will County

employees bravedfreezing cold temper-atures on the picketline and stubbornpoliticians at the bar-gaining table – asthey stood steadfastin their strike to wina fair contract.

THEIR TIME ON STRIKE WOULD

BE REWARDED: MORE THAN TWO

WEEKS AFTER WALKING OFF THE

job, the county and Local 1028came to an agreement thatgives employees what they want-ed – fairness.

“Will County employeesstood up and won fairness, jus-tice and respect on the job,”Council 31 Executive DirectorHenry Bayer said. “The unityand determination of AFSCMELocal 1028 members to fightfor what’s right, no matter theodds, sets an example for usall.”

The new contract – ratifiedby an overwhelming margin –runs for four years and providesa 4.5 percent cost-of-livingincrease over its life. It alsoadjusts wages upward by elimi-nated the bottom two steps onthe county’s pay plan, in effectadjusting the wage scale upwarda further 5 percent while ensur-ing that employees will contin-ue to receive step increases.

Equally important, the

agreement ensures thatincreased costs for health careare shared equitably based onemployees’ ability to pay.

Those terms are dramati-cally different from what thecounty’s negotiators repeatedlyoffered during 15 months oftalks. The county’s final offerbefore the strike would have leftmany employees with signifi-cantly higher health care costswhich, coupled with small wageincreases, would have meant apay cut for employees who hadalready gone four years withouta cost-of-living increase.

“We didn’t want to see ourwages lose ground when the

cost of living goes up, and weweren’t going to accept a healthplan where the lowest-paidemployees were asked to domore than the highest-paid,”Local 1028 President Dave Del-rose said. “By standing togetherwe reached a fair settlementthat achieves those goals.”

Time to take a stand

FOUR YEARS AGO, WITH THE ECON-omy in freefall and local gov-ernments facing difficult choic-es, members of Local 1028stepped up, agreeing to a con-tract that lacked standard cost-of-living increases.

“We put our wages onfreeze,” said Barb Guerrero,who works in the circuit clerk’soffice and served as a strike cap-tain. “We gave up all of that tohelp the county, to help thepeople. That’s what we do – weserve the public.”

Unfortunately, that sacri-fice wasn’t recognized by thecounty when talks over the nextcontract kicked off in mid-2012.They offered a contract withonly a paltry cost-of-livingincrease that would have beencompletely overwhelmed by adramatic increase in health carecosts.

With over 40 percent ofcounty employees making lessthan $30,000 a year, that wasunacceptable.

“My son had brain surgerytwo years ago and we still havefollow-up expenses from that.I’m the main breadwinner inmy family and I can’t do it withwhat the county’s offering,” saidEve Smolik, a nurse with thecounty health department. “Weneed to be able to take care ofourselves so we can take care ofpeople in the community.”

Little changed in themonths between the start ofnegotiations and the decision tostrike – little, that is, aside fromLocal 1028’s resolve to win afair contract, which only grew astime went on. In August, amarch and rally among themembership drew the largestturnout in the local’s history. InOctober, 90 percent of thoseeligible to strike voted to autho-rize a walk-out.

Then, after a last-ditchnegotiation session held at therequest of a federal mediator

saw thecountyrefuse tobudge,employeesbegan tostrike at 7a.m. onNov. 18.

One daylonger, one daystronger

ANYONE WHOdoubtedcountyemployeeslacked thestrength tostage ameaningfulwalkout wasquicklyprovenwrong –picket lineswere set upat more

than 20 worksites, the largest infront of Sunny Hill NursingHome and the county court-house.

“This is about together-ness,” said Eddie Bradley, whoworks in the nursing home’saccounts payable department.“Being on the picket line withmy fellow union members issomething that brings ustogether.”

The strike was a monumen-tal effort, requiring hard worknot just from Will Countyemployees, but also otherAFSCME locals, members ofother unions, friends and familymembers, and supportive citi-zens.

That support took manyforms, ranging from cups ofcoffee to financial donations.

“It is amazing. All theunion people, all our brothersand sisters have helped somuch these first weeks – givingus food, leaning on eachother,” said Keith Dick, a main-tenance and grounds worker atthe county’s adult detentioncenter.

That support kept spiritshigh, even when temperaturesdropped and even when thecounty tried to ignore what washappening.

“To everyone who hung a sign or joined our picket lines, donated to our cause orjust honked and waved, wecouldn’t have done it withoutyou,” Delrose said. “Now we’reglad to be back at work, servingyou, our neighbors and thecountless friends across thecounty that we never knew we had.”

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In October, someRock IslandCounty officials

thought they couldquietly push througha plan to privatize thecounty’s nursinghome.

BUT INSTEAD WHAT THEY GOT

WAS PUSHBACK – FROM NURSING

HOME EMPLOYEES, FROM THE

families of the home’s resi-dents and from ordinary citi-zens, all opposed to seeingthe care of the county’s frailelderly put into the hands of afor-profit company.

The fight to save HopeCreek Nursing Home fromoutsourcing is still ongoing,but so far the dominant storyhas been one of employeesand families reaching out and engaging the communityin the effort to preserve a vital public service and ensure that care comes beforeprofits.

“About 75 or 80 percentof our residents are Medicaid-funded,” said Shelley Close,president of AFSCME Local2371. “They shouldn’t have to worry about whether they’ll have a home or not.County officials can tell us a private home won’t get rid of those residents but we worry they’d ship themout.”

The crusade to save thenursing home began whenthe union caught wind of aplan by county board Chair-man Phillip Banaszek to holda vote on selling or leas-ing the home. Within amatter of days, employ-ees helped generate astrong turnout of peoplewho support keepingthe nursing home inpublic hands.

Reaching out

“WE PACKED THE BOARD

meeting in October withat least 200 people andgot enough board mem-bers to vote that ideadown,” Council 31 staffrepresentative DinoLeone said. “The localunion leaders were ableto call board membersand explain the situa-tion to them, educate themabout what harm this coulddo.”

Outsourcing supportersdidn’t relent, however, and

pushed to have the county putout requests for bids from pri-vate companies.

“They said it was just forinformational purposes, but

we know how thatgoes,” Leone said.

With time to pre-pare, nursing homeemployees reached out into the communi-ty, working with thefamilies and friends of

Hope Creek residents andother concerned citizens. The effort eventually spawnedKISS (Keep It Supported for Seniors), a group dedicat-

ed to preventing the nursinghome from being privatized.

“The KISS committee will educate the communityand let them know why thenursing home is needed,”Close said. “This communityhas always supported the nursing home. It’s just somecounty board members who don’t think we should be in the nursing home business.”

The union’swork and its out-reach have alreadyproven their worth:At another packedmeeting in Novem-ber, the countyboard rejected arequest to put outbids for the nurs-ing home.

Vocal supporters

SPEAKING OUT

against the planwas Mike Malm-strom, a formerstaff member ofretired U.S. Rep.Lane Evans, who isamong the home’sresidents.

“I’ve been inmany homes,including veterans’homes and privatenursing homes,and Hope Creek is

one of the best,” said Malm-strom, the former congress-man’s legal guardian. “Lanehas Parkinson’s disease andLewy body dementia – condi-tions that affect his muscles,his ability to control his move-ments and his memory – andwhatever he needs, the staffprovides. They have done afantastic job.”

Christine Baker, whosefather lives at the home, saidthe facility beat out other, for-profit homes.

“We visited several nurs-ing homes, but Hope Creekhas been an absolute god-send,” she said. “The staffmembers have become our extended family. Mymom, siblings and I visit every day, and the care andattention the staff gives, it’slike my mom and dad weretheir own parents. I don’tknow what we’d do withoutthem.”

Even though privatizationproponents have lost twovotes before the countyboard, they haven’t given upand will be urging rejection ofa referendum in November2014 that will ask voters toapprove a tax hike to put thenursing home on solid finan-cial footing.

Winning passage of thatreferendum will be the focusof Local 2371 and the KISScommittee for the next year.

“We’ve had three referen-da in the past that havepassed with flying colors soour hope is that will happenagain,” Close said.

Nursing home employees, community fight privatization

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“County officials can tell us a private homewon’t get rid of those residents but we

worry they’d ship them out.”—Shelley Close

Former U.S. Rep. Lane Evans is amongthe residents of Hope Creek NursingHome.

Members of AFSCME Local 2371 and community supporters ofHope Creek Nursing home packed meetings of the Rock IslandCounty Board.


For 11 years, theemployees atPresence Home

Care, which is part ofthe Presence Healthsystem, never gave upin their determina-tion to gain unionrepresentation.

THE RNS, SOCIAL WORKERS ANDOTHERS WHO PROVIDE HOME

HEALTH SERVICES BEGAN ORGA-nizing when they were part ofthe Resurrection Health Caresystem. Employees at severalhospitals in the system werealso seeking union represen-tation with AFSCME.

The roadblocks weremany as RHC managementwaged an aggressive campaignto thwart efforts to form aunion. But the employees onthe union organizing commit-tee were steadfast. WithAFSCME’s backing, they fileda complaint with the Depart-ment of Labor over wage andhour law violations – and pur-sued it for years. They strug-gled through all the changes

involved as ResurrectionHealth Care merged into alarger system and employeesbecame part of PresenceHealth. At the same time, theycontinued to build supportamong their coworkers strongenough to resist managementpressure.

In August 2012, PresenceHome Care employees votedoverwhelmingly to form aunion with AFSCME.

Now, after all those years– and another 11 months atthe bargaining table – Pres-ence employees have whatthey wanted: a contract thatwill guarantee them fairnessat the workplace and a realvoice in patient care.

“I think our perseveranceand stamina – and peoplewho stood up and weren’tafraid – made this happen,”said Vicki Affinito, treasurerof Local 2342. “The rug can’tbe pulled out from under usnow. We have a voice.”

The fight for a voicebegan over a decade ago,when Presence was still Resur-rection. Employees were dedi-cated to serving patients –mostly senior citizens onMedicare – but had little voice

in patient care, scheduling orstaffing levels.

The employer seemed tobe putting a priority on quan-tity over quality, with a focuson the number of patient vis-its that meant many were notgetting the care they needed.

The new, three-year con-tract marks a big step inresolving these issues. It estab-lishes a professional practicescommittee split evenlybetween labor and manage-ment that “may make recom-mendations to managementon patient care, patient han-dling, case loads, case man-agement, travel time, employ-er-employee relations” and

other key issues.The agreement also puts

into a place a defined proce-dure for patient schedulingthat will take into account theneeds of the patient, employ-ee workloads and travel time,among other factors.

Salaries for Presenceemployees – mostly registerednurses and therapists – will also improve, and Local2342 members will receivecontract signing bonuses aswell.

Affinito, however, said thecontract’s language on pro-ductivity and staffing mightrepresent the most importantchange.

“One of the things thatwas big for me and my col-leagues wasn’t about money,it was about staffing and hav-ing a good nurse to patientratio,” she said. “We got it inwriting that our productivity –how many patients we see perday – is at a set number now.Only in rare circumstancescould they say you have to seemore.”

Employees fought hardfor such a provision after see-ing management slowlyincrease the number ofpatients employees wereexpected to see each day –resulting in each patient get-ting less and less one-on-onecare.

“We’re going to be able togive better patient care if weknow what our set number isper day and we’ll have moretime to spend with the patientnow,” Affinito said.

“The negotiations wereup and down, but it was nicethey had to sit across from usand make decisions with usinstead of for us,” she added.“If we didn’t have a union andweren’t able to negotiate,we’d have way less than whatwe have now.”

Presence home health employeesratify first contract

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After years ofbudget cuts,layoffs and

attrition, AFSCMElocals representingadult and juvenileprobation officers inCook County arehopeful they’veturned the tide andwill soon see posi-tions restored.

THE NEW COUNTY BUDGET PRO-VIDES FOR THE HIRING OF 23PROBATION OFFICERS FOR ADULT

offenders and 20 officers forjuveniles.

The improved staffingresulted from direct action byemployees who have seen

their caseloads skyrocket andtheir quality of life suffer dueto added stress.

“This by no means bringsus back to where we were, butit’s a stopgap measure toreduce the bleeding andhopefully give officers withcaseloads way over standardssome relief,” Local 3486 Presi-dent Jim Dunaway said.

The adult probationoffice had lost 100 officerssince 2010 – 40 due to a 2010layoff, with 60 more lostthrough resignation or retire-ment. The situation createdwhat Dunaway called a “deathspiral” – fewer officers meantmore stress on those leftbehind, and those officersbecame more likely to leavefor that exact reason.

Losses among juvenileprobation officers have beeneven more dramatic, with

staff dropping from 500 to300. That not only makeswork more difficult for thosestill there, but it also increasesthe risk that juvenile offend-ers won’t get the services theyneed to avoid an adulthoodof crime.

“It’s had a devastatingimpact,” Local 3477 VicePresident Jason Smith said.“We provide services like drugcounseling, alternativeschooling, electronic moni-toring and GED programs.We need staff to conductthose programs.”

Making a case, face-to-face

THE SHORT-STAFFING IN BOTH

departments reached a pointwhere employees knew theexodus of probation officershad to be stopped. When

Cook County began drawingup its fiscal 2014 budget, anopportunity presented itself.

Both locals sought out in-person meetings with keycounty commissioners.

“We give them examples –this crime happened in yourdistrict to one of your con-stituents,” Dunaway said.

“Many of them were veryreceptive to the message wedelivered to them,” Smith said.

Commissioner Larry Suf-fredin took the lead in pressingfor inclusion of the probationstaff in the budget. “He playeda key role in moving this issueforward,” said Council 31 staff representative MaggieLorenc.

Still, more work liesahead. Getting each depart-ment back to a full comple-ment of probation officers willtake several budget cycles, and

even getting the positionsauthorized in the new budgetfilled will require continuedpressure on county officials.

As for adult probationofficers, those who were partof the 2010 layoff still haverecall rights thanks to anagreement negotiated byCouncil 31. Letters to thoseeligible for recall had justbeen sent as On the Movewent to press. But even then,Dunaway said, the union willhave to ensure people who arebrought back are assignedwhere they’re most needed.

“You’re not helping us ifyou’re not using the recalls toput people in the most criticalareas,” he said. “As long as ourdepartment and our manage-ment team listens to the unionabout where the needs arethat need to be met, serviceswill improve.”

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Union presses to restore probationstaff in Cook County


When the 15AFSCMElocals repre-

senting Cook Countyemployees begantalks on a new con-tract a year ago,members of the bar-gaining team com-plained that countynegotiators werestalling and seemedunprepared.

ONE YEAR LATER, NOT MUCH

HAS CHANGED.The issues expected to be

sticking points when talksbegan – health care, a cost-of-

living adjustment, classifica-tion issues and parental leave– remain the biggest sourcesof contention.

Many members of theAFSCME bargaining teambelieve the process has beenfurther hampered by theCounty’s lax attitude towardthe negotiations.

“The progress has beenvery slow and it just seems likethis administration, eventhough it says it’s trying tomove negotiations along, isn’tserious,” said Carmin Willis-Goodloe, president of Local1111.

“There’s not a sense ofurgency from the county,”said Presita West, president ofLocal 3315. “I think there’s alack of direction.”

The county wants a con-

tract with a pay freeze in thefirst year, followed by a 1 per-cent increase in the secondyear. At the same time, thecounty has demandedemployees pay much more forhealth care.

“Right now we have agood contract with goodinsurance and benefits – wewant to preserve what we haveand we need a fair wageincrease,” Willis-Goodloe said.

15 locals united

COOK COUNTY NEGOTIATIONSare always somewhat complexdue to the 15 locals that areincluded in the master con-tract – locals whose membersserve in a wide variety of posi-tions. Bargaining talks include“local negotiations” for 14

separate contracts, along witha “universal table” that workson common issues includingwage increases and insuranceissues.

Still, the 15 locals havemanaged to stay focused on acommon purpose.

“I think the bargainingteam presents a unifiedfront,” West said, “eventhough there’s a variety ofissues each local faces. Thereare some employers who givea particular local difficulty but

it’s our job to support eachother in this struggle. Wewant to go out and show oursolidarity.”

Showing solidarity is cru-cial to bringing the negotia-tions to a successful conclu-sion, according to MikeNewman, AFSCME’s chiefnegotiator.

“For these many months,all of the locals on the CookCounty bargaining team havestuck together and stood firmagainst management’s effortsto reduce the standard of liv-ing of County employees,”Newman said. “Now we’regoing to have to intensify ourefforts at the grassroots level –everyone working together –to make sure the countyknows that we are determinedto get a fair contract.”

One year in, slow going in Cook County talks

Despite beingin bargainingfor over a

year, AFSCME localunions representingCity of Chicagoemployees and theEmanuel administra-tion are still far aparton the terms of a newcontract.

A LARGE REASON FOR THAT IS

THE ADMINISTRATION’S CONTIN-UED INSISTENCE ON THE UNRE-stricted right to privatize cityjobs and services, a practice thathas seen good jobs replacedwith low-paying ones and great-ly reduced accountability.

“We’re clearly moving at asnail’s pace,” said Susan Little-field, president of Local 2912.“I don’t think managementwants this over with. As longas we’re at the table, they cankeep bringing in these privatecompanies.”

Littlefield and othermembers of the AFSCME bar-gaining team for city employ-ees think one way to speed uptalks – and rein in Emanuel’sprivatization push – is for the

city council to pass the Privati-zation Transparency andAccountability Ordinance.

That proposal wouldensure every privatizationscheme receives a public hear-ing and would require the cityto demonstrate that outsourc-ing would still result in jobswith fair wages and benefitswhile offering meaningfulcost savings.

Unfortunately, the pro-posal has been bottled up inthe council’s Rules Commit-tee – traditionally a graveyard

for legislation opposed by themayor.

The AFSCME bargainingteam has been fighting forstrong anti-privatization lan-guage in a new contract. Pas-sage of the ordinance wouldallow several issues related toprivatization to be taken offthe bargaining table.

“If this ordinance canpass, the chances of resolvingthe outstanding privatizationlanguage will be greatlyimproved and we will be ableto move on to other issues,”

said Local 1215 PresidentJohn Rayburn. “Until then wehave to continue to standfirm.”

The case against rampantprivatization has only grownstronger in recent months,thanks to the botched rolloutof the new Ventra fare pay-ment system for CTA trainsand buses.

Ventra, run by CubicTransportation Systems, a pri-vate California firm, hasbecome a running jokeamong Chicago commuters.

Complaints have included anenormously complex transi-tion from the old system andbeing overcharged for trips.Some people, after signing upto receive a Ventra card, havehad their mailboxes inundat-ed with literally hundreds ofplastic fare cards.

The Ventra transitionwent so poorly that the CTAdelayed for several weeks itsplan to phase out the farecards used under the old sys-tem, which was administeredin-house by public employees.

“The citizens of Chicagoare only getting half the truthwhen it comes to the mayorand privatization,” Littlefieldsaid. “They’re not getting fulldisclosure of the costs or thedownside of what happenswhen things don’t go right.The public’s not being fullyeducated on the costs.There’s no accountability forthese private firms.”

Fighting for retroactive pay

ANOTHER MAJOR STICKING POINT

in talks with the city has beenthe Emanuel administration’srefusal to consider a contractthat awards wage increasesretroactive to when the last

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Privatization looms large in City of Chicago bargaining

“We want to preservewhat we have and we

need a fair wageincrease.”

—Carmin Willis-Goodloe

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VOICES FROM THE STRIKE LINE

Veronica PerezCircuit Clerk

Everything else has gone up except for our wages. Gas, taxes, everything has gone up except our COLA. We’re one of the biggest counties, we’re growing, and we’re one of the lowest paid in the state. There’s a lot of pride, walking out there with my brothers and sisters. We’ve put our differences aside and people we’ve never spoken to, I’ve become friends with. It’s changed all of us forever. There’s a sense of pride. When we walk back in there, we’ll be able to hold our head high.

Karry DotsonSunny Hill Nursing Home

We’re dependable. We show up every day and do what we’re supposed to do, and they’re unfair with us. Why not give us a reasonable raise? We’ve got to feed our sons and daughters just like they’ve got to feed theirs.

Sara Dankowski Circuit Clerk

I’m out here to get a fair contract. They’re trying to increase our insurance costs without providing any cost of living increase. They have the money to give us a fair contract but they’re trying to make a statement. I truthfully think they don’t consider us an asset, but we’re the county’s biggest asset. We provide services to the people of Will County and they need to treat us as such. It’s disrespectful when supervisors who aren’t on the frontlines are getting raises and we’re not. We need to fight for what’s fair for us.

We have four kids. Everything just gets more expensive. When you don’t get wage increases, it gets tougher and tougher. We’re on the picket lines almost every day – sometimes twice a day, sometimes with the kids too. We just have to show everyone that if we can do this, we can set an example to the people who think they can’t.

Keith Dick Adult Detention Center State’s Attorney’s office

We’re a single-income family. It’s hard to get the bills paid and make sure everything’s on the table for the kids. I have a second job and have been able to make ends meet, but I’m still staying in my folks’ house. I can’t afford a mort-gage or rent by myself. The support on the line, the support from the public, has been awesome. We’ve got the police department coming in, wearing our stickers into the office. Our attorneys are wearing green in court. Strangers have dropped off coffee and bagels. Restaurants have delivered food. You walk through Joliet and see someone wearing green or holding a sign and you’ve got a new friend.

Gabby ReyesEnvironmental Health

After 20 years of service I only make $30,000 a year. We’ve had to cut back on anything that we can. I became a citizen seven or eight years ago. I became an American so I could have a voice and have rights. By being out there on the picket line, I’m teaching my kids something.

Jim RinkeCounty Courthouse

The county has frozen raises for the last four years. We were in negotiations for 15 months and they tried to double our insurance premiums and give us absolutely no cost-of-living raise. Both sides need to give and we stepped up and put off raises and they offered nothing. This country was built on unions. This is why we have vacation days and sick days. We have the pay we have because of unions. If we stay strong and stay together, we’ll come through.

Cheryl HajewskiCounty Courthouse

I have two kids at home. My husband works, too. One thing I’ve always wanted is to have my own house – make my own garden, cut my own grass. Looking at my future, I can see that what the county wants to do is not going to benefit me and allow us to get that house we want for our kids. When the labor movement rose up years ago, they did it to create fair work practices and fair wages. To stand out here and be part of that, and carry on what history started means a lot to me. I have to do it.

Brooke BrewerRecorder’s office

This is something that’s been coming for a long time. When we negotiated the last contract, we sacrificed COLAs because of the poor economy. It’s about time the county gave something back to us. We deserve so much more. We are strong employees. We are vital to the operations of this county and we deserve fair pay and good health insurance. We need to show the county how strong we are and we need to show the public how important we are to the county.

Jason Taylor Health Department

They’re acting like our families don’t deserve fair health coverage and that’s what we’re really fighting for. We don’t want to strike – we’re forced to strike. We want a fair contract and to have a happy home for our families. It’s really about the family and the community. If we don’t get fair coverage for our families and can’t serve the people, then there’s a problem.

ill County employees - members of AFSCME Local 1028 - were on strike for 16 days in late November. Their jobs include working in the county courthouse, caring for the elderly in Sunny Hill Nursing Home, main-taining highways and more. Though they came from di!erent jobs and walks of life, they stood united in their "ght for a fair contract and emerged stronger than before. Some of these members spoke to On the Move about why they were on the picket line.

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VOICES FROM THE STRIKE LINE

Veronica PerezCircuit Clerk

Everything else has gone up except for our wages. Gas, taxes, everything has gone up except our COLA. We’re one of the biggest counties, we’re growing, and we’re one of the lowest paid in the state. There’s a lot of pride, walking out there with my brothers and sisters. We’ve put our differences aside and people we’ve never spoken to, I’ve become friends with. It’s changed all of us forever. There’s a sense of pride. When we walk back in there, we’ll be able to hold our head high.

Karry DotsonSunny Hill Nursing Home

We’re dependable. We show up every day and do what we’re supposed to do, and they’re unfair with us. Why not give us a reasonable raise? We’ve got to feed our sons and daughters just like they’ve got to feed theirs.

Sara Dankowski Circuit Clerk

I’m out here to get a fair contract. They’re trying to increase our insurance costs without providing any cost of living increase. They have the money to give us a fair contract but they’re trying to make a statement. I truthfully think they don’t consider us an asset, but we’re the county’s biggest asset. We provide services to the people of Will County and they need to treat us as such. It’s disrespectful when supervisors who aren’t on the frontlines are getting raises and we’re not. We need to fight for what’s fair for us.

We have four kids. Everything just gets more expensive. When you don’t get wage increases, it gets tougher and tougher. We’re on the picket lines almost every day – sometimes twice a day, sometimes with the kids too. We just have to show everyone that if we can do this, we can set an example to the people who think they can’t.

Keith Dick Adult Detention Center State’s Attorney’s office

We’re a single-income family. It’s hard to get the bills paid and make sure everything’s on the table for the kids. I have a second job and have been able to make ends meet, but I’m still staying in my folks’ house. I can’t afford a mort-gage or rent by myself. The support on the line, the support from the public, has been awesome. We’ve got the police department coming in, wearing our stickers into the office. Our attorneys are wearing green in court. Strangers have dropped off coffee and bagels. Restaurants have delivered food. You walk through Joliet and see someone wearing green or holding a sign and you’ve got a new friend.

Gabby ReyesEnvironmental Health

After 20 years of service I only make $30,000 a year. We’ve had to cut back on anything that we can. I became a citizen seven or eight years ago. I became an American so I could have a voice and have rights. By being out there on the picket line, I’m teaching my kids something.

Jim RinkeCounty Courthouse

The county has frozen raises for the last four years. We were in negotiations for 15 months and they tried to double our insurance premiums and give us absolutely no cost-of-living raise. Both sides need to give and we stepped up and put off raises and they offered nothing. This country was built on unions. This is why we have vacation days and sick days. We have the pay we have because of unions. If we stay strong and stay together, we’ll come through.

Cheryl HajewskiCounty Courthouse

I have two kids at home. My husband works, too. One thing I’ve always wanted is to have my own house – make my own garden, cut my own grass. Looking at my future, I can see that what the county wants to do is not going to benefit me and allow us to get that house we want for our kids. When the labor movement rose up years ago, they did it to create fair work practices and fair wages. To stand out here and be part of that, and carry on what history started means a lot to me. I have to do it.

Brooke BrewerRecorder’s office

This is something that’s been coming for a long time. When we negotiated the last contract, we sacrificed COLAs because of the poor economy. It’s about time the county gave something back to us. We deserve so much more. We are strong employees. We are vital to the operations of this county and we deserve fair pay and good health insurance. We need to show the county how strong we are and we need to show the public how important we are to the county.

Jason Taylor Health Department

They’re acting like our families don’t deserve fair health coverage and that’s what we’re really fighting for. We don’t want to strike – we’re forced to strike. We want a fair contract and to have a happy home for our families. It’s really about the family and the community. If we don’t get fair coverage for our families and can’t serve the people, then there’s a problem.

ill County employees - members of AFSCME Local 1028 - were on strike for 16 days in late November. Their jobs include working in the county courthouse, caring for the elderly in Sunny Hill Nursing Home, main-taining highways and more. Though they came from di!erent jobs and walks of life, they stood united in their "ght for a fair contract and emerged stronger than before. Some of these members spoke to On the Move about why they were on the picket line.

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AFSCME report sheds light oninequality at University of Illinois

The Universityof IllinoisUrbana-

Champaign maydepict itself as anenlightened institu-tion of higher learning – but that’scontradicted by thegrowing wage gapbetween top universi-ty administrators andits lowest-paidemployees.

A REPORT RELEASED BY COUNCIL31 FOUND THAT “CLERICAL ANDTECHNICAL WORKERS ACROSS

campus have seen their paystagnate and workloadincrease.” Meanwhile, the uni-versity “has managed to findthe resources to dramaticallyincrease the compensationfor its top administrators andhighest-paid staff.”

As a result, many universi-

ty employees who ensurebasic operations and work forkey programs are strugglingto provide for their families.Some of the report’s mostdramatic findings are:• Total salaries paid to the top1 percent of earners at UIUCin 2013 nearly equaledsalaries paid to the bottom 10percent of earners.• The value of raises paid tothe top 1 percent over the lastthree years could have provid-ed a $3,128 pay increase toeach employee in the lowest10 percent wage tier – a raisethat would lift many out ofpoverty.• The highest paid 50 employ-ees at the university saw theirsalaries increase by an averageof 25 percent between 2010and 2013.• In the same time span, thelowest paid 50 employees sawtheir average salary increasejust 3.86 percent – to $20,348.

The report’s findingsaren’t news to the manyUIUC employees who have been fighting for fairwages and benefits, including

clerical workers and veteri-nary technicians who inrecent years have fought forthe right to organize and wincontracts.

Belva Blakely, a communi-ty worker for the UIUC Exten-sion program, has worked forthe university for nearly 10years. Her job involves goingout into the community toteach children healthy eatinghabits. But despite the impor-tant service she provides andthe years she’s put in, she onlymakes $14.39 an hour.

“Gas costs too much andfood is too expensive and youcan’t keep up,” she said.“There’s no trips to themovies, no eating out.”

She called the university’spractice of lavishing topadministrators with raises “alow blow.”

“They might value thework we do, but they don’twant to pay us any more to doit,” she said. “They want allthe money to go to the high-er-ups. That’s plain to seeevery time they give someone

a $90,000 raise. I feel terriblebecause it wouldn’t take thatmuch to satisfy me, but ittakes a whole lot to satisfythem.”

Employees like Blakely, asthe report indicates, are thelifeblood of the university –and the administrators gettingbig raises wouldn’t be able torun the university without theclerical and technical workerswho have seen their wagesstay flat.

“UIUC depends on theskills and experience of thou-sands of employees whosework is often invisible andundervalued,” the reportnotes. “The university’s bud-get has increasingly reflectedits goal of attracting andretaining big-name adminis-trators and academic super-stars. Their decisions ignorethe fact that no administrator(big name or not) and nohighly-paid academic super-star can be successful withoutthe quality clerical and techni-cal workers that supporteverything that is done oncampus.”

After years ofcomplaintsregarding

inmate overcrowdingand understaffing,Council 31 and theDepartment of Corrections haveestablished a jointlabor-managementtask force aimed ataddressing the mostserious problemsconfronting thestate’s prisons.

THE TASK FORCE IS CHARGED

WITH SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWING

EACH CORRECTIONAL FACILITY IN

the state, in conjunction withlocal unions and facilityadministration, to make rec-ommendations regardingimprovements in operations

that enhance safety andstrengthen security.

“The task force is going tohave the chance to addresssome long-neglected issues,”said Ralph Portwood, a mem-ber of the committee andpresident of Local 1866, Stat-eville Correctional Center.“We hope that this effort isgoing to boost morale at theworkplace seeing that theseissues are being addressed.”

The task force, whichincludes three AFSCME repre-sentatives and three IDOC man-agement representatives,recently conducted its first sitereview at Vandalia CorrectionalCenter.

Facility visits are going tocontinue through next sum-mer. After each visit, both sideswill follow up with each other togo over top concerns, rangingfrom problems that can befixed immediately to morelong-term issues.

Each site visit includes dis-cussions with local union lead-

ership, administrators andemployees.

“The members seemedhappy to see us and were veryengaged in the process andglad someone was paying atten-tion,” Council 31 regional direc-tor Eddie Caumiant said of thevisit to Vandalia CC. “It’s goingto be a very long-term project.It’s a heavy commitment.”

While the panel has onlyone site under its belt so far, ini-tial results appear promising. AtVandalia, administrators arealready working to fill key open-ings – a move that’s desperatelyneeded, said task force mem-ber, Randy Hellmann, presi-dent of Local 943, PinckneyvilleCorrectional Center.

“One thing we saw immedi-ately at Vandalia was the lack ofstaff and guidance,” he said.“You would have one officersupervising 88 inmates forseven-and-a-half hours. There’sno zone coverage or supervisorsto provide security and makesure that staff member’s safe.

That’s one of the things weimmediately jumped on.”

Facility improvements arealso on the way at Vandalia,including repairs to lightingaround the perimeter fenceand lockboxes for correctionalofficers to store belongingswhile on duty.

“Many staff didn’t evenhave a place to put their coats,”Hellmann said. “Inmates wouldsteal their belongings.”

A broader focus

WHILE MAKING FACILITY-BY-facility changes can make abig difference at the groundlevel, the task force is also tak-ing a broader look at how thestate’s prisons are run. Only afew months removed from theclosures of Tamms CC andDwight CC, overcrowding –and the security risk it creates– remains a primary concern.

A related problem is agradual reduction in staff – alack of new hires has meant

fewer correctional officers areresponsible for a larger num-bers of inmates.

“We have to go back andlook at the rosters from2009,” Hellmann said. “Backthen we entered into a memo-randum of understandingwith DOC and there was sup-posed to be no reduction inposts. But due to attrition, thedepartment may be in viola-tion of that.”

Members of the task forceemphasize that their work hasonly begun and judging thesuccess or failure of the pro-ject could take months. Butright now, there is a strongsense of optimism.

“These things that we canbring forth ought to hopefullyprovide some necessary reliefto problems that are outstand-ing without putting pressureon the locals,” Hellmann said. “I think it has the poten-tial of really moving us down apath that addresses issuesthoroughly.”

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New task force tackles DOC safety and security concerns

Veterinary technicians at the University ofIllinois Urbana-Champaign have helddemonstrations to demand a fair contract.


In a victory forIllinois taxpayers,Medicaid

recipients andAFSCME members,the union and thestate have come to an agreement to endthe state’s use ofMaximus, a privatefirm, for Medicaideligibility redetermi-nations.

AN INDEPENDENT ARBITRATOR’Sorder issued Dec. 17 sets inmotion the termination of state

government’s wasteful $77 mil-lion contract with Maximus thathas been duplicating Medicaideligibility redetermination workperformed by state employees.

Under the terms of theorder, the state will use current-ly appropriated funds to hire asufficient number of casework-ers to return the work toemployees in the departmentsof Human Services and Health-care and Family Services nolater than April 30, 2014. Max-imus will continue to providedata-matching software andsome support services untilJune 2015.

“The arbitrator’s order is awin for Illinois taxpayers,”AFSCME Council 31 ExecutiveDirector Henry Bayer said.“Wasteful spending on a private

contract will be eliminated,trained professional casework-ers will replace unqualified callcenters, and state governmentwill ensure that Medicaid isavailable to those who need it,and cut off from those whodon’t qualify.”

The state had appealed tocircuit court seeking to over-turn an initial arbitrator’s rulingrequiring termination of thecontract by the end of 2013.However, even after the appeal,the state and AFSCME contin-ued talks aimed at ending theuse of Maximus employees toperform bargaining unit work –a clear contract violation.

The decision to outsourceredetermination work hasalready cost taxpayers millionsmore than if the state had sim-

ply hired sufficient staff. Duringthe arbitration hearing,AFSCME presented evidence –not disputed by the state –showing that keeping the workin-house would save more than$18.1 million annually.

Because of Maximus’ spottyperformance record, the statehad to hire additional staff todouble-check the company’swork, adding to already substan-tial costs. To date, its recom-mendations to change existingMedicaid coverage were foundin error and overturned in 47percent of cases, its cancella-tions reversed in 31 percent ofcases, and its findings deemedinaccurate in 15 percent ofcases where the company saidrecipients should continuereceiving benefits.

Despite those numbers, avocal minority of legislators andconservative lobbyists are claim-ing that Maximus’ track recordis actually a “stunning success,”demonstrating the lengths towhich pro-privatization forceswill go to weaken public servicesin order to help for-profit cor-porations.

The protests also signalthat while the settlementregarding Maximus is a victory,the forces pushing greater pri-vatization aren’t planning onscaling back their agenda inresponse.

“It’s time to end thisfailed experiment with out-sourcing a critical publicwatchdog role to a private,for-profit corporation,”AFSCME director Bayer said.

Maximus settlement will endwasteful outsourcing

Fight for back wagescontinues in Springfield

WHEN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLYwrapped up its business forthe year, it failed to allocatemoney to pay wages owed tosome 20,000 state employees– even after it respondedquickly when lawmakers’own pay was threatened.

State employees in fiveagencies – DHS, DJJ, DOC,DNR and DPH – have beenwaiting more than two yearsfor the back wages owed tothem after Gov. Pat Quinnwithheld their negotiatedpay increase. Although manyemployees have receivedpartial payment for wagesowed in fiscal 2011 and2012, there is still some $112million in outstanding debtto state employees.

In the closing days ofthe fall Veto Session,AFSCME held a Back PayAction Day at the State Capi-tol to urge key legislators tospeak out more strongly foraction on a supplementalappropriation by the Gener-al Assembly. Twenty-fiveteams of AFSCME local lead-ers from across the statetravelled to Springfield topresent “Collection Notices”to their legislators and pressthem to stand up for state

employees.Despite this grassroots

lobbying and broad supportfor the supplemental appro-priation in both houses,Speaker Michael Madiganhas not allowed it to becalled for a vote.

Some legislators havemade the argument that thestate’s many “unpaid bills”need to take priority over paying employees the wagesthey’re owed – an argumentAFSCME has strongly rejected.

“How is this not anotherunpaid bill?” Council 31Executive Director HenryBayer said. “These are notbonuses people are waitingon. These are regular wagesthat have already beenearned. It should be the

General Assembly’s first pri-ority when they return toSpringfield.”

As union members con-tinue to lobby the legislatureto appropriate money forthe back wages, Council 31continues to oppose Attor-ney General Lisa Madigan’sappeal of the circuit court’sfinding that the money owedis an obligation of the stateand must be paid.

U.S. Supreme Courtcase could cripple public employeeunions

A CASE SET TO BE ARGUED

before the U.S. SupremeCourt in January – onebeing pushed by a numberof anti-union organizations –

could have enormous impli-cations for the future ofpublic employee unions.

On Jan. 21, the courtwill hear arguments in Har-ris v. Quinn, a case that orig-inated in Illinois when thestate declared that personalcare assistants (also knownas home health care aides)paid from state Medicaiddollars would be treated asstate employees for collec-tive bargaining purposes.

One of these personalcare assistants, Pamela Har-ris, agreed to become aplaintiff in a suit filed by theanti-union National Right toWork Legal Defense Founda-tion which sought to under-mine the right of theseemployees to form a union.Even though both an Illinoiscircuit court and the appel-late court ruled againstNational Right to Work’sargument, the U.S. SupremeCourt recently agreed tohear the appeal of the caseover the objections of theObama administration.

The suit contends that itis unconstitutional forunions in the public sectorto charge a “fair-share fee”to employees in a bargainingunit who choose not to beunion members.

It goes even further, notonly seeking to prevent a

union from negotiating onbehalf of everyone in a bar-gaining unit, but also seek-ing to severely limit theissues that can be negotiat-ed.

Given the propensity ofthe current Republican-dominated Supreme Courtto issue rulings that stronglyfavor corporate interests,there is a very real dangerthat National Right to Workcould prevail in this case.

A range of rulings arepossible, including a very narrow one that would only affect home health careworkers. However, the casehas turned into a rallyingpoint for right-wing, anti-union organizations – alongwith National Right toWork, the Illinois Policy Institute and the CatoInstitute have all becomeinvolved. Briefs filed by those groups urge the courtto issue a ruling that wouldseverely cripple all publicemployee unions, includingAFSCME.

If the court rules thatfair share fees in the publicsector are unconstitutional,then public employeeunions would be forced todevote resources toward rep-resenting employees who

SHORT REPORTS

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AFSCME membersdelivered “Collec-tion Notices” tomembers of theGeneral Assembly,including Democra-tic Rep. Jay Hoff-man (left).


Slow start, good finishfor Fulton Countyemployees

DESPITE SOME INITIAL RELUC-tance by management to takebargaining seriously, membersof Local 1372 in Fulton Countyare happy with a new four-yearagreement that includes wageincreases and several languageimprovements.

The contract raises wagesby 2 percent in each of the firsttwo years, and by 2.5 percent ineach of the final two years.

Initial negotiations focusedonly on the county board andnursing home, but got off tosuch a slow start that eventuallyall county employees represent-ed by AFSCME were involved.

“They wouldn’t work withus on anything initially,” Coun-cil 31 staff representative RandyLynch said. “But then whenthey did finally sit down, we gotit all resolved pretty quickly.”

The agreement also pro-vides for extra vacation days foremployees who have been withthe county more than 20 years.Its length is also significant –outgoing President SamSwickard said he wanted toensure a large number ofexpected retirees could stepdown with a contract in place.

At the other end of theseniority scale, the contract con-tains language to help draw inand retain new employees byreducing to six months a proba-tionary period that had lastedup to five years, depending onthe position.

“One of the women in theoffice had to wait five years andthe truck drivers had to waitthree for full pay,” Swickardsaid. “I don’t like that two-tieredsystem.”

Swickard said that changewill also help the county in thelong-run.

“All low wages do is driveaway people with high skills,” hesaid. “It doesn’t save the countymoney because they don’t getthe caliber of career employeesthey need.”

The bargaining team wasled by Lynch and includedSwickard, Larry Lindsay andTanya Holmes.

Bloomington employees block privatization expansion

CONTRACTS COVERING PUBLIC

works and library employees inthe City of Bloomington willprovide modest wage increases,but the real victory for Local699 may be in keeping out lan-guage that could have openedthe door to increased privatiza-

tion of city services.Both contracts run for two

years. Public works employeeswill receive a 2 percent wageincrease in the second year oftheir agreement, along with a$500 bonus, while libraryemployees will receive 2 percentbumps in both years.

The city was hoping to usethe contracts to set a precedentfor others by putting in lan-guage allowing “managed com-petition” – usually a euphemismfor privatization.

“They wanted to imple-ment some managed competi-tion language to target thegarbage pick-up workers,”Council 31 staff representativeRenee Nestler said. “We endedup not having to take that. Wedid some things on the ground,putting together a report onwhy managed competition wasnot a good idea.”

The city tried to add similarlanguage to the contract forlibrary employees, even thoughit largely wouldn’t apply tothem. But employees saw thatfor what it was – an attempt toestablish a precedent for othercontracts – and stood against it.

“We weren’t going to signoff on something like thatbecause it could have hurtother employees in the city,”executive board member Bon-nie Becker said.

The bargaining committeeincluded Nestler, local Presi-dent Lyle Oliver, Becker, RobOliver, Aaron Barlow, KentSigler, Wendy Klessig, HonorColeman, Steve Connor, JohnWheatley, Tim Kerns, MaryCruser and Rondalea Fish.

NIU health serviceemployees fight offtakeaways

SIGNIFICANT INCREASES WERE HARDto come by in the new contractfor members of Local 963, butthe five-year agreement still con-tains some hard-won gains forhealth service employees atNorthern Illinois University.

The contract includes 1percent wage increases in eachof its final three years. It alsoestablishes benchmarks forstarting salaries, including newpositions.

“We did the best we couldfacing some dire circum-stances,” Council 31 staff repre-sentative Ken Anderson said.“NIU is a school facing declin-ing enrollment and a trimmedbudget. That makes life moredifficult.”

“We didn’t get all we want-ed but we got a lot more thanwhat they were offering, whichwas basically nothing,” Local

963 President Carol Sibley said.“They wanted no raises.”

Negotiating the agreementtook over a year, but Sibley saidthe time was worth it.

“There was an awful lot ofdelaying in the bargaining butwe persisted and bargainedwhat we thought were theimportant issues,” she said.

The bargaining team, ledby Anderson, included Sibley,Becky Jarman, Karyn Dixsonand Andy Peccarelli.

Making the caseagainst outsourcing in Wilmington

CITY OF WILMINGTON EMPLOYEES

knew it would be hard to makemajor gains in their new con-tract, but they also weren’tgoing to let an opportunity goto waste – especially when thethreat of outsourcing loomed.

When it came time to nego-tiate, Local 1909 membersmade the case against outsourc-ing to city officials.

“Outsourcing has beensuch a constant drumbeat,”Council 31 staff representativeJeff Dexter said. “The employerhas always come to us duringbargaining and threatened uswith outsourcing and layoffs.”

Fighting outsourcing isnothing new for the local, Dex-ter said.

“Part of what they’ve done,even prior to this contract, iswhen the city wants to out-source, the local has looked atwhat the proposed bids are, andshowed they can do it cheaperthan what the city was going topay,” Dexter said.

The four year contractholds off outsourcing and alsoincludes wage increases of 1.5percent in each of its last threeyears. Employees were also ableto hold off management’sattempt to increase health carecosts.

“We were able to keep ourhealth insurance costs down toa minimum which was our goalin the first place,” Local 1909President Pat Nugent said.

The bargaining teamincluded Dexter, Nugent, RyanFoster and Ken Ewenson.

Wages, family leaveprovisions improve for Madison Countyemployees

A GROUP OF CONTRACTS COVERINGMadison County employees willkeep wages rising, while also giv-ing greater assistance to workerswhose children are facinghealth issues.

The agreements coveremployees of the county board,

the circuit clerk and the chiefjudge. All the contracts run forfour years, with wages increas-ing 7 percent over the finalthree years.

While the first year techni-cally calls for a pay freeze, thelocal was able to negotiate aone-time, $450 signing bonusfor all members – a significantamount, particularly for the low-est-paid employees.

“It’s a good agreementoverall. We had a good founda-tion to work with. The local’sreally involved with good leader-ship,” Council 31 staff represen-tative Steve Joiner said.

The most significant gainfor county employees may be anexpanded family leave provisionthat allows employees time offto care for adult children, notjust minors.

“Whether your kid is 8, 18or 38, if there’s something phys-ically or mentally wrong withyour child and they need care,you shouldn’t be limited,” thelocal’s president, Chris Miltonsaid. “It made a lot of peopleangry to be told that theyshouldn’t be able to take care oftheir children.”

The negotiating teamincluded Joiner, Milton, CathiGitchoff, Greg Faulkner, PaulKacera, Joli Sabatino, TheresaHale, Lexy Schlemer, Bill Van-Buskirk, Denise Marler, DarrylSeaman and Todd Brooke.

No attorney means noproblems for PeoriaCounty employees

HEADING INTO A NEW ROUND OF

bargaining, Peoria Countyemployees were expecting theworst: drawn out, frustratingnegotiations and the possibili-ty of little improvement inwages and benefits.

“At the previous negotia-tion we had a tough time,”Local 3586 President KevinKennedy said. “They wantedto have shortened work weeksand furloughs.”

But before talks began,the local asked managementwhether it would be willing toskip having an attorney han-dle negotiations and insteadallow the two sides to talkdirectly.

“They agreed to do thatand we secured a fair agree-ment after five or six meet-ings,” Council 31 staff repre-sentative Tim Lavelle said.

The three-year agreementwill raise wages by 7.5 percentover its life. Otherwise, thecontract is basically a continu-ance of an agreement that hasserved employees well in thepast.

“There’s no givebacks anddecent wage increases,”Lavelle said.

Joining Kennedy andLavelle in bargaining wereKim Schilling, Mischele Arbo-gast and Felicia Whitelow.

Wages improve in pairof Peoria contracts

TWO UNITS OF LOCAL 3464 INPeoria recently ratified con-

tracts that will see wagesincrease – with one also provid-ing some protection from out-sourcing.

The first agreement coversa handful of ticket-sellers at thePeoria Civic Center. That three-year contract includes 2 percentwage increases in each year.The eventual goal is to combinethe contract with a larger agree-ment covering other civic cen-ter workers.

The other agreement is afour-year contract for libraryemployees, who will see theirwages rise 7.35 percent overthat time, along with lump-sumbonuses in 2014 and 2015 andimproved longevity bonuses.

The contract also guaran-tees that employees will begiven more time for training – acritical need for library workers.

“With librarians being sucha technical position, traininghas to be the biggest compo-nent for them,” said Local 3464President Sherry Carter-Allen.“Employers always want to raisethe bar, but they also have toeducate our members andmake sure they’re trainedappropriately.”

Carter-Allen said the agree-ment also strengthens the bid-ding power of library employ-ees, improving their ability tofight off attempts at privatiza-tion.

“With privatization beingEnemy No. 1 to union life, wehave to make sure our contractshave language that’s as tight aspossible and allows us to fight,”she said.

The library contract alsoguarantees each employee willhave one Saturday and Sundayoff per month.

The negotiating team forboth contracts includedLavelle and Carter-Allen, withBarbara Bradley-Carruth,Diane Whitaker, Dave Under-wood, Sandy Smith and VickieKing working on the contractfor civic center employees,and Chris Farris, Joe Fitzanko,Vicky Gouliard, Tiana Helms,Tom McFall and Max Smithserving on the team for libraryemployees.

“Really smooth” talksfor Rock Island Boardof Education employees

A QUICK ROUND OF BARGAINING

resulted in a three-year agree-ment for Rock Island Board of Education employees thatwill see wages rise by 6 per-cent overall.

Negotiations went wellthanks to a good relationshipwith management, Local 822President Carl Durham said.

“Both sides work togethera lot so it makes things reallysmooth,” Durham said. Ourinsurance not changing wasthe biggest victory.”

The bargaining teamincluded Durham, Council 31staff representative DinoLeone, Corey Colvin, JoanneFrance-Silas, Debbi Swanson,Stephanie Anson, LupeHatch, Tina Imes and JoelPadilla.

ON THE LOCAL LEVEL


With the Gen-eral Assem-bly’s 2014

session and Marchprimary elections onthe horizon, Council31’s biennial PEO-PLE Legislative andEndorsement Con-ference will haveplenty to discuss.

PEOPLE (PUBLIC EMPLOYEESORGANIZED TO PROMOTE LEG-ISLATIVE EQUALITY) IS COUNCIL31’s political action program.The conference – one of twothat will be held in 2014 – isopen to every AFSCME localunion in the state. Locals arerepresented by their presi-dents and PEOPLE chairper-sons. Each retiree subchaptercan also send a representative.

If any item tops the agen-da when the conferencebegins on Feb. 1 in Spring-field, it may be the campaignto change the state’s incometax so that it’s fairer to themiddle class and small busi-nesses.

The conference will comein the midst of a campaign byAFSCME and over 100 otherorganizations to place on theNovember ballot a proposedconstitutional amendmentthat would allow Illinois toinstitute higher income taxrates for higher incomes andlower tax rates for lowerincomes.

The amendment isurgently needed to addressthe state’s chronic budgetshortfall without resorting tomassive cutbacks in publicsector jobs and services.

The campaign – A BetterIllinois – is already working togather signatures from peopleacross the state who supportthe plan. However, only theGeneral Assembly can placethe proposed amendment onthe ballot – a task that mustbe accomplished by May.

“Our locals and membersare going to play a key role inpersuading lawmakers to puttax fairness on the ballot,”said John Cameron, Council31’s director of political andcommunity relations. “ThePEOPLE conference will giveus a chance to inform everylocal of where the campaignstands and agree on a com-mon strategy.”

Other issues important tothe union will also be on theagenda, including the Care

Campaign – an effort toincrease funding to communi-ty agencies serving individualswith developmental disabili-ties so direct support workerscan earn wages sufficient tolift them out of poverty.

Another priority will be arenewed legislative effort tomake whole some 20,000 stateemployees who still have notreceived all of the back wagesthey are owed from wageincreases that were withheld infiscal 2011 and 2012.

Primary endorsements

ON THE POLITICAL FRONT, THEconference will considerendorsements for congressionaland statewide primary contestslooking toward the election onMarch 18, when Illinois voterswill select party nominees forseats in the General Assembly,the U.S. House and statewideoffices.

Endorsements in state leg-islative primaries are made bythe PEOPLE Executive Com-mittee based on recommenda-tions from regional PEOPLEcommittees, made up of dele-gates from each local in theregion.

Regional meetings arealready underway to interviewcandidates in districts wherecontested primaries are expected to occur in order toidentify candidates – Democrat-ic or Republican – who supportthe union’s goals.

“Endorsements are based on the voting records ofincumbent legislators,”Cameron said. “We identifyevery vote of importance toAFSCME members that a leg-islator took, weight theirimportance, and then gradeeach legislator.”

Every non-incumbentcandidate is asked to com-plete a comprehensive ques-

tionnaire and, in most cases,to attend a regional meetingwhere local union delegateshave an opportunity to direct-ly interview him or her.

“While the fight to pro-tect pension benefits has now shifted to the courts, it is certain to have an effect onthe way conference delegatesassess which candidates tosupport, as well as the strategy

for being successful on other issues,” Cameron noted.

“The pension fightshowed why we can’t expectmembers of one party to sup-port or oppose us,” Cameronsaid. “We need to be activeand engage with as many law-makers as we can. The PEO-PLE program is what allows usto do that effectively.”

Packed agenda awaits PEOPLElegislative and endorsement conference

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Delegates to Council 31’s 2012 PEOPLE Legislative and Endorse-ment Conference listen to aspeaker.


Chapter 31 retireesrally against pension theft

ON DEC. 2, THE DAY BEFOREthe Illinois General Assemblyreconvened to consider massivecuts to public sector pensionbenefits, AFSCME Chapter 31retirees joined active employeesand allies from other unions inthe We Are One Illinois coali-tion to demand that their legis-lators vote NO on Senate Bill 1.

In forty different actionsacross the state, from Rockfordto Chicago to Bloomington toMarion, AFSCME retirees andtheir allies held rallies and pick-ets directed at the offices of statelegislators.

A group of approximately50 retirees and working mem-bers, led by sub-chapter 93 Presi-dent Al Latoza, delivered tolocal legislators the message thatSenate Bill 1 was unconstitution-al. “We gathered at Rep. JohnBradley’s office in Marion to lethim know that he can’t throw

our retirees under the bus andwe will not stand for the theft ofthe benefits we worked for andearned over the course of ourcareer,” Latoza said.

In areas with multiple, tight-ly-packed districts, such asChicago and the Cook Countysuburbs, retirees boarded busesand traveled to as many as fivedifferent lawmakers’ offices inone day.

Mary Jones, secretary-trea-

surer for Chapter 31, joined fel-low retirees on a five-stop tourto state legislators in the Chica-go area. “We rode the bus tostate legislators all around thecity to demand that they stopstealing our hard-earned bene-fits,” she said. “I’m a City ofChicago retiree, so this particu-lar bill doesn’t affect me, but allretirees no matter where theylive or who they worked for haveto stick together. We are all

under fire and if they steal fromstate and university workers itmakes it easier to come for menext.”

Dependent audit deadline extended

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING

documentation to verifydependents for retirees of thestate’s Group Health Plan hasbeen extended to January 31,2014.

CMS has contracted withan out-of-state company, HMS Solutions, to conduct anaudit of all SERS and SURSretirees who carry dependentson their health insurance.Affected retirees have alreadyreceived a letter from HMSSolutions asking for docu-ments to verify that depen-dents are still eligible to becarried on the state insuranceplan.

Many retirees were initial-ly having trouble accessingthe required documents,specifically the FederalIncome Tax transcript neces-sary to establish spouse eligi-bility, due to the federal gov-ernment shutdown inOctober. Still more retireeswere having problems con-tacting HMS with questionsabout the process, often find-ing that HMS’s customer ser-vice line was down.

The new deadline shouldhelp retirees who are experi-encing difficulties complyingwith the audit.

Polling data showswidespread support for government workers, pensions

DURING THE PENSION DEBATE,politicians would often userhetoric indicating that theywere acting in “the people’s bestinterest.”

But when anti-pensionadvocates working for WallStreet billionaires commis-sioned polling data to supporttheir attacks on worker’s retire-ment benefits, they got much

more than they asked for.Several groups dedicated to

eliminating pensions for govern-ment workers, led by formerEnron trader John Arnold,hired a bipartisan polling teamto conduct a survey of Americanvoters’ views on public workerpensions. Far from getting theresults they wanted, the pollingactually found that there isbroad majority support for pub-lic employee pensions, and thatmost Americans rightly blametheir state governments and theeconomy for pension problems,not workers or their unions.

The poll, conducted by theDemocratic-aligned MellmanGroup and the Republican-aligned Public Opinion Strate-gies, found that:• Voters, regardless of politicalparty, have favorable views ofpublic employees.• 55 percent of poll respondentsbelieve public pension benefitsare currently about the rightamount, or too small. • 58 percent of respondents saidstate governors and legislators,as well as the economic down-turn, were to blame for pensionshortfalls.

When offered a choice ofretirement plans, respondentsoverwhelmingly favoreddefined-benefit pension planssimilar to those that publicemployees in Illinois have. Theleast favored were defined con-tribution plans such as 401(k)-style plans. Defined benefitsplans have also been actuariallyshown to be more cost efficientfor state governments and amore stable form of retirementbenefit for workers, accordingto a separate study conductedby the National Institute onRetirement Security.

Despite the data indicat-ing that most voters view gov-ernment workers favorablyand believe they deserve thebenefits they earned, politi-cians show no signs of stop-ping their attacks on workers’retirement security.

Remembering Virginia Yates (1930-2013)VIRGINIA YATES, A LONGTIME UNION ACTIVIST AND IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT OF AFSCME RETIREESChapter 31, died Nov. 17 following a long illness. She was 82.

“Virginia was deeply committed to AFSCME,” Council 31 Executive Director Henry Bayer said.“She served as a local president for many years and then went on to lead the Chapter 31 retiree orga-nization for six years. She worked tirelessly to advance the cause of dignity and respect for workers,both active and retired. Whatever the fight, you could always count on Virginia to answer the call.”

Yates retired as a Mental Health Tech 4 from Murray Developmental Center in Centralia, whereshe was president of AFSCME Local 401 for 18 years. She was a trustee for the Illinois State EmployeeRetirement System, a member of the AFSCME Council 31 executive board and president of AFSCMERetiree Sub-Chapter 85.

Virginia lived in Sandoval and passed away at St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia. She was born onDecember 15, 1930, in Akron, Ohio. She was predeceased by her husband and is survived by twosons, a daughter, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Yates was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, serving two years during the Korean Conflict. She was alife-long St. Louis Cardinal’s baseball fan who, in addition to her extensive involvement in union andretiree activities, found time for shopping, reading, traveling and basking in the Florida sun.

“Virginia was diligent and dedicated in her advocacy for retirees,” said AFSCME Legislative Direc-tor, Joanna Webb-Gauvin. “She was a wonderful person who was always ready to give of herself tohelp others.”

retires at normal retirementage with a pension of $40,000,would lose more than $12,000over the first five years ofretirement. In the longerterm, the loss would be much

greater – more than $270,000over 25 years.

“These are not smalltweaks,” said Council 31 leg-islative director Joanna Webb-Gauvin. “For public employ-

ees, most of whom aren’t eli-gible for Social Security, thisis a drastic, cold-hearted cut totheir retirement savings.”

The law also contains a“funding guarantee” that canbe easily breached, increases tothe retirement age – with noconsideration for employees inphysically demanding jobs –and a cap on pensionablesalary.

The bill’s passage increasesthe likelihood that other under-

funded pension systems – par-ticularly the City of Chicago –will seek to make cuts similar tothose in SB 1.

“If this law stands, it wouldobviously be a disaster for pub-lic employees and retirees whomade their contributions andheld up their end of the bar-gain,” Bayer said. “But it wouldalso be a disaster for the rule oflaw in our state. That’s why itneeds to be struck down.”

Pension battleContinued from page 3

RETIREE NOTES


contribute no dues or fees.“The Supreme Court ‘s

willingness to take up thiscase despite the fact thattwo lower courts very force-fully rejected the argumentsbeing made is a cause forgrave concern,” said Council31 Deputy Director RobertaLynch. “Obviously, the labormovement in the public sec-tor would be profoundlydamaged if it is required torepresent employees whoare not required to con-tribute anything toward thatrepresentation.”

Fate of Murray Centermay be settled incourt

AS ON THE MOVE WENT TO

press, a court hearing thatcould decide the fate ofMurray Developmental Cen-

ter in Centralia was set tobegin on Jan. 6.

The hearing is the resultof a lawsuit brought by theMurray Parents Association,which is strongly supportedby Council 31. The lawsuitargues that the state’s planfor closing the facility andmoving residents into com-munity-based care is inade-quate.

The problems with the state’s plan was recentlyunderscored when one community-based care organization, CommunityAlternatives Illinois, was heavily criticized by theguardian for state wards for hiring abusive workersand failing to provide thera-pies and services at the samelevel as those seen at MurrayCenter.

“The state hasn’t met itsburden of demonstrating

they can close Murray with-out an adverse impact uponaccess to care,” Council 31public policy director AnneIrving said.

At an Oct. 9 hearing ofthe Health Facilities andServices Review Board,Council 31 argued in favorof stopping the closure, not-ing that strong demandfrom Murray Center familiesand a lack of significant costsavings eliminate any justifi-cation for closing the facili-ty. While the board has thepower to stop the closure, ithas decided to put off adecision until the statereschedules a closing date.

The state canceled itsplans to close Murray Cen-ter on Nov. 30 after a U.S. District Court judge ruled the lawsuit by the MurrayParents Association couldmove forward.

Continued from page 11

contract expired in June2012. Without a retroactiveincrease, the new contract’sfirst year would effectively bea pay freeze.

Rayburn said the city’sposition penalizes employeesfor standing strong and seek-ing a fair agreement.

“You can’t always geteverything you want, but wedefinitely deserve retroactivepay,” Rayburn said. “They’resaying we shouldn’t get any-thing because we’ve been in

bargaining, which is unfair.We definitely need to standstrong on that.”

Standing strong will beespecially important in a bar-gaining process that appearslikely to stretch on well into2014.

“We’re in this for thelong haul and our membersare getting more riled up themore they hear,” Littlefieldsaid. “They are becomingmore active and engagedevery day.”

Continued from page 7

Chicago bargaining

Direct support workers taketheir case to Quinn – via mail

IN DECEMBER, AFSCME LOCALSREPRESENTING DIRECT SUPPORT

WORKERS WHO PROVIDE ASSIS-tance to individuals with devel-opmental disabilities in com-munity settings began signingpostcards to Gov. Pat Quinn,urging him to include fundingto increase their wages in hisupcoming budget.

Direct support workers inIllinois now earn an average of$9.35 an hour, placing thembelow the poverty line for afamily of four, despite stressfulwork that often requires longhours. The nonprofit agen-cies where they work provideservices to more than 20,000individuals under contractswith the state of Illinois.

“We hope Gov. Quinn willuse the platform offered by hisannual budget to make thecase that these workers – whohelp some of the most vulnera-ble citizens of our state –deserve a wage in line with thework they do,” Council 31public policy director Anne

Irving said. “This postcardcampaign is a way to show himhow much support this ideahas.”

The postcards are the lat-est initiative of the Care Cam-paign, a coalition whichAFSCME played a key role ininitiating that includes advoca-cy groups, agency manage-ment, and the families of peo-ple with developmentaldisabilities.

AFSCME locals represent-ing direct support employeesin nonprofit agencies haveembraced the postcard cam-paign, including Local 2871,which represents employees atClearbrook, a Chicago areaagency.

“People really wanted tojump on this and say enough’senough,” said John Demmert,the local’s president. “With allof us getting these cardssigned, people are saying tothe governor ‘Look at whatwe’re doing here and whatwe’re getting paid.’”

State funding lags

WAGES FOR DIRECT SUPPORT

workers are low because theiremployers are almost entirelyfunded by state grants thathave been frozen at 2007 lev-els. As a result, agencyemployees have seen theirwages unable to keep up withrising costs.

While wages for direct sup-port staff represented by

AFSCME have fared better thanat non-union agencies, they arestill not at a level that can pro-vide financial security foremployees. Many are forced towork multiple overtime shifts,get second jobs or make othersacrifices in order to take careof their families.

The added stress also canbe detrimental to the level ofcare direct support staff mem-bers are able to provide.

“The pay we get is so lowand some of these workers aresingle parents trying to takecare of kids, driving fromChicago to the suburbs everyday,” Demmert said. “Theircheck goes to gas and foodand they can’t even take theirkids out to McDonald’s. Theyhave double shift after doubleshift and don’t get to see theirfamily or friends.”

Agency management hasgenerally been enthusiasticabout the postcard campaign,encouraging employees toparticipate and enlisting thesupport of outsiders.

“It will help reduceturnover, increase morale and help them retain employ-ees,” said Council 31 staff representative Kathy Ste-ichen. “These jobs are impor-tant and they need to be paidbetter. Having well-paid staffwill provide continuity of ser-vice. It’s in management’sinterest to get this passed aswell.”

But postcards will be coming in from others, too,Demmert noted. “Families,friends, everyone – they’resupportive because they knowthe kind of work we’ve done,”he said.

SHORT REPORTS

The General Assembly may be out ofsession, but that doesn’t mean thecampaign to lift direct support work-

ers out of poverty is taking a break.w

Supporters of the Care Campaignare signing postcards to Gov.Quinn urging him to includefunding in his next budget thatwill allow direct support agenciesto increase wages.


The members of AFSCME Local 3649 are speaking out – at disciplinary hearings, onFacebook and in the community – to help MarkLowrance, a correctional officer managementhas sought to blame for the escape of aninmate on Aug. 30.

“He wasn’t to blame,” Local 3649 PresidentBryon Steadman said. “We feel very stronglythat management should take responsibility forits actions.”

The inmate – Jared Carter – escaped after hewas assigned to outdoor work. He and fourother inmates were put under the supervisionof Mark Lowrance, a maintenance craftsmanwith nearly 25 years of experience and a spot-less disciplinary record.

“There wasn’t anything done different that daythan any other day,” Lowrance said. “Therewas a total of five inmates. I sent three out tomow. A few minutes after I sent them out, oneof the guys didn’t do what I told him to do so Iwent out to look for him.”

That inmate, Carter, was gone. Lowrance imme-diately began following the proceduresrequired for an escaped inmate.

“It was up the chain of command within 25 min-utes,” Lowrance said.

Initially, Lowrance won praise for a quickresponse that stuck to protocol and ensuredCarter couldn’t get far. In fact, he was found fivedays later, only seven miles away, without inci-dent.

Yet despite the fast response and relativelyswift capture, officials at Robinson soon turnedtheir sights onto Lowrance and began discipli-nary action.

“On the day this happened, I was getting patson the back,” he said. “Two months later,they’re running me through the mill with disci-pline hearings.”

ALL FOR ONE

Management’s about-face on Lowrance didn’tgo unnoticed. Once he was targeted forblame, Local 3649 members rallied behind hiscause.

“Mark has been following protocol for 23years. They’re saying that he didn’t do his jobadequately and they’re calling him negligent,”Steadman said. “The union has fired back.We’ve gotten the real facts out to the pressand we did a rally during Mark’s hearing.”That hearing, as it turned out, would revealsome crucial information: Carter’s criminalrecord, including a burglary charge, shouldhave barred him from an outdoor work detail.

“He shouldn’t have had outside clearance. Itwas a lack of information from managementthat let this guy out there,” Steadman said.The hearing also shed more light on an issueplaguing Robinson and many other DOC facili-ties: chronic understaffing. In this case, Cartertook direct advantage of knowledge that oneof the guard towers at Robinson was onlymanned a few hours of each day.

Union members were incensed when an IDOCspokesman claimed that short-staffing was a“myth” and not a factor in Carter’s escape.“The reason Jared Carter managed to ‘walkaway’ is because the administrators of theDepartment of Corrections have cut ourstaffing and closed our posts to accommodatea mass attrition of staff over the years,” TimothyFrapp, a correctional lieutenant, said in a letterpublished in the Robinson Daily News.

A COMMUNITY CAUSE

The fight to clear Lowrance’s name has spreadbeyond the prison gates. Signs announcing“We support Mark Lowrance” have sprung upthroughout Robinson. Local businesses haveused their marquees to declare their backingas well. A Facebook page started by Lowrancesupporters has become a hub of activity andorganization.

“I think they woke a sleeping giant by goingafter an innocent guy who followed the proce-dures,” Council 31 staff representative JeremyNoelle said. “People who normally don’t talksocially and cross paths are now talking andplanning on what to do for Mark.

“There were at least 75 co-workers in the freez-ing cold with picket signs at the discipline hear-ing and two or three trucks had big signs in theback saying ‘We’ve got your back,’” he added.“People realized that if they do it to a 23 yearveteran with a spotless history, they can do it tothem, too.”

Lowrance and his supporters are now waitingto hear whether he will receive any discipline.

In the meantime, Local 3649 members continueto show their support for Lowrance in otherways. Recently, administrators took the routinestep of surveying employees to help deter-mine Robinson’s employee of the month.

All 196 nominations were for Lowrance.

“It’s really kind of overwhelming,” Lowrancesaid. “I’m glad they’re all there to back me upbecause after I heard of this being handeddown, I thought I was on a limb by myself.It’s a good feeling to have the union and thecommunity behind me.”

At Robinson Correctional Center in southeast Illinois, employees are banding together– and reaching out – to protect one of their own against IDOC management’s scapegoating tactics.

ROBINSON CC MEMBERS RALLY BEHIND ONE OF THEIR OWN

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