42 Comments - A non - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 12:54 pm: I never thought I’d say this, but maybe it’s best to just keep it tied up in court until he’s voted out and let him have his wage freeze until then. - Grimm - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 12:54 pm: Rushed…? - Anonymous - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 12:56 pm: Bipartisan labor board…LOL - Honeybear - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 12:57 pm: Wow, so this wasn’t about paying double for my health insurance? This wasn’t about a wage and step freeze? This wasn’t about having the management right to outsource any job without consideration of cost savings? Oh I’m so relieved! S/ - Anonymous - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:04 pm: ==Bipartisan labor board…LOL== includes members originally appointed by Quinn and Blago, with a unanimous decision - Anonymous - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:04 pm: Rauner’s general counsel must believe everyone is simplistic and thinks this is about worker safety , drug testing and volunteers. - Moby - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:06 pm: Counselor, what kind of wine would you like with that red herring? - Politix - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:06 pm: Anonymous at 1:04 I learned my lesson on overestimating the public when Trump won the election. - Anonymous - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:12 pm: Politix - “I learned my lesson on overestimating the public when Trump won the election.” Just remember the popular vote margin. Especially the next time Paul Ryan uses the word “mandate.” - Nick Name - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:16 pm: “includes members originally appointed by Quinn and Blago, with a unanimous decision” All of whom wanted to keep their seats on the labor board. - DuPage Bard - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:17 pm: His Governor’s message is short and out to the news sources. The news sources don’t have to edit or revise for length and content, just slap it in an article with their personal clear message. AFSCME message has been long and takes a lot of explaining. They also don’t have a clear cut phrase to use in the media, thereby allowing the media to edit in the manner they see fit. Get better. You’ve had two years to prepare for this now step up or get stepped on. - HUSBAND OF STATE EMP - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:17 pm: My question is why doesn’t AFSCME get the word out about what this all about? Not the 40 hours a week, zero tolerance or even the wage freeze. AFSCME to me has failed at getting the word out to Illinois citizens. - MAD MAX - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:17 pm: If the gov truly believed “putting…at risk”, then he would’ve come back to the table after AFSCME put forth similar terms as the other unions. He doesn’t care. - Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:18 pm: ===AFSCME message has been long and takes a lot of explaining=== Ugh. It’s a letter to members, not reporters. - Anonymous - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:22 pm: “Politix” you are right. I just can’t dumby-up myself. - A-town - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:28 pm: WOW, who is the rauner administration trying to fool here. General public please don’t fall for this misleading info. These are not the main reasons Afscme has considered striking. I challenge the Rauner Administration to be truthful to the People of Illinois. We are not the bad guys. - Tony - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:29 pm: State Workers ARE Taxpayers as well. The most basic logic always gets lost. Just once I’d like the press to call him on it. They are not separate. Show me a non- taxpaying rank and file state worker please. - FedUp - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:31 pm: Rauner never talks about no more step raises for newer state employees, his unfair managed competition clause where he can bid out state jobs and give them to whoever he wants. Nothing about his “bonuses” don’t count as income and therefore they are not pensionable. etc etc etc. - PublicServant - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:33 pm: ===Wow, so this wasn’t about paying double for my health insurance? This wasn’t about a wage and step freeze? This wasn’t about having the management right to outsource any job without consideration of cost savings? Oh I’m so relieved!=== Then get some response on the record. Now. Do it now, and EVERYTIME he or one of his minions try to scam the public on the true issues involved. - DuPage Bard - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:37 pm: Agreed Rich, it’s a letter to members, but I can’t recall seeing a clear short message from AFSCME that doesn’t require an edit by the media types. I know it’s a lot of different layers and levels but that’s why you have a media pro come in and hammer out the new 140 character strategy. And if they have one, they need to get better. Btw awesome the House Dems have a FB account now, so glad they’re getting around to 2007. - Judas - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:38 pm: As far as the ILRB I find it interesting to note that Board member John Coli’s Teamsters got a contract AND his IDOT teamsters got millions in bonuses just a few months ago. Rauner rewards fidelity. I believe they got raises and contributions to their healthcare. - Grandson of Man - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:38 pm: “AFSCME has rushed to authorize a strike” That’s almost comical. AFSCME has gone to great lengths to avoid this. For some strange reason, the Rauner administration keeps omitting proposals he thinks AFSCME should help it implement. I wonder why that is? Such as unfettered outsourcing without regard for efficiency and economy. Doubling or more of health insurance premiums and deductibles, as well as lifting cost caps for dependents, medication and medical services. Merit pay that could only go to a minimum of 25% of those who do merit work, and another part of it would not go to workers with only one violation. Loss of many bumping rights. The workers’ “colleague” JT was trying to foment division in a video by pitting new workers against those with seniority, to make it okay to cut costs on the backs of senior workers. - Henry Francis - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:46 pm: I don’t remember Quinn using his lawyers as political shills like this. Is CK too busy downloading Kool and the Gang songs for the Guv? - A Jack - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:46 pm: Two years without a contract isn’t exactly a rush to authorize a strike. AFSCME asked to resume negotiations a few days ago and the governor turned them down. A strike authorization is the next logical step. - Honeybear - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:47 pm: PublicServant, they do get stuff on record. Nobody cares. The public doesn’t give a crap. Thus the media doesn’t get it out. Really when we had our last rally only a few spots got fair coverage. I know the metro east got a lot of coverage from St. Louis. BND is a Rauner tool and thus barely noted noted it. St. Louis had a lot of coverage. - Henry Francis - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 1:57 pm: That statement brought to you by the same folks who repeatedly alerted us to AFSCME’s strike of September 1, 2016. - Langhorne - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 2:09 pm: Message. Message. Message. Lazy media coverage will accept it as the reasonable case the admin is making. AFSCME needs to put the deeper story out there every time rauner sings this song. - Langhorne - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 2:12 pm: The only good thing about murashkos stmt is acknowledging a strike puts public safety at risk. - Anonymous - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 2:12 pm: Funny that the governor should choose these three things to highlight and completely ignore the fact that his last best and final offer ushers in a new era of pay to play politics. He has specifically removed the requirement that privatizing state jobs has to save the taxpayers’ money. Under Rauner’s LBandF, he can hire any company for any reason to replace current state employees that are doing the job for less money than his private (politically connected) companies. - Jon - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 2:26 pm: Echoing some of the other comments here, the administration won the PR battle in the first line of their statement. Most of the Illinois populace are just going to hear AFSCME is going on strike because the administration wants workers to work 40 hours a week and not be drunk or high while at work. - Anonymous - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 2:30 pm: Is anyone in the know as to when the court hearing is today? I would think today’s events should be known before playing this card. Troubling times.. Best wishes to all! - Anonymous - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 2:31 pm: Funny that the governor completely ignored where he ushers in a new era of pay to play politics. He has specifically removed the requirement that privatizing state jobs has to save the taxpayers’ money. Under Rauner’s LBandF, he can hire any company for any reason to replace current state employees, even if those state employees are doing the job for less money. Leaders Radogno and Durkin should demonstrate their new bipartisan Kumbaya attitude by crafting legislation with their counterparts to protect the taxpayers’ money from Rauner’s privatization schemes and require any move to privatize must save the state money. Otherwise, they should admit that it is all so much BS, and that they are just as afraid of Boss Rauner as they claim dems are afraid of boss Madigan. - Working for the People - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 2:32 pm: Anon @ 2:30. My apologies… - ??? - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 2:55 pm: Aaaand….the email from John Terranova to state employees just hit. - Anon1234 - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 3:02 pm: The Terranova email is ridiculous. I’ll be curious to see if the email itself is considered an unfair labor practice. One way or another, Rauner will get his way - a huge reduction in state employees. - Anonymous - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 3:06 pm: Why is anyone afraid of Rauner or Madigan ? You have to stand up and pull your pants up like any other man. If you are a female, like my mom would say, put your big girl britches on. - Union proud - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 3:13 pm: Let’s see if I can follow the logic of the JT email. Governor says we are at impasse. His labor board says we are at impasse. But if the union doesn’t agree we are at impasse then we are somehow still bound by the no strike clause in the tolling agreement. If we are bound by the no strike clause then the strike is unlawful. If we unlawfully strike then the governor can replace all strikers with all the vendors he now claims are waiting in the wings. (No word how he’ll pay them all though) Wow… that’s a fun one. Alright here’s hoping we get that stay until the appeals work their course… - Former hillrod - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 3:16 pm: Que John Terranova in 3…2… oops. Too late. - Cubs in '16 - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 3:21 pm: ===common sense changes like a 40-hour work week and zero tolerance for being intoxicated in the workplace…=== They can freeze my salary, increase my cost for healthcare, privatize my job but I’ll be darned if sit idly by and allow them to take away my ‘Spicoli Fridays’! - W.S. Wolcott - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 3:57 pm: “Why is anyone afraid of Rauner or Madigan ? You have to stand up and pull your pants up like any other man. If you are a female, like my mom would say, put your big girl britches on.” Says the Anonymous poster. Truly awesome. - MAMA - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 4:12 pm: This is not about truth, it is about creating the public opinion in a way that benefits his re-election bid. - Consideration - Friday, Jan 13, 17 @ 4:30 pm: =Let’s see if I can follow the logic of the JT email. Governor says we are at impasse. His labor board says we are at impasse. But if the union doesn’t agree we are at impasse then we are somehow still bound by the no strike clause in the tolling agreement. If we are bound by the no strike clause then the strike is unlawful. If we unlawfully strike then the governor can replace all strikers with all the vendors he now claims are waiting in the wings. (No word how he’ll pay them all though)= And if we are still bound by the tolling agreement, then how can Rauner implement his final offer? Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.