3 things Illinoisans should know about the AFSCME contract delay
The Illinois Labor Relations Board on July 7 denied Gov. Bruce Rauner’s request to expedite contract-negotiation impasse proceedings between the state and AFSCME. Thus, impasse proceedings continue to drag on, giving the union more time to prepare for a potential strike, costing state taxpayers an additional $35 million to $40 million per month in AFSCME worker health benefits, and impeding progress on reining in the state’s out-of-control spending.
Many Illinoisans breathed a sigh of relief after Illinois passed a stopgap budget June 30, but residents should brace themselves for the next round of Illinois political drama: rumblings within the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the state’s largest government-worker union. AFSCME officials have indicated that the union is preparing to strike this fall.
AFSCME’s strike preparations began before the Illinois Labor Relations Board met July 7 to discuss Gov. Bruce Rauner’s request to expedite the ongoing impasse proceedings between the state and AFSCME. The board denied the governor’s motion at that meeting.
While just a small procedural issue in nature, that denial can have major ramifications – and it buys time for AFSCME executives to prepare members to strike.
Negotiations between AFSCME and the state came to a halt in January, when AFSCME’s negotiator left the meeting stating, “I have nothing else to say and am not interested in hearing what you have to say at this point – carry that message back to your principals.” Rauner then asked the state’s labor board to determine that the two parties are at an impasse, or stalemate. State-worker pay and benefits are some of the biggest expenses the state incurs.
According to the tolling agreements entered into by the parties, either the state or AFSCME could go to the labor board if negotiations reached a stalemate, asking the board to declare an impasse. If the board ultimately determines that an impasse exists, the governor can implement his last contract offer to AFSCME. AFSCME, in turn, could strike. If the labor board concludes that the parties are not at impasse, AFSCME and the state will return to the negotiating table.
But the impasse proceedings – currently pending before an administrative law judge – have languished for weeks. Based on the schedule discussed by board officials at the meeting on July 7, the earliest the board will hear the case is November. Once the board issues its decision, the losing party can appeal to the state courts – meaning resolution isn’t likely until at least early 2017.
This delay can have an impact on a number of situations important to state taxpayers. Here are three things Illinoisans should know about the continued delay in negotiations.
- The delay buys time for AFSCME to prepare for a strike
While the impasse proceedings lag, AFSCME has started asking its members to commit to strike over the stalled contract negotiations, potentially by Sept. 1. AFSCME has no strike fund, and the state has alerted workers that they would lose at least $8,000 in wages, additional health insurance contributions, and state pension contributions during each month of a strike.
But the longer it takes for the board to decide the impasse question, the longer AFSCME has to prepare its members for a strike.
The delay also allows AFSCME more time to work up furor among its members. AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall has already started the media posturing for an eventual AFSCME strike, claiming the governor wants “unprecedented power” to impose his own terms in the AFSCME contract. Lindall broadcast that message while speaking to the press after the board’s July 7 hearing, confirming that AFSCME has had ongoing conversations for “weeks” with its members on their “options.”
What Lindall ignores is that AFSCME agreed to the very impasse procedure that Rauner is now utilizing. The state and AFSCME entered into three tolling agreements, the last of which is still in effect. In that agreement, the parties agreed to submit the dispute to the labor board should they disagree on whether a stalemate in negotiations exists. In posturing for a potential future strike, AFSCME is trying to blame Rauner for a process AFSCME agreed to – a process supported by the state’s labor laws. Delay in the impasse proceedings allows AFSCME time to push its interpretation of the situation.
- The delay costs taxpayers an additional $35 million to $40 million a month
The governor’s goal in negotiating with AFSCME is to bring union costs more in line with what the state’s taxpayers can afford. At least 18 other unions have ratified contracts that include several of the core provisions AFSCME has rejected. For example, on May 17 the Illinois Federation of Teachers, representing educators at the Illinois School for the Deaf, ratified a collective bargaining agreement that addresses union health care costs. It includes provisions allowing employees to keep their current premiums, maintain their current coverage, or mix and match to best suit their needs. But AFSCME has rejected a similar proposal from the governor. Instead it demands platinum-level health care coverage at little to no cost to AFSCME employees.
In its filings with the labor board, the state claims that it is spending an additional $35 million to $40 million in AFSCME health benefits for each month the impasse proceedings drag on. These costs, passed on to the state’s taxpayers, could be avoided if Rauner is allowed to implement his last offer to AFSCME. But first the board has to reach that determination.
- The delay perpetuates Illinois’ financial mess
Perhaps the most unfortunate implication is the delay in progress toward fixing the state’s disastrous finances. As of July 7, the comptroller’s “bill backlog” ledger indicated the state’s unpaid bills had surpassed $7.7 billion.
But AFSCME ignores the state’s financial woes and the burden the union’s pay and benefits place on taxpayers. Despite the fact that Illinois state workers are the highest-paid state workers in the nation when adjusted for cost of living, AFSCME continues to demand automatic, four-year raises of between 11.5 and 29 percent by 2019. AFSCME has rejected the governor’s proposal of a 40-hour workweek, instead demanding that overtime kick in for workers after 37.5 hours. In addition, AFSCME has rejected the governor’s offer of bonus pay for employees with exceptional performance, as well as a $1,000 signing bonus per employee if the contract was ratified by Jan. 1, 2016.
The cost of AFSCME’s contract is no drop in the bucket. Approximately 35,000 state workers are represented by AFSCME, and their benefits and wages are already out of sync with what the state can afford. The governor estimates that AFSCME’s demands will cost the state an additional $3 billion in wage and benefit increases.
The longer AFSCME persists in its unreasonable demands, the longer it will be before Illinoisans see real financial progress.