Thousands of government workers exercise rights in the year after landmark Janus case
Thousands of government workers exercise rights in the year after landmark Janus case
This is the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling government employees cannot be forced to pay a union. In that year, about 20,000 workers from just three of Illinois’ public-sector unions have said “no” to union membership.
By Mailee Smith
Pritzker’s AFSCME deal gives 12% automatic raises, $2,500 bonus to state workers
Pritzker’s AFSCME deal gives 12% automatic raises, $2,500 bonus to state workers
By continuing practices such as automatic raises and taxpayer-subsidized platinum health insurance, along with a new $2,500 bonus, the AFSCME contract will transfer more than $3.6 billion in additional compensation from taxpayers to state workers.
By Adam Schuster
More than 6,800 Illinois educators have stopped sending money to IFT
More than 6,800 Illinois educators have stopped sending money to IFT
More than 6.7% of employees represented by Illinois Federation of Teachers in Illinois are no longer paying dues or fees to the union.
By Mailee Smith
More than 8,000 Illinois workers have stopped paying AFSCME Council 31
More than 8,000 Illinois workers have stopped paying AFSCME Council 31
Thousands of Illinois workers are no longer sending a part of their paycheck to one of the state’s most politically active unions.
By Mailee Smith
AFSCME Council 31 spent just 17% of funds representing workers in 2018
AFSCME Council 31 spent just 17% of funds representing workers in 2018
Union’s own reporting shows only 17% of overall spending went for “representational activities” in 2018. Just what are Illinois public employees paying for?
By Mailee Smith
Jeffry Bedore
Jeffry Bedore
“I became a teacher 20 years ago. And back in those days, you went to a first day [orientation]. And while they were saying ‘here’s how the building is laid out, here’s the key,’ they said ‘here’s the form you sign to be in the union.’ It was an expectation of the job. “I got...
Illinois House passes bill making it easier for Chicago teachers to strike
Illinois House passes bill making it easier for Chicago teachers to strike
Two of the nation’s largest government union strikes in the past decade happened in Illinois – both by the Chicago Teachers Union. And now a bill in the General Assembly would give Chicago teachers more chances to go on strike.
By Mailee Smith
John Moss
John Moss
“I moved here about seven and a half years ago and got a job at the health department. I had never been in a union before. They said ‘OK, well now that you work here, you have to be in the union.’ “The first union meeting I went to I was voted in as president....
Duped: How millions of dollars in AFSCME member dues flow to politics
Duped: How millions of dollars in AFSCME member dues flow to politics
State workers don’t really know much about how AFSCME spent $7.7 million on politics. That’s because records don’t detail and the union’s Illinois chapter obscures how most of the money was used.
By Vincent Caruso
Union worker representation only 20 percent of AFSCME spending in Illinois
Union worker representation only 20 percent of AFSCME spending in Illinois
Federal financial filings from Illinois’ largest government union show only 20 percent of its spending goes toward representing its members.
By Vincent Caruso
Worker freedom: More than 3,700 Illinois state workers stopped paying money to a union in 2018
Worker freedom: More than 3,700 Illinois state workers stopped paying money to a union in 2018
Of the more than 3,700 Illinois state workers who stopped sending part of every paycheck to a union, 2,800 stopped sending their money to AFSCME.
By Vincent Caruso
Geneva teachers union strike leaves 5,800 students in the lurch
Geneva teachers union strike leaves 5,800 students in the lurch
Six years after last threatening to strike, the teachers union walked the picket line – a collective bargaining tactic not allowed in any of Illinois’ neighboring states.
By Janelle Cammenga
Union dues at work: AFSCME gives $1.4 million to Madigan
Union dues at work: AFSCME gives $1.4 million to Madigan
State records show AFSCME has funneled at least $1.4 million to Michael Madigan and Madigan-controlled committees in the past five years – including at least $823,200 just this year.
By Mailee Smith