AFSCME layoff ruling expected Monday
Wednesday, Sep 23, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* 5:12 pm - From the union…
Hearing concludes in AFSCME suit to block layoff of hundreds of state employees
Judge’s ruling expected by Monday
A court hearing has concluded after a full day of testimony from multiple witnesses on both sides in Johnson County, where AFSCME Council 31 is seeking a preliminary injunction to block the implementation of hundreds of state-employee layoffs.
Presiding judge Todd Lambert is expected to rule on the union’s request for injunction by Monday, Sept. 28.
“As a matter of public policy, these layoffs are ill-advised,” Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer said. “Vital services will be harmed, prisons will be less safe, overtime costs will go up and hundreds of working people will needlessly lose their jobs.
“As a matter of law, we believe we presented a strong case today, and we hope to secure an order blocking the layoffs,” Bayer said. “Our request is in the judge’s hands.”
So, not much real news to report except the judge refused Gov. Quinn’s request to move the matter to Sangamon County.
- cassandra - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 5:22 pm:
I understand why the union is doing this–they have to try everthing they can–but I wonder if judges should have the power to effectively tell usthat we have to spend money we don’t have—or raise taxes–in lieu of letting any unionized employees go. Doesn’t that make the judge like, well, the absolute monarch? Why do we need Quinn? The judge can just decide everything.
Anyway, if the union is successful, maybe Quinn will have to rethink his protective stance towards the thousands of highly paid Blagojevich political appointees who don’t belong to the union. So far,he has bent over backward to keep them on, but under the circumstances, he might actually have to let a few of them go. He might have to suspend some of his own political hiring, which has been quite brisk I believe, as well.
- the observer - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 5:54 pm:
The state is broke folks & AFSCME wouldn’t be pro-active in this matter & play ball to really keep jobs. AFSCME priced & benefit packaged themselves out of business ! Right to work status is coming next !!
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 6:02 pm:
So if AFSCME wins, what happens next? Must noncontractual state employees be laid off first, or must Quinn reenter into negotiations with AFSCME with court-ordered guidelines?
- IDOC - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 6:27 pm:
The only way the Judge can stop the layoffs is if the
State is not following the contractual guidelines.
So far in the 28 years I have worked for the State they
have not been able to do it correctly the first time.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 6:31 pm:
Why Johnson County?
- Reality Check - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 6:37 pm:
Wordslinger, because a sizable number of the layoffs are scheduled in Johnson County, at the Vienna prison, and because that circuit has previously considered similar cases, including as recently as last year.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 7:44 pm:
Yesterday I met with a state senator who said she’s been in contact with a member of my agency’s (DHS) brass. She said that it’s not yet known which positions have been targeted for layoffs. All that’s available, per the senator, is numbers and the “shared sacrifice” of different agencies taking hits. This is a mess.
- ToughGuy - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 8:13 pm:
If the funds were not in the appropriation that was passed by the GA and signed by the Governor, I’m not sure how a judge orders those people to be paid. I’m not sure AFSCME has a leg to stand on unless there is another contractual issue that would force the GA and Governor to appropriate sufficient funding. Appropriations this year were broken out by union and non-bargaining unit appropritations amd not in one appropriation as was done in the past so some of the flexibility is gone. Quite simply if the funds are not there, they are not there.
- Bobs yer - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 8:21 pm:
Quinn is trying to do what Daley did the to City unions, but he doesn’t have the skill. I’m not so much a union guy, but the State’s actions are so wrong here. Good for AFSCME. Great idea filing in Johnson, don’t give up a thing. 70/30 the union wins this round.
- the observer - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 8:23 pm:
Southern Illinois because AFSCME is depending on regional pressure & empathy directed toward this circuit judge, knowing their case is pretty weak. Let’s see now in southern Illinois is the heart of IDOC. You either farm, coal mine, oil fields or work in corrections . AFSCME is just bullying their way through as always instead of working through it sensibly. If it isn’t solved thi year they’ll have to deal with it year in & year out till serious people can work this out & this whole state budget situation. Blago ala Quinn & associates can’t seem to get it done.
- State Worker W/ an MBA - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 8:28 pm:
Revenue has 43 jobs currently posted, all this while lay-offs are supposedly coming. Why hire if you are cutting back?
Also Quinn wanted the trial moved to Springfield because it “is the seat of gevernment” so why is HE never there?
- Vote Quimby! - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 8:41 pm:
Word…because the union has a judge in their pocket there!
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 8:47 pm:
What AFSCME appears to be doing is making sure that the contract is followed to the letter, in regards to layoffs. If non-union workers are doing jobs that are substantially similar to jobs of union employees, AFSCME wants to ensure that they get laid off first.
Right now, as far as I know, all that’s available for layoffs is numbers and not targeted positions(perhaps with the exception of IDOC). AFSCME is absolutely right in trying to ensure that the state first lays off every possible nonbargaining-unit worker before laying off even one bargaining-unit employee.
- DCFS - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 8:54 pm:
Yet the state keeps hiring patronage positions. DCFS just hired a totally unqualified person as CIO at a salary, no doubt, that would have saved two or three layoffs.
Honestly Quinn, I don’t know how you sleep at night. I hope those who run against you point out your totally pathetic decision making skills.
- Honest Abe - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 9:03 pm:
HFS has notified its union employees..the individucals know who will start the bumping. Some were selected over more recently hired via neopotism management staff that are clueless about their jobs. non union staff are already gone. The reson DHS cannot tell you the names and only numbers is the bumping process has yet to begin. And real savings by these “layoffs” will not be realized until next calendar year.
- the obsever - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 9:05 pm:
quinn…….hasn’t a clue and no feasible plan, surrounded by people who don’t know either.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 9:42 pm:
What I saw in the FY 10 budget is that the funding level for frontline staff under HFS (assuming that this means DHS workers) for FY 10 after tbe budget cuts is the same as that of FY 09. No one seems to know what this means. Does this mean that DHS caseworkers will be largely untouched? I ask this because AFSCME’s web site showed three caseworker positions in Sangamon County were targeted for layoff durint the first round of layoffs. This was under HFS.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 9:49 pm:
DCFS has a lot of political folks including the
husband of a Democratic state rep from Chicago who rocketed up the ranks shortly after Blago was inaugurated….and he’s still there. Our Dem pols seem to think DCFS a great place to put folks who can’t do much but need a high salary and great benefits.
Maybe DCFS is planning to pay for the new CIO via its new Differential Response Program which starts January 1. Apparently some number of child abuse and neglect reports will not receive formal investigations (as they have for decades) but “assessments.” This might not be the best thing for the kids, but it provides potential opportunities for community agencies seeking contracts in exchange for their political contributions. By by law, ca/n investigations have to be done by designated state employees. “Assessments” don’t.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 10:01 pm:
DHS offices have units. My unit consists of seven workers. Two and possibly three of these workers have less than two years seniority. My office has not redistricted (caseload redistribution) in years. We have caseload sizes of over 1,000 cases. If these two/three workers get laid off, unless there is a redistricting, four/five of us will get an extra 3,000 cases. Talk about “shared sacrifice!”
- Ghost - Wednesday, Sep 23, 09 @ 11:01 pm:
Grandson of man, so far everything you have posted has been patently false. Every single item.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 8:05 am:
Gov Quinn, I mean Ghost,
So I didn’t see a state senator, I don’t work at DHS in a unit of seven people, caseload sizes are not upward of 1,000, I haven’t seen no change in funding for HFS frontline staff from FY 09 to FY 10 after budget cuts.
I was wrong in stating that three caseworker positions were targeted for layoffs in Sangamon County, it was four. One of the positions is Spanish-speaking. You can see that for yourself in AFSCME’s web site, under “state employees.” I was also wrong about nonunion workers getting laid off before union workers. It states in the Contract that the nonunion workers must be laid of first if they are noncertified, temporary, provisional or emergency.
Thanks for sharpening my focus, but I wasn’t wrong about everything. Maybe my office’s caseload sizes aren’t really happening. Maybe they’re just a bad dream.
- Virgil - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 1:15 pm:
AFSCME is to blame for the State’s substantial deficit and pending implosion. There are ‘way’ too many uneducated employees in government that have salaries that are in excess of the real world. The pensions paid to some of these individuals is criminal when you consider that many individuals in ‘non’ government positions will work 20-30 years and have pension plans that will pay them a few hundred dollars. Additionally, AFSCME has historically been glad to take union dues from BDDS adjudicator trainees for as long as 18 months and then throw certain employees under the bus-while the alleged union representative is courting management for a supervisory position. Do you really believe the ‘Faulkners’ of this world are anything other than self serving hypocrites?
Take a look at what the salaries of professors at UIS are in comparison to some under educated political appointees in order to grasp the gross discrepancies that exist in our community. There is absolutely no way that a prison guard, or secretary should be making more than a college professor-it is absurd and gross.
- the concerned citizen - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 5:32 pm:
It’s amazing what some of these people get, some with GED’s or less & always griping for more !! I think people should make a livable wage & advance on merit & hard work. They’ll throw their fellow workers under the bus just to make a few extra bucks. Wonder what the merit comp. people are thinking, who haven’t had the “union” benefits, the endless string of raises, no COLA & most now facing up to 12 days “furlough” between now & June next year @..NO PAY .. so these guys can keep theirs !? That’s -0- pay for 12 days! Go figure ????