Will County AFSCME workers file strike notice against county
The Herald-News is reporting that American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1028 have filed a strike notice against Will County. About 1,000 county employees could go on strike as early as Wednesday, Nov. 13. The union wants a larger cost-of-living pay raise than the county is offering, and the union is also...
The Herald-News is reporting that American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1028 have filed a strike notice against Will County. About 1,000 county employees could go on strike as early as Wednesday, Nov. 13.
The union wants a larger cost-of-living pay raise than the county is offering, and the union is also resisting changes to health insurance.
It is difficult to see how AFSCME’s strike is justified.
Will County workers have been receiving regular step increases every year. The “steps” are a result of a compensation schedule in which all workers’ pay increases automatically as they gain seniority. The average Will County employee will see his or her pay increase by about 2.5 percent per year even if the schedule itself is frozen. Those step increases alone will mean that Will County’s employees will be doing better than many others in Illinois. And the county is offering an additional 1.5 percent per year in a cost-of-living pay increase that will boost pay across all jobs and seniority levels. That works out to 4 percent raises that a lot of Illinoisans would be very happy with.
A strike could close down essential county services that taxpayers rely on, things such as the coroner’s office, the county courts and at least one nursing home. With so many Illinois families struggling – the state’s jobless rate is 9.2 percent – the county’s bargaining position doesn’t warrant the disruption that a strike will involve.
On health care, the county wants to change how employee contributions for health insurance are handled. Instead of taking a percentage of a worker’s wages, the county wants to work off a percentage of the cost of insurance. With so much unsettled on account of the Affordable Care Act, including a very real risk that insurance costs will shoot up across the board, that is a very reasonable request for the county to make. AFSCME is one of the few unions that has yet to raise objections to ObamaCare. If AFSCME’s brass is confident that the law will work as promised, they should be able to work something out on this issue, too.
Will County residents should remember that, as much as they might want to sympathize with workers, they have an interest in keeping the cost of government reasonable. If the county caves in and gives unionized employees more than it can afford, it is Will County taxpayers who will pay in higher taxes or poorer services – or both. Will County residents should ask themselves if this union is justified in calling this strike. The answer is “no.”