Lots of news from the labor front…
Wednesday, Jul 13, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This was an interesting development…
The leader of one of the five major trade unions working at McCormick Place announced it has agreed to abide by the state-imposed labor rules that were recently tossed out.
Under a new three-year pact, the Machinery Movers, Riggers & Machinery Erectors Local 136 agreed to follow the blueprint laid out by the General Assembly last year, with work-rule changes that allowed exhibitors to do more of their own booth setup and that limited overtime pay and crew sizes.
* The announcement came the same day as this related story broke…
Gov. Pat Quinn suggested Tuesday calling state lawmakers back to the capitol before their fall veto session to pass new convention-friendly, labor-rule changes at McCormick Place to replace those stricken by a federal appeals court.
“If it’s necessary to reconvene in the General Assembly before October to get this mission accomplished, then that’s what I’m ready to do,” Quinn told reporters after a bill-signing ceremony on the Southwest Side.
McCormick Place officials on Monday lost a second court battle to keep disputed labor changes in place at the convention center.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit denied McCormick Place’s request to temporarily continue the labor changes while two unions challenge them. But the court approved an expedited appeal. In June, U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman had nixed McCormick Place’s plans to continue operating under the labor-law reforms.
* Meanwhile, the new state workers’ comp reform law required firing all the arbitrators. Some of them have filed suit…
Five arbitrators likely to lose their jobs in an overhaul of the Illinois workers’ compensation system are suing the governor.
The employees say they did nothing wrong, but will probably be replaced anyway under a law passed this year. They also complain that Gov. Pat Quinn damaged their reputations by saying their replacement was among needed workers’ compensation reforms.
“These people had vested rights in their employment, and they (the rights) can’t be taken away from them when they haven’t done anything wrong,” said Carl Draper, the Springfield lawyer who filed the case in federal court in Springfield. The five live in the Chicago and Elgin areas. Each makes more than $100,000 annually, Draper said.
Newspaper stories have questioned a rash of workers’ compensation awards to employees of the Menard Correctional Center, but Draper said his clients had nothing to do with those awards.
* And Phil Kadner was not impressed with AFSCME’s informational picket yesterday…
“A contract is a contract,” one union member after another told me.
I replied that many Americans think public employees are overpaid, lazy and have pensions that tax dollars can no longer support. […]
With taxes increasing, government budgets being cut and the rise of the Tea Party movement, government employee unions may be facing a perfect storm. There may not be the money, nor the will, to meet their demands in the future. […]
The climate is changing rapidly for public employees. The anti-union Ice Age may already be here.
As motorists drive by the demonstrators, many honk their horns as a sign of support. But I’m not convinced that they represent a majority of taxpayers.
Even so, Kadner concluded that the workers should get their promised raises.
* Related…
* Rep. Bill Mitchell: Quinn ‘partially right’ on pay raise denials
* Lawmakers punt, workers picket on pay raises
* Editorial: Quinn learns balancing the budget comes with a price
* Union pickets over Quinn canceling raises
* Centralia: State Employees Picket Murray Center
* AFSCME members rally in downtown Peoria
* Jacksonville: State workers picket pay increase freeze
* Lincoln: State workers picket over canceled pay raises
* Kankakee: Shapiro employees protest pay raise cut
* ‘(Quinn) has gone back on his word’: State workers in Brown County picket over cancelled raises
* Rockford unions to Pat Quinn: ‘Take our pay? No way.’
* Pontiac pay freeze protest
* Pontiac Prison employees picket to defend collective bargaining
* Alton: State union members protest loss of raises
* Hill prison guards want their raises - Union members picket, demand governor honor contract
- Cindy Lou - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 10:49 am:
–’I replied that many Americans think public employees are overpaid, lazy and have pensions that tax dollars can no longer support”–
Perhaps because some never miss a chance to try and portray workers as such, Mr. Kadner. WIthout talking points to rattle off, any idea what I make, what I do, or what my pension is scheduled to be?
Lazy? Come on out and spend a few days with some of us.
- Ahoy - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 11:28 am:
I don’t know if they should get their wages or not. I do know that due to overtime pay we probably can’t afford to just eliminate positions anymore and at over 9% unemployment, I just don’t feel sorry for these people.
I didn’t get a raise either, they have a retirement plan we can’t afford, they retire at an age we can’t afford and they get healthcare benefits for life we can’t afford (all of these things, I don’t get either).
Maybe if they have it so bad that they need to picket, they should quite their job and find work in the private sector. I’m not an anti-union person, but I’m sick of this entitlement attitude in our public employees.
- JBilla - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 11:39 am:
It is fascinating that on the state and federal level the issues that are completely off the table, 1- decriminalization and 2- pairing down from 3 wars, are both completely off the table. What a country. The first would allow for a much leaner prison system with more treatment and bang for the tax payer buck. The second would cut billions off the monthly Accounts Payable. I love that the Chinese Government is the one stepping in on behalf of the US citizen tax payer to demand less military spending. Who will end the cycle in Chicago? Javorsky’s article highlighted that drug sales underground disproportionately give African American males a distorted market opportunity and a disproportionate increased risk of incarceration. Sure would bring down sales in some neighborhoods if it was a main street purchase. Harder to do drivebys on a main street as well. Let’s view this budget shortfall as an opportunity to make common sense decisions to not bankrupt government for the sake of putting people in jail and building a new prison.
- dupage dan - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 11:39 am:
As a state employee I think it is not a good strategy to go public about this issue. For many, like “Ahoy” above, they have seen their wages shrink and their “retirements” moved far into the future if they are lucky to be working. While the breach of contract may well be overturned, don’t look for me to be dancing in the streets about it.
- Cindy Lou - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 11:42 am:
–”they have a retirement plan we can’t afford, they retire at an age we can’t afford and they get healthcare benefits for life we can’t afford (all of these things, I don’t get either).”–
Again, I’ll ask…Ahoy, do you know how old I am? DO you know when I shall retire? Do you know numbers for these people who do retire at an earlier age than what otehrs do? The positions they held that you think they should perhaps perform for a longer age time? Do you know what I have contributed to my own retirement plan and for how long I have contributed to it?
I’ll give you the retiree health insurance partly. Just because one is ‘retired’ from position does not necessarily mean it cost nothing (premium is based on yrs in). And I will agree that retiree who do currently pay no premium for retired health care benefits should be paying towards a premium.
As far as raises, can you tell me that no private sector employee received a raise? Can you state that state workers did not willingly defer raises? Were we asked to defer raises since last fall? Would we have voted ‘no way’?
Could you please explain/clarify just what ‘entitled’ attitude you see in me?
- dupage dan - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 11:45 am:
JBilla,
Just what are you promoting to be decrimilized? Just pot? Do you really think all the gangbangers will just walk off the job and become fine upstanding taxpayers just because one drug is made available on the main street?
Do you really think letting those out of jail who are incarcerated for possessing/selling pot will in any substantial way address the enormous gap between what has been promised by the gov’t and what it can actually deliver?
As far as the military spending issue, I’d like to get into that but this is a state blog, not a national one.
- Left Out - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 12:59 pm:
“Five arbitrators likely to lose their jobs in an overhaul of the Illinois workers’ compensation system are suing the governor.”
Why in the world is this being allowed to happen? They should be required to take this matter to arbitraton, not to court.
- Ahoy - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 3:02 pm:
Cindy Lou, I don’t know how old you are, when you plan on retiring nor do I know your favorite color. Nor do I know any of the other facts about you that make up your retirement plans or pay, nor anyone else’s.
There are people in the private sector that have seen pay increases and there are those that have seen them decrease. There are also government employees who have received pay increases this year and those who have not received them since 2009 or longer (although not sure if anyone saw their pay decline) Anyway, its life. If you don’t like it, you are always free to find another job that pays more. We don’t have indentured servitude.
I would rather not answer the question about entitlement and you specifically since I don’t know you personally. I will however say it about AFSME. I view them as having a sense of entitlement. I can understand them going to arbitration, that’s their job. However, the picketing over dealing with something that so many taxpayers are dealing with on a daily basis, I view as ridiculous. After all, AFSME is still avoiding layoffs, many who have to drive by these pickets are not so lucky.
- Jake From Elwood - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 4:20 pm:
Classic line “Left Out”. Made me chuckle.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 5:33 pm:
The union rallies were pretty sparse. A show of force they were not.
- chicagoan wanting to move out of IL - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 6:31 pm:
State employees work hard and deserve their modest salaries and pensions.
I witnessed the picket and there were many, many people picketing downtown Chicago. It was effective and loud, with news coverage.
I’m very tired of people blaming middle class workers and unions for x, y, and z. Who is hoarding the money? Corporations and the top 1-2%, of which there are many in IL. They may have the power and politicians in their hands (and pockets) for now, but the working people have the numbers and we are waking up.
Things will change and unions will remain strong.
- Gregor - Wednesday, Jul 13, 11 @ 9:32 pm:
Ahoy, if you could pause from your critique of others for a second, and tell us about how you would react specifically to your boss cutting your contracted pay, for doing more work, I’d appreciate your insights into that. We had that here in the 1800s before unions, and you seem to say we should go back to the way things were and just be grateful to get anything. Why should this country race to the bottom to treat our workers like Chinese peasants? It is neither right nor fair. You don’t have to like a contract you seem to be jealous of. Perhaps if the people in your office would organize and present a unified front to management, they might listen to you more and you would get paid what YOU are worth. Swish that around and think on it, while reading the Book of Matthew, and you may have a change of heart about contracts and the rule of law.
- Ahoy - Thursday, Jul 14, 11 @ 10:07 am:
Gregor,
comparing state workers to Chinese peasants is absurd.
- Ahoy - Thursday, Jul 14, 11 @ 10:07 am:
Gregor,
comparing state workers to Chinese peasants is absurd.