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Missing the point

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Illinois

* Remember our discussion last week about “fake news”? Well, the problem isn’t just confined to Macedonian websites. Here’s the Belleville News Democrat’s latest editorial entitled “Halt! In the name of the state employee union police!”…

So you visited your favorite Illinois state park, saw the upended trash can and garbage strewn across the campground. Being the solid citizen that you are, you cleaned up the litter and righted the can.

A state employee approaches. Will she hand you a certificate of appreciation?

Nope. She reports you to her union for violating her collective bargaining agreement by volunteering. You just took work, and thus food, from the mouth of a state employee with your reckless, unskilled volunteerism. And you did it on the Labor Day holiday, which cost that poor state employee double-time pay.

Sound crazy? Yes, but it’s essentially the way things worked in Illinois. At least it was until last week, when the Illinois Labor Relations Board handed Gov. Bruce Rauner and taxpayers a $3 billion win.

* This is either a deliberate or lazy misreading of a union grievance filed eight years ago…

In 2008, AFSCME filed a grievance over staffing at the Visitor Center at the Illinois Beach State Park. Covering 4,160 acres along Lake Michigan near the Wisconsin border, the park is one of the busiest in the State with over 2 million visitors a year. As staffing was slowly declining at the park, some of the duties normally performed by union employees began being performed by Camp Ground Hosts.

Camp Ground Hosts are campers who, in exchange for a free camping space and a hookup, are allowed to live on the camp ground and help guide other campers. In 2008, they also earned $1 a day. As staffing declined, the Camp Ground hosts began meeting and greeting visitors and answered questions about the park. The Campground Host handbook stated that the campground hosts were expected to live at the campground, welcome other campers in a cheerful and helpful manner, collect camping fees, become familiar with points of interest, set a good example by keeping a neat and clean campsite, and report needed repairs to maintenance staff, as well as other duties.

The union filed a grievance that complained that the use of the campground hosts was eroding bargaining unit work. The grievance was sent to arbitration, and the arbitrator relied on the fact that the Campground hosts were educating the other campers about the “flora, fauna, geography, and geology of the park.” The arbitrator ordered the State to cease and desist from permitting the Campground Hosts to educate the public about the camp where they lived.

* And Illinois isn’t alone. The federal government has the “Antideficiency Act,” which prohibits the government from accepting volunteer services “except in cases of emergency involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.”

The law means that furloughed federal employees can’t volunteer to work during government shutdowns.

Hmm.

* Related…

* Ruling underlines no clear path to AFSCME-Rauner resolution

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 11:15 am

Comments

And that’s hardly the only howler in this not-fit-for-fishwrap rant.

Get this: “They walked away from the negotiating table and bet the labor board would impose their $3 billion in contract demands.”

In what alternate reality did AFSCME “walk away from the negotiating table”? Or ask the board to impose union proposals - which, as demonstrated here previously, don’t cost anything close to the paper’s imagined amount?

Comment by Reality Check Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 11:20 am
* And Illinois isn’t alone. The federal government has the “Antideficiency Act,” which prohibits the government from accepting volunteer services “except in cases of emergency involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.”

That’s surprising because the NPS uses volunteers to do at least one variation of the flora and fauna thing…

https://www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/astronomyvolunteer.htm

Comment by Oneman Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 11:22 am
Oneman

There are exemptions to the Anti-Deficiency Act, but they are statutory, not administrative.

Comment by Smitty Irving Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 11:27 am
This is more like bad news (See David Mikkelson column). These are lazy or ignorant editorial writers who “… take nuggets of real news and spin them into highly distorted …” editorials.

Comment by Norseman Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 11:43 am
“The federal government has the “Antideficiency Act,” which prohibits the government from accepting volunteer services “except in cases of emergency involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.””
———–

Little OT:

Actually, that’s what ’supposedly’ killed the offer by a number of different entities to build the healthcare.gov website at no cost instead of having it contracted out. At least that was the official line put out there.

Oh, well - only cost us (the taxpayers) a couple hundred million. Pocket change for the feds….

Remember: “Amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic”.

- Attributed to Richard J. Needham (Link is: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090928060242AAiyeqF )

Comment by Judgment Day Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 11:56 am
Meanwhile the union is still losing ground, and not putting forth a compelling narrative to win people to their side.

Comment by Saluki Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 12:01 pm
There’s lots of volunteers (mostly doing docent work) at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Especially in different parts of the “Journeys” sections of the museum.

Comment by Leatherneck Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 12:02 pm
So…can someone point me to any analysis showing that Illinois was on the hook for an additional $3 billion until the ILRB “saved the taxpayers” from AF-SCAMMY?

Comment by illini97 Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 12:19 pm
Maybe Volunteers should be allowed into all workplaces. Why not? If it is ok for public sector employee jobs to be done by anyone off the street why not in your workplace too. I like to take photos and I am a pretty good writer. I also have many other talents maybe I will offer my talents for free when I retire! Remember most of these public sector employees have degrees and either passed up private sector employment to be public servants or just chose this path as their career. Don’t take one snippet of ‘news’ and demonize state employees.

Comment by Tier1Gal Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 12:26 pm
Funny Capt Fax uses Fake News and BND in same item. BND and Shaw Media Group were among the entities who streamed the fake movie about Madigan — you might remember Capt Fax duped, Kass apology, Santis (no one thought to ask) — many asuumed they took money from the nation’s only zero depth think tank, the Illinois Policy Institute. to run; but it was never disclosed.
Perhaps this is a good place to ask. How much?

Comment by Annonin' Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 12:28 pm
–The law means that furloughed federal employees can’t volunteer to work during government shutdowns.

Hmm.–

I’m picking up what you’re putting down, but I doubt if there will be an outpouring of volunteerism if state workers go on strike.

What will be ironic, though, is that the Superstars will continue even without to get paid even without appropriation because the unions went to court.

–Remember: “Amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic”.–

Why should that be remembered? Is it supposed to communicate anything practical or substantive, in this context or any other?

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 12:52 pm
Where do they get there wage numbers of 32000 per year for non state workers. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_il.htm
All occupations $49970

Comment by lost in the weeds Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 12:55 pm
From the linked article:

=Both sides estimated the ruling would come in “weeks.”=

I surprised they’re only saying “weeks.” Will it be cleared that quick? I had read early 2017 was more likely.

Comment by Robert the 1st Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 1:10 pm
===She reports you to her union for violating her collective bargaining agreement===

And? What is her union going to do to the private citizen who picked up litter?

Comment by thechampaignlife Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 2:35 pm
“early 2017″

Only 6 weeks away!

Comment by Chris Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 2:37 pm
“–Remember: “Amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic”.–

Why should that be remembered? Is it supposed to communicate anything practical or substantive, in this context or any other?”
————

Ever had to implement a major program? Or a program expansion?

You’ll find out that volunteers can be a wonderful source of innovative thought into a staid barely functional bureaucracy.

Ex.: Have situation where a state institution has a lot of IAQ (Internal Air Quality) complaints. Record keeping has been abysmal, and there’s no analytical capabilities on data. Well, the ’suits’ have been pounding on the line workers for data and analysis of “Why?, Why?, Why?” and they’ve got no way to get the answers.

So they went to IT for a SIMPLE easy-to-use system build for something that everybody could use. Well, short story is IT is all tied up on this massive, magical, mystical, never-ending program that’s 4+ years in cycle for big $$$$ and NOTHING has been produced - short take, their little requested IAQ project goes on a never ending list on an undetermined timetable.

So, the line workers were b……g about the ineptitude of the process, so several of us ‘volunteers’ got together and developed what they needed *FOR FREE* and offered it up for this institution to use (again, FOR FREE).

Now, they got to run this FREE system developed & tested by us amateurs through their IT ‘Data Stewardship’ committee (the so-called ‘Professionals’). Bureaucratic approval process at play.

Well, we apparently didn’t follow ‘the process’ to (1) Obtain a contract, (2) Get all the appropriate bureaucratic approvals, and (3) get paid for it.

Which, btw, none of the above would happen… Certainly not on any reasonable time frame.

We just got together, created a design, spec’ed the design out, created the builds and validated the builds, and put it up and running (and tested like mad!). In our viewpoint, the workers needed tools to get the job done. And that was what mattered.

Conclusions: Nothing happened. Offer declined. The front line workers who have to get the actual work done are totally frustrated.

And you have four (4) software folks who are now totally on-board with Governor Rauner’s efforts to make major funding cuts to our 4 year state universities.

Comment by Judgment Day Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 2:41 pm
Major, long-standing special events at Illinois Historic Sites (The Ft. de Chartres Rendezvous, for instance) are now being financed and staffed entirely by local volunteer organizations because the state has withdrawn all staff and financial support. This is horrible, irresponsible public policy, and I abhor it. But not because I give a hoot for union jobs. My issue is that if an historic site is to be properly protected, professionals ought to be entirely in charge. This joke of a state government is disgusting. Not just Madigan and Rauner, but everyone else who takes their orders from them.

Comment by Skirmisher Monday, Nov 21, 16 @ 2:48 pm