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Rauner administration denies union report of progress on fair share suit

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Illinois

* From an internal union e-mail…

Startling new development in the fair share case.

You may know that the 27 unions filed for an injunction in St. Clair County to keep Rauner from implementing his anti-fair share Executive Order.

We were poised to file and go to court for a Temporary Restraining Order today – which we are confident we would have won, however, late last night the lead union lawyer received a call from the Rauner lawyers.

The Rauner lawyers said they had been rethinking their position and they were willing to AGREE that they should be enjoined from implementing the Executive Order until the case could be heard on the merits.

* From the Rauner administration…

There’s no agreement.

When I followed up to ask if there was a miscommunication or misunderstanding, I got this reply…

There’s no agreement.

OK, well, there you have it.

* Meanwhile, in other labor-related regional union news…

Wisconsin recently was all over the news for becoming the 25th right to work state. But in a USA Today opinion piece, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka pointed out what the media hasn’t made as much of: state legislatures in New Hampshire, West Virginia, New Mexico, Maine and Montana turning thumbs down on right to work.

Right to work failed in the current session of the Kentucky General Assembly, to boot.

Anyway, the union-busters are one for seven in states this year. In baseball, my favorite sport, that’s a .143 bench-warmer batting average.

In the Bluegrass State, where I live, the union-busters have made the news big-time for pushing county right to work ordinances. They bragged that 30 counties would approve local right to work measures by the end of January, Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan recalls.

We’re past the Ides of March, and only 11 counties have endorsed right to work.

Anyway, Kentucky has 120 counties. Back to the national pastime: 11 for 120 is a .092 couldn’t-hit-water-if-you-fell-out-of-a-boat batting average. It’s not even within shouting distance of the Mendoza line. (If you’re not a baseball fan, click here.)

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:17 am

Comments

So many counties…so little work.

Comment by A guy Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:19 am
===and they were willing to AGREE===

===There’s no agreement.===

Both can be true, depending on your interpretation. I suspect the Rauner statement has an implied “yet” at the end.

Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:26 am
Rauner is a willful, stubborn client.

His attorneys didn’t realize how politically and/or personally important this was to him, and their normal way of doing legal business got overruled.

Comment by walker Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:29 am
What a dirty trick. I certainly hope the union goes in for a TRO Monday.

Comment by Anon Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:29 am
I think Michael Jordan had a higher Avg?

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:30 am
So you are suggesting Scabistan not as popular as forecast. Maybe Kentuckians aren’t as dumb as BVR thought

Comment by anonin' Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:31 am
Like you can believe anything Rauner or his lawyers promise. File it!

Comment by Wensicia Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:33 am
Just because people in Kentucky talk a bit slow doesn’t mean they are slow.

I used to work down there and some of the smartest people I know talk with that slow southern drawl.

Comment by Huh? Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:34 am
Meh, what are you supposed to believe from the Rauner crew?

During the campaign, he assured everyone that all this anti-union stuff was “not a priority,” yet it’s turned out to be the only priority.

Comment by Wordslinger Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:47 am
Better yet, file it today. The courthouse is open in the afternoon too.

Comment by Anon Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:49 am
Hmm… I wonder if there is an agreement.

Yeah. I feel sorry for people that have to work for Bruce Rauner. I had a boss or two just like him. Every time I think that I should give up my self employment to go back and make real money, I just have to think of the gov and I am content where I’m at. Thanks Bruce.

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:49 am
Poor Mario…his legacy will never die.

Comment by Skeptic Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:51 am
Just like Bill Buckner’s legacy.

Comment by Skeptic Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 11:54 am
1/7 is still another state where worker rights will erode. This is a long-game strategy. RTWers will never quit.

Comment by Tornadoman Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 12:00 pm
I cant believe the lead union lawyer hallucinated the call.

Strange behavior from the rauner crew… Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. How many times does bruce have to lose before he learns he cant flim-flam or bully the judicial system?

Comment by Langhorne Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 12:24 pm
== Like you can believe anything Rauner or his lawyers promise. ==

I suspect the lawyers were OK with it but Rauner went ballistic when he heard about it. The lawyers probably thought the goal was to win the case, not to try to starve the union of money.

Comment by RNUG Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 12:25 pm
I don’t read that as Rauner denying there’s progress. They’re saying there’s no agreement, which may be telling.

Comment by Headline Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 12:27 pm
I imagine it’s somewhere in between walker’s and RNUG’s assessment

Comment by COPN Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 12:59 pm
Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.

Comment by Enviro Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 1:32 pm
For the fair share employees who are having their base pay reduced by their fair share amount (due to the “workaround” Rauner devised),I hope that there is an agreement or a TRO in place before their next paycheck. No reason for these employees to be punished while Rauner is “fight in’ for their first amendment rights”.

Also- is there any way to find out if there was a surge of former fair share folks converting to full share? I would think the unions would trumpet the numbers, but all I can find is antidotal evidence

Comment by Roadiepig Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 2:08 pm
===I imagine it’s somewhere in between walker’s and RNUG’s assessment===

Not a lot of space there. lol

Comment by walker Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 3:47 pm
Brucie–the Bartman of Illinois

Comment by D.P.Gumby Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 4:09 pm
Have any counties/municipalities filled out Rauner’s “your name here” right to work form?

Comment by The Equalizer Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 4:22 pm
I’m starting to wonder if the litigation will take more than 46 months. Then once one-term BVR is thrown out, the new governor can drop the litigation.

Comment by Anon Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 4:24 pm
It may well be a trick. In the Detroit injunction against bankruptcy case, the state lawyer faked illness to use the washroom to delay about 20 minutes. Then he came back and said, “this hearing is moot”, bankruptcy has been filed 5 minutes ago in a different courthouse. It came down to what was filed first, the injunction or the bankruptcy. I would expect the same type of conduct from Rauner’s lawyers.

Comment by DuPage Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 6:01 pm
^^ So would I.

Comment by Anon Friday, Mar 27, 15 @ 6:17 pm
I was fair share for over 16 years. Joined teamsters 2 weeks ago.

Comment by in the 'dell Saturday, Mar 28, 15 @ 9:52 am