From The Center Square:
Illinois employee union contract includes 11.5 percent in pay hikes over 4 years
Illinois’ largest state employee union is poised to keep its workers among the highest-paid state employees in the nation – with wages surpassing the average private-sector employee in the state – under the terms of a pending four-year contract deal.
The AFSCME Council 31 union never came to terms on a new contract with former Gov. Bruce Rauner, as it fought with the Rauner administration over issues in the courts after a request for an impasse declaration.
The union endorsed Gov. J.B. Pritzker in the 2018 election.
That endorsement could soon pay off, according to details from the four-year contract.
Leaked contract details obtained by The Center Square Illinois show state employees in the AFSCME bargaining unit would get 11.5 percent more in pay raises over four years.
Union members would have to contribute more to the cost of their health care plans.
This would be the union’s first contract in four years. Union officials didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment Friday.
“I urge you to vote to ratify this agreement as your Bargaining Committee has unanimously recommended,” AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch wrote in the outline.
AFSCME unit members with voting authority could ratify the deal within the next few weeks.
Illinois state workers make 18 percent more in total annual compensation than the average state worker nationwide.
Illinois ranked second highest in terms of average wages and salaries per state employee, the Institute said.
The contract would bring back full funding for the Upward Mobility Program, which pays for some higher education costs for eligible employees.
There’s also a prohibition of the employer providing any information pertaining to bargaining unit employees to any third-party entity unless required to do so by law.
Dental premiums would increase by $1 a month in the last three years of the contract.
Retirees with at least 20 years of service wouldn’t pay premiums for health care coverage. [This is not a new provision. It dates back to when Jim Edgar was Governor.]
The contract outline said there was
- no weakening of limits on privatization..
- no reduction in overtime pay
- no reductions in holiday pay
- no diminishment of existing layoff protections, and
- no weakening of seniority as a factor in promotions.
Maternity and paternity leave would increase to 10 weeks with pay.
“If both parents are employees of the state, they will now each be entitled to the full leave, which can be taken either consecutive or concurrently, instead of having to split one paid leave, making Illinois a leader in family-friendly policies,” according to the outline.
Illinois Policy Institute staff attorney Mailee Smith said the total cost of the contract was not yet known.
However, she said any savings from the proposed increase in state employee contributions to their healthcare costs would be offset by a proposed $2,500 stipend for each employee, depending on tenure.
“The estimated savings of $29 million that those slightly increased contributions will save, that’s completely wiped out by the $2,500 stipend, which will cost taxpayers $95 million,” Smith said.
A summary of the contract showed the health insurance increases for employees are between $13 to $18 per month, and increase each year by the same amount for the life of the contract.
Union employees would get a 1.5 percent pay raise in the first year and a 2.1 percent increase in the second year.
Employees would get 3.95 percent raises in the final two years of the contract, leading into the 2022 election for governor.
Smith said the contract the union is set to ratify with a governor it endorsed showed more of the same in Illinois.
“The playing field in Illinois is rigged against the taxpayers in favor of the unions when it comes to contract negotiations,” Smith said.
The Institute said Bureau of Economic Analysis data showed Illinois state workers earn on average more than $90,000.
When benefits, including pensions, are included, total compensation for state workers was more than $30,000 higher than the average private sector worker’s total compensation.
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Meanwhile, Crystal Lake High School teachers received a 12% pay raise over three years.
Funny… nothing is mentioned about how they didn’t get an increase over the last 4 years?
So this is really a 11.5% increase over 8 years.
I just checked Wiki, turns out Illinois is a part of the United States, with a flag star and everything.
Why not just make it 30% or 300%?
The taxpayers will pay, who cares about them?
So, employees like Carlos Acosta who was the assigned DCFS employee to look after the welfare of little A.J. get a raise.
Only in Madigan’ / Franks’ / Pritzker’ Illinois.
“There’s also a prohibition of the employer providing any information pertaining to bargaining unit employees to any third-party entity unless required to do so by law.”
Is that clause to protect people like Carlos?
If you want to know who really runs this state, just take a look at this number: $5,754,162.96
That is the dollar amount used by this employee union to fund primarily Democrat campaigns in this state since Jan. 1 2018.
In other words, your tax dollars are used to fund Democrat campaigns.
Democrats just gave themselves a raise which you fund!
I forgot to mention that $767,800 went direct to Mike Madigan for him to use against any competitor.
Did the union buy him to get ‘fat boy’ to sign the wage increase?
Sheesh, how does a retired person join a union………I need the money!
About 60 years ago, before prevalence of unions for government workers, George Meany, president of the AFL-CIO said that unions should have no place with government workers. Democrat President Franklin Delano Roosevelt also felt that government workers should not be unionized. Now that we have them, their wages should have controls by the federal government including raises. Their yearly COLA should be exactly what is deemed necessary for “Cost of Living” and is determined for Social Security recipients. All government workers throughout the U.S. should get no more than what Social Security pays increases for Social Security recipients. The last 22 years of Social Security COLAs are:
January 1998 — 2.1%
January 1999 — 1.3%
January 2000 — 2.5% (1)
January 2001 — 3.5%
January 2002 — 2.6%
January 2003 — 1.4%
January 2004 — 2.1%
January 2005 — 2.7%
January 2006 — 4.1%
January 2007 — 3.3%
January 2008 — 2.3%
January 2009 — 5.8%
January 2010 — 0.0%
January 2011 — 0.0%
January 2012 — 3.6%
January 2013 — 1.7%
January 2014 — 1.5%
January 2015 — 1.7%
January 2016 — 0.0%
January 2017 — 0.3%
January 2018 — 2.0%
January 2019 — 2.8%
How about -10.9% for 2020?
Carlos Acosta and all other DCFS get this nice lucrative pay raise under AFSME!
AFSME = PERVERSION