Another clue?
Monday, Feb 8, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Finke has more about those mysterious polling calls (click here for background) to AFSCME members…
Lindall provided detailed notes one member provided the union of the call the member received on the survey. According to the member, the interviewer wanted to know if the worker had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Rauner, AFSCME and AFSCME executive director Roberta Lynch.
Other questions included whether the employee was a full union member or a fair-share member, if the worker would accept a pay freeze, would the worker participate in a work stoppage, how long the worker was willing to go without pay while participating in a work stoppage, how the worker felt about Rauner’s plan to award bonuses to employers and whether the worker was aware the state was in a financial crisis.
“In essence, state employees are being asked to do one of two untenable things,” Lindall said. “Either they make statements critical of their employer to an unknown person who knows their identity, or they agree with leading statements that are designed to say things that are critical of their own union.”
* And this…
Lindall said union members reported that their caller IDs showed the calls coming from SSI, which stands for Survey Sampling International. A representative of SSI said the work was commissioned by Fabrizio, Lee and Associates of Alexandria, Va. A call to Fabrizio, Lee on Friday afternoon was not returned.
Hmm. Fabrizio, Lee and Associates. I wonder who regularly uses that firm in Illinois?
* I asked Dan Proft whether he was behind the calls. His response…
I am not.
The Illinois Policy Institute has not yet responded to my question about its possible involvement.
- Frenchie Mendoza - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:22 am:
Nevermind the FOIA requests for the employee title and zip code — a legitimate concern here is whether full employee data has been breached and passed to Proft (and whomever else).
My guess is that someone — somewhere — got a hold of full State of Illinois employee data — names, birthdays, employers, SSNs, addresses, phone numbers.
- Joe M - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:24 am:
A lot of questions need to be answered. Who thought this survey up? Who paid for it, directly and indirectly? Also, who in Illinois State government authorized the release of state employee’s private information?
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:26 am:
===“In essence, state employees are being asked to do one of two untenable things,” Lindall said. “Either they make statements critical of their employer to an unknown person who knows their identity, or they agree with leading statements that are designed to say things that are critical of their own union.”===
This is not just going after AFSCME, I see this as a planned strategy to rip apart Union support within Unions, and to make individuals go “on the record” either chastising their boss or willfully wanting to dismantling their Union stances… and it will come back to haunt both the Union and the Member.
Labor, all Labor should be troubled to no end. It’s like Rauner taking over the ILGOP, ripping apart at the seams what it means to be a Raunerite, packaged under the false facade.
Don’t be fooled.
- Mouthy - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:27 am:
Frenchie is on it. That’s not FOIA info. That’s from H.R.s. It will take a court to get to the bottom of it. I put nothing past the Governor. He is processed and he doesn’t care.
- Anon221 - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:32 am:
Follow the money…
- illini - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:33 am:
As I suggested on this thread last week - Follow The Money. Agreed, there are many disturbing aspects of this plan, but at least the trail of money is starting to become clear. Denying the facts does not change them. Lets see how IPI eventually responds.
- W.S. Wolcott - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:35 am:
I was hoping to see comment from the AG… Does anyone think we will hear from her?
- There is power in a union... - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:35 am:
To piggy back on frenchie:
They also have our spouses’ and family member data. Data that would be on our emergency contact forms. The same forms that have our medical data, allergies, prescriptions, history, and other things to help if paramedics come for us.
If those sheets were used, that is a hippa violation.
- Frenchie Mendoza - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:45 am:
The other issue here is whether HR folks at various agencies under the governor unwittingly gave out to the info. It was social engineering, in other words, that snagged the data from HR peeps that didn’t — or wouldn’t — know any better.
One question here would be to contact a sampling of HR folks at agencies under Rauner and ask if they’ve recently had requests for bargaining unit employee information. HR is notoriously backwards in many agencies — a lot of info is still stored on paper and files are still, literally, files — so it’s not inconceivable that were asked at some point to collect that info, prepare it electronically, and send it. It’s easy to spoof email addresses — and because CMS has been (weirdly) sending out bulletins and messages recently (which they rarely did before — no “telegrams” or “AFSCME rebuttal bulletins”) it would make sense (to an unwitting HR assistant) that CMS is asking for this info, too.
Tin-foil hatty, I know, but this one of those deals where the harder something is to believe, the more likely it could actually be accomplished.
- Sam Weinberg - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:51 am:
I sincerely doubt there is any legal “hook” here. FOIA permits this type of (non-HIPAA) information to be FOIA’d and by all appearances that’s all that happened.
Could public bodies have refused to give it? Sure. And I bet some did. But some others didn’t.
The real story here is how we have a sitting governor giving millions of cash to guys like Proft who are using it to snoop on state workers and tee up the PR / lawsuit machine to benefit that governor.
But by the time you’re 1/3 through that story, peoples’ eyes have glazed over and they’ve clicked over to TMZ for an update on the Kardashians’ sartorial choices.
- dude - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:02 am:
Hmmm… that’s strange, the IPI has not made a comment. I’m guessing there were multiple “spin meetings” over the weekend. What a sinister group.
- Nilwood - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:02 am:
I also received a SSI call from Alexandria, Virginia, and I have been retired for almost three years now. When the caller started asking AFSCME questions, I told them I was no longer in the union and they hung up on me. How old of information are they working with?
- Century Club - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:05 am:
With the amount of data in an commercially augmented voter file nowadays, I don’t think you’d need more than name and ZIP code to put together a poll like this - especially for a group of people who are likely to be recurring voters (state employees, union members).
- Keysport - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:07 am:
Personal phone numbers are private information under FOIA and are generally exempt from disclosure.
- Mouthy - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:08 am:
- Nilwood - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:02 am:
If your are retired, such as I, then you are probably still in your former employers H.R. files. They probably keep them at least 5 or 7 years, maybe even longer. I’d bet most, if not all, H.R.s have big fat manila files on everybody..
- Earnest - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:09 am:
Clearly a union is not necessary to protect state employees from overt political pressure. /snark
- Curmudgeon - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:18 am:
== Mouthy: “… you are probably still in your former employers H.R. files. They probably keep them at least 5 or 7 years, maybe even longer…”
I was able to quickly obtain employment data confirmation from a State agency 7½ years after I left their employ.
- There is power in a union... - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:22 am:
Frenchie: I know there was a push among management to get our updated contact information. Was during their last big strike prep push.
All that fresh data compiled. Where did it go? Was it sent up the ladder? To the governor’s office?
As for HR, the higher titles are out of the union. SPSA’s, most PSA’s and some HR specialists. So when those people get asked or told to do something, they will do it. The HR assistants, HR associates, HR representatives, and some HR specialists are in the the union and I haven’t heard anything yet.
Foia’s usually go to an agency’s counsel office. I’m not sure if these were foia’d. I’m wondering if all that newly compiled data went up to the governor’s office to be done whatever with.
- Bemused - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:30 am:
Smells like the work of a Professional Union Busting Firm. It would be interesting to know if one of the groups above are in fact paying one of those types of consultants.
One would also have to wonder if someone with that type of background now holds a State position.
- Antherretiree - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:40 am:
My significant other and I both retired from the same agency. She was AFSCME,I was fair share. She has been getting calls for two weeks. I haven’t. Seems to be a list of union members. I wonder if they even know they are calling retirees ?
- Me too - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:50 am:
The inclusion of retirees makes me think this is related to strike prep lists. Maybe someone got ahold of them. Want the state recently calling retirees to see if they’d come work as scabs. Seems he strike prep lists would include employees that would be begged to cross the pocket line as well as the aforementioned retirees. I don’t know, but the fact that everyone has to update their info, emergency contacts are being called as well as retirees, Occam’s razor says it has to be relayed.
- A Jack - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:53 am:
I doubt if it was HR system data, but probably just payroll data which has name, zip, bargaining unit local, and fair or full share. That data can be acquired from several places such as the Comptroller or one of the major agencies that process payroll like CMS or DHS.
- Me too - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 9:55 am:
Let me try that again not using Swype…
The inclusion of retirees makes me think this is related to the strike prep lists. Maybe someone got ahold of them. Wasn’t the state recently calling retirees to see if they’d come work as scabs. Seems the strike prep lists would include current employees that would be begged to cross the picket line as well as the aforementioned retirees. I don’t know, but the fact that everyone had to update their info, plus emergency contacts are being called and retirees, Occam’s razor says it has to be related.
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:00 am:
When Rauner said he didn’t declare impasse and wanted to keep negotiatin’ with AFSCME, when in fact he did declare an impasse, I was wonderin’ if he even knew what was going on at the executive branch.
After reading those fact/myth letters to state employees, I wondered also who wrote them, the Rauner administration or some organization like the IPI.
“It’s like Rauner taking over the ILGOP”
Is it over for the ILGOP? Will there be any challenge to Rauner’s power, any factions that will oppose him?
- anon - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:02 am:
AFSCME has the contact info. Maybe the AFSCME leadership wants to know if the membership supports them.
- Something Squirrelly - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:03 am:
Looks like Fabrizio, Lee and Associates has done work for the Cato Institue. If you look long enough, there’s always a Koch brother tie.
- A Jack - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:03 am:
And I am leaning more toward the Comptroller since they also cut retiree checks. Are those retirees getting calls still paying union dues? Some do and some don’t choose to remain dues paying union members.
I doubt there was anything questionable about getting the data. On the other hand, harassing employees outside of working hours is rather questionable.
- Honeybear - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:28 am:
I was super upset by this. Surely this is an unfair labor practice. Is it not?
- Former State Employee - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:42 am:
I retired 12 years ago, was never in the union, and was still called multiple times by SSI (caller ID), but never answered. Guess I passed up an upcoming job offer - NOT!
- RNUG - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:46 am:
I also am retired and was never in a union …
- AlabamaShake - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:51 am:
**AFSCME has the contact info. Maybe the AFSCME leadership wants to know if the membership supports them.**
Sure… AFSCME is using a right wing law firm and a right wing pollster to poll their members, and denying that they are doing the poll.
Got it.
- There is power in a union... - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:00 am:
Comptroller wouldn’t have your spouse’s phone number. Your emergency contact card would.
- Cubs in '16 - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:34 am:
“Comptroller wouldn’t have your spouse’s phone number. Your emergency contact card would.”
CMS would also, wouldn’t they? And didn’t Rauner recently appoint a new Director of CMS?
- Me too - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:41 am:
What I also find strange is that when updating the contact and emergency contact numbers, we were individually called. Why not e-mail? There’s no record. That proves to me that this was planned by the administration in concert with outside groups.
- There is power in a union... - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:47 am:
Cubs, sure if cms told all the personnel departments to forward the information. Usually stuff like that sits in your supervisor file or your agency’s regional personnel office file. Don’t know if it automatically gets forwarded to your official cms personnel file.
- Anonnymouse - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:48 am:
Has anyone gotten any more phone calls since Rauner made his denial?
- Huh? - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:59 am:
Got a call this weekend on my cell from (708)329-6438. The lady wanted to ask me questions about recent events in Cook County. Hmm.
- Finally Out (and now very glad to be) - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 12:25 pm:
2 years retired now and my titles have always been in the union. For some reason I haven’t received any calls yet.
But I’m still hoping!
- Oberon - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 1:32 pm:
I got the call on the first day they were made; my wife answered and they asked for me. First question: Are you employed by the state or a local government? Answer: Yes. (I’m not at work today, so don’t sweat any loss of work time.) Second question: Are you represented by AFSCME? Answer: No. End of call. I am a union member, but not in AFSCME. It immediately occurred to me this survey was commissioned by the Governor or his allies, and I wondered what the questions would have been had I responded “yes” to the second question. Clearly, this effort was focused on AFSCME, and AFSCME alone, they were not interested in the views of employees represented by unions other than AFSCME. Obviously, an attempt to “take the temperature” of AFSCME rank-and-file. This suggests to me, though, the information they were using did not indicate AFSCME membership.
- Anotherretiree - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 3:08 pm:
Two fellow retirees say the calls appear to have stopped today. One said the number they called was only known to CMS benefits. Looks like “Finally Out ” and I didn’t rate harassing !
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