Labor

AFSCME’s actions show union unwilling to negotiate contract taxpayers can afford

AFSCME’s actions show union unwilling to negotiate contract taxpayers can afford

AFSCME’s push for HB 580, which would allow a panel of unelected arbitrators to draft a binding contract between the state and the union, is the latest power play in AFSCME’s long and uncompromising battle for pay hikes and benefits that could cost Illinois taxpayers more than $3 billion.

By Mailee Smith

AFSCME impasse hearings: Understanding the timeline, process and potential outcomes

AFSCME impasse hearings: Understanding the timeline, process and potential outcomes

Given AFSCME’s and the Rauner administration’s disagreement on core contract issues – such as wage freezes and merit pay – and the likely appeal of any impasse decision reached by the administrative law judge, a final determination on whether AFSCME and the Rauner administration have reached impasse will probably not come until well into the summer – or beyond.

By Mailee Smith

Palatine-area District 15’s new 10-year contract ‘unprecedented’

Palatine-area District 15’s new 10-year contract ‘unprecedented’

Residents of suburban Chicago’s Community Consolidated School District 15 have seen their incomes remain flat – or drop. Meanwhile, school district officials have committed these same taxpayers to fund a 10-year contract, which the public has never seen.

By Mailee Smith

CPS files charges against CTU for ‘illegal’ strike

CPS files charges against CTU for ‘illegal’ strike

The union’s one-day strike is an illegal, aggressive political power play, and its attempt to coerce its members to participate violates its own constitution. Here’s a breakdown of the timeline, the law and the political statement the union is making.

By Jeffrey Schwab

61% of Illinois voters support Right to Work, poll finds

61% of Illinois voters support Right to Work, poll finds

A new poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute in February 2016 reveals that a clear majority of voters – including 55 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of union members – support or lean toward supporting Right-to-Work laws.

By Mailee Smith

Chicago Teachers Union’s threatened April 1 strike date isn’t legal

Chicago Teachers Union’s threatened April 1 strike date isn’t legal

The Chicago Teachers Union has threatened to strike as early as April 1 over Chicago Public Schools’ announced plan to stop paying a portion of teachers’ required contributions to their pension fund. Under Illinois labor law, however, CTU cannot legally strike before mid- to late-May.

By Jeffrey Schwab