State rep. seeks revote on veto override of binding arbitration bill
The Illinois House will attempt a fifth vote on an AFSCME arbitration bill designed to remove Gov. Bruce Rauner from the collective bargaining process.
After two failed attempts to override the governor’s veto of a controversial binding arbitration bill, Democratic state Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch of Westchester wants to try again.
Welch on May 27 filed the second motion to override the veto of House Bill 580. On Wednesday, the House voted on the same question, and it failed by three votes.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, supports the bill. The group, which is the largest government-worker union in the state, is at loggerheads with Rauner over the terms of a new contract for about 35,000 employees. The union and Democratic politicians also backed a nearly identical bill in 2015, Senate Bill 1229. That bill also failed to gain enough support to override the governor’s veto in the summer of 2015.
HB 580 would take contract negotiations out of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s hands and instead let a panel of unelected arbitrators decide terms of the state’s next contract with AFSCME. Rauner has said passage of this bill could cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Research shows that arbitrators often side with unions.
On May 26, seven Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Rauner and Roberta Lynch, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, calling on them to return to the bargaining table. “It is abundantly clear that the continuation of this stalemate will continue to hurt all interested parties,” the letter stated.
State Reps. C.D. Davidsmeyer, Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, Norine Hammond, Terri Bryant, Avery Bourne, Don Moffitt and Adam Brown signed the letter.
On the AFSCME website, Lynch posted a letter asking those seven lawmakers to support reconsideration of the veto attempt.
But Jimenez told the Illinois Radio Network that the letter and the binding arbitration bill are separate. She voted against the override attempt on Wednesday and said she does not support the request for another vote.
“That doesn’t actually bring both sides back to the table. That would allow for the arbitrator to come in. So it’s not the same subject,” Jimenez said.
Since July 2015, AFSCME and the state have entered into three tolling agreements. These bind the union and the governor to continue negotiating in good faith until either a contract is reached or impasse occurs. The Illinois Labor Relations Board has been considering since January whether the negotiations between the state and AFSCME are at an impasse.
If the board declares an impasse, the governor could implement his contract terms. And if that were to happen, Lynch has indicated AFSCME could strike.