Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

THIS JUST IN… AFSCME agrees to a deal on pay, layoffs, closures

Posted in:

Illinois

* 4:48 pm - AFSCME has reached an agreement with the Quinn administration on layoffs, wages and facility closures.

Read the union’s internal letter by clicking here.

The union had obtained a court injunction against layoffs last year, but that injunction was about to expire and the arbitrator pushed for a mediated resolution. The union then pushed to broaden the scope of the proceedings.

According to the union, the mediated resolution will “protect the vast majority of AFSCME members from layoffs through June 30, 2011.” According to the document, there will be no layoff notices - including temporary layoffs - beyond those already issued until June of next year. Layoff notices at the Department of Corrections will be “rescinded.”

That leaves about 200 layoff notices or so still out there. The governor had wanted to lay off 2.600 workers, and the administration had already sent out about 600 layoff notices.

It will also prevent any facility closures through June 30, 2011 that haven’t already been announced.

In exchange, the union has agreed to “defer” 1 point of the 2 point wage hike scheduled for July 1 of this year and 1 point of the two point pay raise scheduled for January 1, 2011 until June 1, 2011. Union members will also be “encouraged” to participate in a “voluntary furlough program.”

The union claims it “has not ceded its right” to prevent the facility closures already announced.

Union members will also receive “greatly expanded vacancy and recall rights” for the “limited number” of workers who could still be laid off. The agreement also gives the union the ability to “identify and eliminate personal service and vendor contracts and restore bargaining unit work.”

*** 9:11 pm *** I was out of the office and didn’t see this in my e-mail until now. From the governor’s office…

“The Quinn Administration is pleased to have reached this positive agreement with AFSCME, which will result in a cost savings to taxpayers of over $200 million.

Through the collective bargaining process, the State and AFSCME worked together to settle differences, save money and achieve a constructive relationship going forward. The combination of employee furlough days, decreased pay increases and avoiding costly litigation will help to ease the State’s budgetary woes.

The Quinn Administration has long believed that employee furloughs are preferable to imposing deep employee lay-offs and is grateful that AFSCME agreed to this approach. The State of Illinois is facing unprecedented financial troubles. But this agreement is an example of how we can work together to resolve problems, improve the State’s financial health and position Illinois for better days ahead.”

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 4:58 pm

Comments

took you long enough to get this up, I’ve been expecting to see it all day.

Comment by Cindy Lou Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:09 pm
LOL

Had to wait on confirmation.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:10 pm
Other than the 200 people that lose their jobs, this does nothing to help the budget problem. Quinn promised 2,600 layoffs if he did not get the furlough days. I believe this was part of the overall budget package that was signed. These “concessions” affect future increases in the budget not the present problem.

What this tells me is that the Governor has completely sold out to win an election. We knew he was clueless. Now we know he has given up on every moral stand he has ever taken that got him to the big dance.

Comment by Crystal Ball Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:12 pm
Wow, very unimpressive

Comment by Stupid Human Tricks Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:20 pm
Campaign cave.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:20 pm
Sounds like AFSCME had Quinn for lunch again. And he was a willing victim. Predictable.

There won’t be any layoffs and no pay cuts either
(with minor exceptions). Pay increases will merely be delayed. And staffing will remain the same (or increase) regardless of actual need. We’ve gone from at least pretending to hire and retain only necessary personnel to keeping employees on no matter what. Corrections may need folks but we well know many agencies are still overstaffed, especially management ranks (most of whom joined the union recently, to the tune of massive pay increases).

Once again, a Democratic governor sells out middle class taxpayers in exchange for potential union bucks and backing (or at least, lack of explicit opposition-we don’t know if AFSCME will back him in time for the primary even after this giveaway).

The personal contract issue, by the way, is probably a vaoid one under the contract. But aren’t most personal contractors political hires?
They won’t be leaving either.

As I said, Quinn’s layoff posturing was a kabuki dance with AFSCME. It didn’t mean a thing. This was easily foreseen by both sides in the spring.
We taxpayers will be paying.

Comment by cassandra Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:24 pm
Crystal Ball:

Though I personally believe that the state signed off on an absurd contract, you can’t force AFSCME to change a contract. While the state may be in a huge budget mess, no person in his or her right mind is going to voluntarily give up pay that has been guaranteed by a contract. The state needs to take a big stand when this contract expires and get rid of language that gives AFSCME so many rights in the layoff process. That is the problem. AFSCME was simply doing what the contract the state signed allows them to do. I’m surprised that AFSCME agreed to do anything (which they really didn’t). They made concessions without really making any concessions. They continue to out-negotiate (yes, this is a made up word) the state. The state really can’t do anything until the contract expires or (in fantasyland) if a judge were to nullify the contract.

Comment by RJW Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:24 pm
Services will suffer thenext few years because of our current budget situation. Hopefully people will become more complacent about the pain, and our next Governor can let them strike when this contract expires. If certain politicians think their constituents care enough about pension reform to campaign for it see what they think about the AFSCME contract. I am pro union and I understand you cannot fix our structural deficit by cutting the fat, but you have to have greater authority for layoffs when you have a $13 billion structual deficit. The fix is revenue increases combined with across the board cuts, you can’t do it any other way.

Comment by Stupid Human Tricks Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:29 pm
Yes, it is true. I am one of the 200 unlucky ones. Funny though, they just hired 3 MC and 1 exempt position though. Even our Director’s assistant got a union job just in time. He is holding it until after the primary. Must be nice to write your job, post it, and then hire yourself for it. Yes….he is a BLAGO HOLDOVER. Please pray for those that will be without a job and that they remain healthy and find employment sooner than later.

Comment by Justice Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:33 pm
And RJW, I agree Afscme got their contract fair and square, it’s theirs to negotiate, but I think certAin union leaders fail to make reasonable concessions a majority of their members would concede to better protect their own personal futures. They are politicians too. With that said their contract, it’s not their fault theynegotiate with lousy people

Comment by Stupid Human Tricks Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:35 pm
RJW,

You refer to the wonderful contract Blago gave the union. I believe it has been described as the best deal ever received by a union in America here at this blog. You are correct, a deal is a deal. My criticism of the governor is that he caved to election pressure. He wanted to play hardball with the union by asking that they re-open the contract and take furlough days. If they refused then he would lay off 2,600 workers. The governor knows that he cannot win the primary if he follows through with this threat/promise.

20 bucks says an endorsement of Quinn is to follow.

Comment by Crystal Ball Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:36 pm
–”20 bucks says an endorsement of Quinn is to follow”.–

Best save your $20, AFSCME sat the primary out and I don’t think Quinn is gonna make the Nov. ticket.

Comment by Cindy Lou Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:43 pm
I am a Chicago guy and pretty supportive of unions. If the average union member makes around $50,000 a year, which is a fairly good salary though not generous by any means, then that means he/she would have gotten $1,000 raise on July 1 and a $1,000 raise on January 1. These members just agreed to give back $500 of their raise to the state for a year and another $500 of their raise for half a year.

That is almost 50,000 state employees are defering $1,000. This amounts to wage concessions of around $50,000,000 during one of the worst economoic downturns in Illinois history.

Considering that these members work with the developmentally disabled, prisoners, and the mentally ill and are completely understaffed from everything I read on Capitol Fax and in the papers, I think a $50,000,000 concession is a pretty great thing and the state employees/AFSCME should be encouraged for their actions.

Comment by JFK Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:45 pm
Cindy Lou,

Probably right. Too obvious a play if they do it before the election. The governor’s cave-in is basically the same thing.

Comment by Crystal Ball Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:47 pm
JFK, of course prisons should be better staffed, but tell all of those human service pro iders some of who are going to be getting nothing the next few years that a pay increase, voluntary furlough plan, and 200 layoffs is in big concession.

To fix our budget ther has to be hge tax increases, huge cuts( including layoffs), and an improved economy.

Comment by Stupid Human Tricks Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:52 pm
Sorry Justice. Thank goodness for unemployment benefits; I know that’s not the same as getting a regular full paycheck and being employed, but it’s better than nothing.

Comment by Wow... Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:55 pm
I don’t mind cuts, but the waste is still there! They cut only the lower level employees and hire more management! If they were serious what happened to the hiring freeze? We have hired (4) at over $60,000 this month! We all are hurting from Corrections to human servic providers, when is the legislators going to hurt?

Comment by Justice Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:56 pm
Rich, Thanks for putting this up, since your average AFSCME member hasn’t seen this, and news is just starting to trickle out. For all of you who don’t work in our sector, you don’t know what we go through on a daily basis and wouldn’t like it if you did.
We weren’t told what was going to be discussed, we have beeen working shorthanded for 8 years now and it’s not going to get better with this. Better yet, “we didn’t even get kissed”. I work to pay my own salary, for the most part.
This was done to save DOC jobs. Not everyone across the board. DOC jobs. No one is thinking about the 3 hour wait at a DHFS office, or the kids not getting help in DCFS. Sad, sad, sad day.

Everyone is looking to the dwindling number of state employees to solve the budget mess. We didn’t cause it, but out backs are expected to fix it. We can’t.

Comment by Wickedred Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:57 pm
Thanks wow. I got a part time job since I have been notified. It will help and I am so thankful that I have my health!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, unemployment benefits can help but I haven’t done it before. I was hoping to make it to retirement…guess not.

Comment by Justice Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 5:59 pm
The deficit in the this fiscal is at about $13 billion now, right? Just 200 layoffs? How does that work?

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 6:05 pm
Wordslinger….it doesn’t work. Go figure…you must start at the top, not the bottom.

Comment by Justice Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 6:06 pm
A few other goodies include, “No union employee can be required to take any furlough days. Employees who do take days will be gratned Paid incentive days. These will be days adjacent to holidays and will be gratned at the rate of one day for every two furlough days” This in addition to the 10 - 25 vacation days; 12 sick days; 3 personal days; and 12 paid holidays totaling between 2 and 3 months a year off work.

Also - with most of middle managment moving into the union we are talking about increasing wages from $65K to 90K in a four year period. Again, many of these people can’t write a paragraph or work through a spreadsheet.

They can not be terminated nor can the state provide incentives to good employees.

I never in my life thought I would want a republican to win for the specific purpose diminishing the union - but if that doesn’t happen soon - we are doomed!

Comment by Payraises for Unions!! Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 6:08 pm
I am union and yes, the PSAs are a great deal for those who are in those positions. Lately, with the corruption in our Agency and the lack of the union to stop or even win any greivance or arbitration, I am wondering if you might be right “Payraises for Unions”. My beliefs are changing concerning the union and they have never help me right a wrong.

Comment by Justice Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 6:12 pm
This deal stinks. It delays payment to state workers but does not reduce the amount the state will eventually pay them. It is kicking the can down the road.

Also- (somebody help here) JFK is estimating the average wage for a union worker at $50,000. I think it is much lower than that.

Comment by DuPage Dave Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 6:53 pm
does anyone know what percentage of the state budget goes for state employee salaries or is this whole exercise just political posturing.

Comment by always anonymous Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 6:55 pm
Here is the site to review all salaries for union employees. If you look under salary plan all titles that have RC are union titles. You can see many of the salary go over $100K!!!!

http://www.state.il.us/cms/2_servicese_per/search.asp

Comment by Payraises for Unions!! Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 7:24 pm
Most of the $100K employees that are union are I/T people.

Comment by Justice Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 7:56 pm
Interesting that personal services contracts are being looked at. Many of the employees who fall under this category are not given state benefits. Replacing these positions with a union employee will put the state pension system even further in debt. I’m pro-union and I realize some of the positions are union jobs, but it isn’t a good time for the state to take on more burden.

Comment by Can't Say My Nickname Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 8:07 pm
Quinn needs to tell us how he is going to pay for the increase in prison cost by suspending all MGT and SMGT good time at the department of corrections. Eliminating 6 months from every eligible inmate is going to cause a huge increase in an already bulging inmate population. Mr. Transparent hasn’t mentioned this to the public. The good time program is a good thing when you award it to inmates that earn it; it only became a problem when he decided to award it on the front end of the 61 day wonders. He successfully shaved off a few minutes from an already ticking time bomb.

Comment by Bob Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 8:32 pm
I do not understand this hatred toward unions. Is it because they fight on employees behalf for good wages and benefits? A great majority of these employees are hardworking people who do their jobs well in unsatiable work environments.

I understand we are in an abysmal budgetary state and that we must address it through many avenues (layoffs, taxes, etc). In terms of layoffs, they need to be targeted. In any case, the problem lies in the fact that these departments are extremely top heavy. Yes, any job cuts are difficult to make, but it is time for the tough decisions to be made.

Comment by Cubsfan68 Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 8:59 pm
Since I believe the entire yearly state payroll is about $3.5 billion and the budget hole is around $12 billion I’d like one of you out there wanting layoffs as a way to fix this budget hole explain how that would work???

Comment by Donald Wareham Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:05 pm
Lay off correctional officers and hire 70 correctional majors. Less line staff and more supervisors. Guess what Union the Majors belong to. IESA, perhaps?

Comment by Bob Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:11 pm
And the $12-13 billion shortfall is GRF, while if my memory is correct, the payroll number is all funds.

Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:24 pm
If the state could pay appropriate wages, hire good people, reward good work, fire bad people, then I believe it could hire many more employees, provide better services, from a more competent work force, that would help instead of hinder all management attempts to develop better policies, service more people, with significant more efficiency.

Comment by Payraises for Unions!! Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:28 pm
i’m a state employee and when the ecomony was in it’s good times, friends and family in the private sector doing the same job were making alot more money. now that the ecomony is in the tank, people are looking at state workers as scapegoats. i feel the state has to maintain a balance in which it should deal with how much money is spent on human services and audit them. illinois human services is head over heals compared to the surrounding states and since we are such “let’s give money and solve” state, i bet there are alot of people who are citizens from those surrounding states that are ripping illinois citizens and workers off. sorry, just my thoughts

Comment by johnnylaw Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 10:09 pm
so i woke up this morning and looked around and pretty much everyone is in the union now…is there any mc left?

Comment by jimmy james Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 10:30 pm
Further evidence that our deficit/debt problems will not be solved with just a combination of tax increases and spending cuts.

Comment by vole Wednesday, Jan 27, 10 @ 8:25 am
Pay Raises For Unions

“Also - with most of middle managment moving into the union we are talking about increasing wages from $65K to 90K in a four year period. Again, many of these people can’t write a paragraph or work through a spreadsheet”

Have you ever worked in a state office ? Do you even know a single state employee ? We are not the stupid bumpkins that you portray us to be. I am one of those middle managers that you are referring to. Did you know that we went 4 years without a pay raise ?????? Additionally, for the first 2 years of that period we took a 4% pay cut because the state stopped paying our pensions. Where did you get the salary figures that you are quoting ? The fact is that the union contract expires on June 30, 2012. That is 2 years from now. How could you possibly know what someone will be making in 4 years ????? Also, your figures are way off. I will not be making close to that amount.

State employees are easy scapegoats for everything. The fact is, most of the language that is in the AFSCME contract has been in there for years. The pay raises we received with this contract are similiar to those that have been negiotiated in the past. One difference, the contract usually gave union members a full cost of living increase on July 1, the start of the fiscal year. This contract was different. The employees only got 1/2 of the cost of living raise in July. The other half wasn’t received until January of the following year. I am really mystified why some of the people on this blog keep making statements that they have no facts to back up.

Thank you AFSCME for standing up for state workers. Thank you for fighting off the opinions of all the wackos out there that continually degrade the service we provide to the citizens of this state. Thank you for making the state agree to conditions in exchange for concessions. I am proud to be an AFSCME member, and even prouder to serve as a steward in my location. Keep it up.

Comment by Fed Up Wednesday, Jan 27, 10 @ 8:36 am
This is what I don’t get — you’re complaining about the fact that you didn’t have a raise for several years, yet praising a union that agreed to those terms in exchange for keeping hundreds of non-essential jobs. I know that all State employees aren’t hacks because I am one of them, but I do think that the union employees take for granted that us non-union employees get screwed when your union makes a bad deal. So some are forced to take pay cuts and mandatory furlough days to foot the bill for the union’s “voluntary furlough program,” which really looks more like a program devised to ensure people get 3 days weekends.

It is time that leaders - real leaders - review each and every State position. There is too much mismangement, waste, and doubling up of jobs. I don’t want anyone to be unemployed, but I also don’t think it is right to cut social service programs or endanger prison guards so someone can sit at a desk doing nothing.

Quinn should be ashamed. What a coward.

Comment by Yet another example of failed leadership Wednesday, Jan 27, 10 @ 9:03 am
I did not get a raise for 4 years because I was merit compensation. I got raises since May when I was covered under the union contract.

For all of you out there trashing merit comp employees & their pay, be aware. Front line managers got no raises for 4 years. After that, they got small raises for 2 years. Now the pay is frozen & they have to take 12 furlough days.

Comment by Fed Up Wednesday, Jan 27, 10 @ 9:16 am
“Payraises for Unions” and others who are spouting numbers and “facts” of which they have no clue. The 10 to 25 days of vacation go to those who have worked for many years for an employer who doesn’t pay it’s share of pensions, doesn’t pay wages comparable to the public sector, doesn’t pay it’s medical insurance obligations causing employees to be put in collection through no fault of their own, doesn’t adhere to OSHA and other Public Health & Safety laws because it doesn’t have to, and constantly pushes the price of it’s ineptness off on the rank & file. Many of us do not get overtime for overtime hours worked. Eventhough we get vacations and holidays we do not get to use them except when our employer determines it can allow us to have off. Many of us work weekends or shifts that the public sector is not asked to work. We are working with equipment that is in such sad state of repair it would have been junked if in the public sector and we are working in buildings that have not seen needed repairs or replacements since we have not had a Capital Plan for over 10 years. (BTW I don’t think I am doing too bad getting through this paragraph am I?)

As others have said, this is a ploy by Quinn to get a feel good push right before the primary from the taxpayers who are not state employees. (that’s right state employees are also tax payers) This means nothing in the 13 billion dollar budget hole. If you have read and understood what has been posted on this site for the last couple of years cutting cannot fix the budget hole. And the budget hole WAS NOT created by employee pensions. It was created because the GA and past Governors consistently took state employee’s money to pay for all of the feel good programs they sold to the rest of you and you were happy about getting them. You bought the smoke and mirrors about how somehow this money would never have to be paid back. Well the Piper is here and he wants his money.

What I would like to know is what the GA is going to sacrifice to match what the Union has done. Are they going to give up 15% of their individual operating money as all agencies are asked to do? Will it make a difference if they take furlough days? As far as I am concerned they haven’t done anything for the last several years. They should give back part of their salaries for those do nothing sessions. I am betting they won’t. Soy Boy can’t take furlough days because he is protected by a law that states he can’t be paid less than his advertised salary.

If Tranparent Soy Boy were so wonderful and really wanting to find places to cut why are we wasting 27 million on advertising for the lottery when we are not meeting our obligations to vendors and services for those who need it most? More money would be saved by eliminasting that advertising for one year than will be realized by the concessions that AFSCME agreed to.

Please before you start taking cheap shots do a little research.

Comment by Irish Wednesday, Jan 27, 10 @ 9:54 am
So let’s see - we have a state worker earning $50,000 and it is their job to service doxens of families at a cost of $4000 per citizen. So you think the cut should be over the $50,000? Why? Because it looks like the bigger number?

Do the math people! That isn’t where the saving are!

Would you expect a bank to save money by closing the ATMs and just leaving the cash in a bucket where they used to be?

Laying off state workers in Illinois is like taking the air out of your car’s tires and expecting it to get better gas mileage. You can only go so far before you are riding on the rims.

We’ve been riding on our rims for over a decade people!

Illinois has the lowest ratio of state workers to citizens in the US. It is the most efficient. Anyone who thinks there are savings here, is a decade too late. After Edgar, the cuts started and the easy savings are now long gone.

There is no more fruit in this tree. Start barking up another one.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Jan 27, 10 @ 11:51 am