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Illinois Council 31—American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees—AFL-CIO

Stop the closures!

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/28/11 5:39 PM Page 1

2 On the Move October 2011

BY HENRY BAYER

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

“THAT’S NOT THE WAY WE DO

THINGS IN ILLINOIS,” SAID QUINN,PROUDLY DECLARING HIMSELF A

true believer in the right to orga-nize.

Not only Democrats, buteven some Illinois Republicanswere careful not to put theirstamp of approval on theseassaults. Of course it’s easy to behigh-minded about issues acrossyour border, but the real testcomes when they hit home.

When Illinois faced its ownbudget shortfall, Quinn simplyannounced he wouldn’t pay thecontractually negotiated raisesdue to state employees represent-ed by AFSCME and otherunions. Then when an arbitratordeclared the state in violation ofthe AFSCME collective bargain-ing agreement, Quinn refused toabide by the binding decision.Instead he’s seeking a courtorder to overturn it.

Next he proclaimed that heis also walking away from the no-layoff, no-closure agreement inthe contract by laying off almost2,000 state employees and clos-ing seven state facilities.

Going a step further, thegovernor then asked a court toprevent the arbitrator from evendeciding whether the contracthas been violated.

Quinn’s defense for all ofthis is simple and dangerous:The legislature didn’t appropri-ate enough money for him tofund the provisions of union con-tracts in 13 agencies.

The implication of the gov-ernor’s position is profound. Ifupheld by the courts, it wouldallow the state legislature, a citycouncil, county board, or board

of trustees to slip out of anyagreement made by their execu-tives. All they’d have to do isleave the funding out of theirappropriations. Suddenly thatpay or benefit increase youthought you had wouldn’t bethere, even if you had givensomething up in return.

How could any bargainingcommittee have confidence inany agreement they reached?Could we ever again trust electedofficials to stand behind theagreements they sign if they canjust walk away when the goinggets tough? Who among uswould want to find out?

But if Quinn prevails, a bar-gaining committee would beforced to do exactly that and putits fate in the hands of notorious-ly fickle legislative bodies at everylevel of government.

In this instance, the statedoes have the money.

State revenues are projectedto exceed budget estimates bymore than $600 million, doublethe amount it would take to fundthe contracts for all unions.

Among the legislative lead-ers, only Senate President JohnCullerton has acknowledgedfrom the beginning that the bud-get needs repair. Senate Republi-can leader Chris Radogno, whoseown staff received a 7 percentpay increase this year, says stateemployee shouldn’t get any.

House Speaker Mike Madi-gan has indicated a willingness tolook at fixes, but only by transfer-ring money from other lines inthe budget, not by dipping intoprojected new revenues.

House Republican leaderTom Cross’s only response to the

budget shortfall is to propose$500 million in tax cuts for Illi-nois businesses.

The legislators whoexpressed abhorrence at theactions taken by neighboringstates have been strangely silentabout the assault on bargainingrights taking place right here.

It’s time for every AFSCMEmember, regardless of whereyou work, to call every Illinois leg-islator and remind them of ourinsistence that they stand up forthe right to bargain collectively.

Our legislators must let theircaucus leaders know that theirparty should not be accomplicesin the governor’s effort to under-mine collective bargaining.

When Gov. Quinn declaredthat the frontal assault on bar-gaining rights was not the way wedo things in Illinois, most peoplethought he meant that collectivebargaining rights were inviolableand would not be abridged here.

But it’s becoming increas-ingly apparent that what he reallymeant is that instead of frontalassaults, we’ll come in the backdoor, in this case through thecourt system, to accomplish thesame ends sought by Scott Walk-er and other governors whocame in through the front door.

AFSCME and other unionswill continue to vigorouslyoppose the governor in thecourts, but the war, and, believeme, this is a war, needs to bewaged on all fronts, not just witha battery of lawyers in the court-room.

In the coming weeks weneed battalions of troops on thephones and in the streetsdemanding that the governorand legislature remove the dag-ger at our back, honor our con-tract, and prove that Illinois isnot Wisconsin.

Though we know Gov.Quinn’s voice won’t be amongthem, those other eloquent voic-es that rose to the defense of Wis-consin workers need to be heardin Illinois, and right now!

Threat to collectivebargaining hits hardhere at home

Illinois attacks come on heels of assaults in Wisconsin and other states

WE NEED

BATTALIONS OF

TROOPS

DEMANDING THAT

THE GOVERNOR AND

LEGISLATURE

HONOR OUR

CONTRACT TO MAKE

SURE THAT ILLINOIS

NEVER BECOMES

WISCONSIN WHERE

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE

BARGAINING RIGHTS

EXIST NO MORE.

On the MoveAFSCME Illinois On the Move ispublished 8 times annually by Illinois Public Employees Council31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO. Send correspondence to:lcohen@afscme31.orgor: AFSCME, On the Move, 205 N. Michigan Ave., 21st Floor,Chicago, IL 60601

Henry Bayer, Executive DirectorRoberta Lynch, Deputy DirectorLinc Cohen, EditorDolores Wilber, Designer

Council 31 Executive Board OfficersSTATE EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENTLori Laidlaw, Dixon CCLocal 817CITY/COUNTY EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENTCarmin Willis-Goodloe, Cook County Hospital, Local 1111PRIVATE SECTOR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTYolanda Sims, Hope InstituteLocal 2481UNIVERSITY EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENTDorinda Miller, U of I Clericals, Local 3700SECRETARYBarney Franklin, City of Chicago, Local 2946TREASURERSam Rossi, Departments of Revenueand Lottery, Local 2467

Board MembersSTATE CONFERENCE BOARD CO-CHAIRSGloria Arseneau, (RC-14), Northeastern Illinois State employees,Local 2794David Ford, (RC-63), Murray DC, Local 401Randy Hellman, (RC-6)Pinckneyville CC, Local 943

REGION I VICE-PRESIDENTS(COOK AND LAKE COUNTIES)Darlene Banks, Local 4008, Little CityPatricia Ousley, Department ofEmployment Security, Local 1006Ed Schwartz, Cook County DCFS,Local 2081Denise Slaughter, New Hope Center,Local 1232Eva Spencer-Chatman, Chicago ReadMHC, Local 1610Laverne Walker, City of Chicago,Local 505Kevin Johnson, city of Evanston, Local 1891

REGION II VICE-PRESIDENTS(NOTHERN ILLINOIS)Gary Ciaccio, Shapiro DC, Local 29Rob Fanti, Sheridan CC, Local 472Ralph Portwood, Stateville CC, Local 1866Pat Sanders, IYC Joliet, Local 1753Garry Cacciapaglia, city of Rockford,Local 1058

REGION III VICE- PRESIDENTS(CENTRAL ILLINOIS)

Gary Kroeschel, Sangamon CountyState employees, Local 2224Richard Heitz, Canton CorrectionalCenter, Local 3585Matt Lukow, Springfield Area Stateemployees, Local 1964David Morris, Illinois State employees,Local 805Matt Pederson, Eastern Illinois Univer-sity, Local 981Cameron Watson, Jacksonville CC,Local 3549Trudy Williams, Fulton County SheriffsDept. & Courthouse, Local 3433

REGION IV VICE-PRESIDENTS(SOUTHERN ILLINOIS)Larry Flynn, Vienna CC, Local 415Cary Quick, Choate MH/DC, Local 141Michael Hamil, SIU-Edwardsville, Local 2887Barb Reardon, Southern Illinois StateEmployees, Local 1048

TrusteesKen Kleinlein, (RC-6) Western CC, Local 3567Kathy Lane, Northwestern Illinois StateEmployees, Local 448Tom Minick, Moline Schools, Local 672

Retiree Chapter 31 RepresentativeVirginia Yates

This past winter, when Wisconsin Gov.Scott Walker and his fellow Republicansin the legislature launched a frontal

assault on collective bargaining rights in theirstate, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn was quick to criti-cize our neighbors to the north.

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On the Move October 2011 3

DURING THOSE SIX DAYS, STATELEGISLATORS COULD PASS A BUD-GET SUPPLEMENT THAT WOULD

prevent Gov. Pat Quinn frommoving ahead with his dra-conian plan to close sevenstate facilities and lay off 2,000employees. They could appro-priate money for negotiatedpay increases to take effect forstate employees. And theycould take action to restruc-ture the state’s debt.

On the negative side, theycould renew attacks on public-employee pensions andretiree health care. Theycould pass ill-advised legisla-tion to limit collective bar-gaining rights.

All this and more couldhappen, and AFSCME mem-bers, as always, will have a cru-cial role to play as one of thestrongest grassroots lobbyingforces in the state.

Renewed attacks on retirement securityexpected

HAVING PROMISED BIG BUSINESS

interests a renewed push oncutting public-employee pen-sions, both at the state andlocal-government levels,House Speaker Mike Madiganand Minority Leader TomCross are likely to renew theirefforts this fall.

At a meeting this summerwith key legislators, Council31 Director Henry Bayerstressed that the problem withthe state’s pension systems isnot benefits, but funding.This year nearly 20 percent ofthe state’s $33 billion budget,$6.4 billion, is going into thestate’s pension systems.

“The unions representingpublic employees have to beat the table to help develop areal solution to the problem,”he said. “Our pensions arecritically underfunded. Butany funding solutions must beconstitutional, must lead tothe long-term stability of theretirement systems and mustgo to the root of the problem:the failure of politicians overdecades to make requiredcontributions.”

Meanwhile those stateand university employees whohave already retired and thosewho plan to retire in thefuture are facing an assault ontheir health-insurance bene-fits.

All four legislative leadersare on record as favoringincreased contributions fromretirees. AFSCME has arguedthat any changes to retireehealth care must be negotiat-ed with the union, notimposed by the legislature.

Governor intent on collective bargaining limits

THE QUINN ADMINISTRATION IS

continuing its push to enactlegislation that would takebargaining rights away fromthousands of former statemerit-compensation employ-ees who have joined theunion. The administrationwants to redefine “managerialand supervisory” under statelabor law.

The House has passed SB1556, which would implementthe provisions the governor isseeking. Meetings betweenlabor representatives and theDepartment of Central Man-agement Services have failed

to yield a compromise thatwould preserve bargainingrights. Senate action on SB1556 could come during theveto session.

Debt restructuringwould create savings

DEBT RESTRUCTURING WOULD

save the state money by reduc-ing interest rates on moneyalready borrowed over theyears to keep state govern-ment running. And it wouldinject billions of dollars intothe state’s economy. The stateowes nearly $7 billion for:• Payments more than 60 dayspast due to vendors, schoolsand universities, social serviceagencies and others;• Expenses incurred by thestate under its health plansand programs, such as Medic-aid; and• Transfers to local govern-ments.

The state is now paying 1percent per month intereston much of that backlog.Restructuring would allow itto borrow at a much lowerinterest rate.

Restructuring would alsoimprove the state’s bond rat-ings and allow vendors andsocial service agencies to hire

additional staff, creating jobsand injecting dollars into theeconomy. It would allow thestate to get lower bids ongoods if vendors knew theywould be paid on time.

Unfortunately some legis-lators are playing politics withthe restructuring plan, claim-ing that they are against “newborrowing.”

But “this is not a borrow-ing bill, as some are saying,”Council 31 budget analystHank Scheff said. “This ismoney that’s already beenborrowed. It’s much like refi-nancing your home loan toget a better interest rate.”

Defending public services

AFSCME MEMBERS HAVE BEEN

mobilizing to fight on theseissues, enlisting churches, localelected officials, local businessesand other civic groups in thebattle to stop layoffs and statefacility closures.

They all have a huge stakein the veto session proceedings,Council 31 Deputy DirectorRoberta Lynch said.

“We’ll have to have keep upthe pressure on this wholerange of issues,” she said. “Wewill have to exert more effortthan ever, because the tide isnot moving in the direction ofpublic employees. But our com-munities and our state dependon the work that we do and theservices we provide. It is veryimportant that we do everythingpossible to convey the impor-tant and positive role that stateemployees play both in localcommunities and in meetingwider public policy goals.”

Veto session holds perils, possibilities for AFSCMEmembers

Council 31’slegal counselbelieves a fed-

eral judge’s decisionon blocked wageincreases for stateemployees won’tstand up on appeal.His comments camein response to a fed-eral judge’s dismissalof a suit alleging thatthe state violated the U.S. constitutionwhen it denied wageincreases to some30,000 of its employees.

THE RULING WAS SOUGHT BY

THE QUINN ADMINISTRATION

AFTER AFSCME AND OTHER

unions filed the suit seeking anorder to implement the wagehikes. The union immediatelyfiled an appeal of that decision,but the appeal process can takeas long as a year.

Meanwhile the Quinnadministration has filed anappeal in state court to vacatean award the union won whenan independent arbitratorordered the state to pay thewage increases it had agreed toin contract negotiations withthe union. And in a separatestate court case, the governor isseeking a declaratory judgmentto block the union from arbi-trating Quinn’s layoffs and clo-sures.

The administration’s law-suit on wages and its action to

block arbitration on facility clo-sures and layoffs, which also vio-late a collective bargainingagreement with AFSCME, con-cede that the contractual lan-guage is clear.

The state contends that itsobligations under the collective

bargaining agreements are“contingent upon the Statereceiving sufficient appropria-tion from the General Assem-bly” and upon “sufficient

receipt of revenues.” Thus, thestate argues, its obligations arevoided because it lacks suffi-cient cash to fund the agree-ments and therefore it has notbreached the agreements.

If the state prevails with thisargument, it turns upside downa long-accepted principle in Illi-nois that the executive branchhas the power to bind the gov-ernmental entity in the negotia-tion of collective bargainingagreements. There is a long his-tory of bargaining multi-yearcontracts both with the stateand at other levels of govern-ment.

Both of those core bargain-ing principles are at stake. Anexecutive could always say thathe doesn’t have to live by thecontract because the legislativebody later refused to fund it.

“Council 31 will continueto work with other affectedunions to wage these criticallyimportant legal battles,” Coun-cil 31 Director Henry Bayersaid. “But AFSCME memberscannot rely on the courts toensure that justice prevails. Weneed to make our own justice— by making the case for hon-oring our collective bargainingagreement and preserving vitalpublic services to legislators andthe wider public.”

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Circle the dates. Oct. 25-27 and Nov. 8-10 are scheduled for the GeneralAssembly’s veto session.

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Hundreds of AFSCME members distributedballoons and fans, alerting State Fair goersto Gov. Pat Quinn’s broken promises.

Legal action moving slowlyin state wage case

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4 On the Move October 2011

QUINN CLAIMS THAT HE IS

FORCED TO BLOCK CONTRACTU-ALLY REQUIRED WAGE INCREASES

and close the state centers,despite a signed agreement notto do so, because the GeneralAssembly failed to appropriatesufficient revenues to keepstate government operating atfull force.

“Quinn is right about thebudget shortfall, but complete-ly wrong in how he’s tacklingit,” Council 31 Director HenryBayer said about the facilityclosures and layoffs. “Hisactions are a blatant violationof our collective bargainingagreement. This sets a danger-ous precedent that would, inthe view of our legal counsel,‘destroy collective bargainingin Illinois.’”

The Quinn administration

has filed suit in a state courtseeking a declaratory judgmentthat it does not have to honorthe contractual agreements onfacility closures and layoffs. Ifthat suit is successful, it wouldprevent an arbitrator from issu-ing a ruling on the facility clo-sures and layoffs.

Court actions initiated bythe union and the state arealso proceeding on the legalityof blocking wage increases (seepage 3).

“The judicial system offersneither speedy nor certainrelief,” Bayer said, stressingthat legislative action is a fasterand surer route to stopping theclosures.

“Rather than disrupt vitalservices and add to Illinois’already alarmingly high unem-ployment rate, the governor

should work with the GeneralAssembly to forestall servicecuts and layoffs,” he said.

He noted that the fundingis available. The Commissionon Government Forecastingand Accountability reports thatrevenue is coming in this yearat higher than projected levels.Thus the legislature could takeaction to pass a budget supple-ment measure when it returnsfor the veto session.

Union targets veto session action

“THESE CLOSURES WOULD HAVE

a dire impact on the mainte-nance of public safety and thedelivery of services of vitalimportance to the people ofIllinois,” Bayer said. “Weagree that a supplementalappropriation is needed. Butthere is certainly not a fund-ing crisis at this point in time.There is merely a crisis ofwill.”

AFSCME members in thethreatened facilities are con-necting with allies in theircommunities — churches,local elected officials, localbusinesses and other civicgroups — and those whodepend on their services andare launching campaigns tostiffen that will.

Organized call-in dayshad already begun as On theMove went to press, withmembers of both state cham-bers hearing from AFSCMEmembers and their alliesabout the need for a supple-mental appropriation.

The money is there

“THE PRESSURE CAN’T JUST

come from the locals that faceclosures,” Council 31 DeputyDirector Roberta Lynch said.“It has to come from AFSCME

Following on the heels of his move to deny collectively bargained wage increases to some 30,000 state employ-ees, Gov. Pat Quinn is trying to fix a broken state budget by targeting state jobs and services. His plan wouldclose seven state facilities – two developmental centers, three mental health centers, one correctional center

and one youth center.

Quinn aims budget axe at stateemployees, vital services

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Continued on the facing page

AFSCME members in facilities threatened with closureare doing everything they can to alert the public —picketing, petitions, parades and much more.

AFSCME members had a high profile on Gov-ernor’s Day at the State Fair, distributing fly-ers, balloons and fans that alerted fairgoers toGov. Pat Quinn’s attack on workers’ rights.

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/27/11 4:59 AM Page 4

On the Move October 2011 5

members from every cor-ner of the state in orderto build the legislativesuper-majority needed topass a supplemental.”

Three-fifths of thelegislators must vote for abudget supplement for itto pass this year. The fallveto session is scheduledfor Oct. 25-27 and Nov. 8-10.

In writing the bud-get, the legislature under-estimated the amount ofrevenue the state wouldtake in during the cur-rent fiscal year. Theycould still beef up thebudget by allocating theunanticipated revenuesto pay for state opera-tions.

Public hearings givecommunities a voice

STATE LAW REQUIRES CONSIDER-ation of facility closures by theGeneral Assembly’s Commis-sion on Government Forecast-ing and Accountability.COGFA must issue an adviso-ry opinion on the closurewithin 50 days of when theadministration files a formal

recommendation. That for-mal recommendation couldcome as late as Oct. 10, butsome had already been sub-mitted at press time.

COGFA must hold publichearings as part of its process.Union preparations are mov-ing forward for those hear-ings, where AFSCME mem-bers, their allies in thecommunity and Council 31staff will make the case againsteach closure.

Seven facilities,nearly2,000 layoffs

Quinn has targetedthe following facilitiesfor closure:• Chester MHC, whereAFSCME members arerepresented by Local424, is a maximum-securi-ty facility where 480employees are threatenedwith layoff. The centerholds 130 individualscommitted by state courtsbecause they have beendeemed either unfit tostand trial or not guilty byreason of insanity. Anoth-er 110 residents havebeen transferred toChester from a regionalmental hospital becauseof their violent behavior.No other maximum-secu-rity mental health centerexists. • Singer MHC in Rock-ford, Local 3362, treats845 patients with acutemental illness per year.Some 160 employeescould lose their jobs.• Tinley Park MHC, Local1591, is unique inChicago’s south suburbs,where 200 employeestreat 1,905 patients withacute mental illness peryear.• Jacksonville DC, Local38, has 450 employeeswho make the facility ahome to 200 individualswith profound develop-mental disabilities.• Mabley DC, Local 172,in Dixon has 160 employ-ees that provide residen-tial services to 91 individ-uals with profounddevelopmental disabili-ties.• Logan CC in Lincoln,Local 2073, is a medium-security prison with near-ly 2,000 adult maleinmates and 333 employ-ees.• IYC Murphysboro,Local 2335, is a correc-tional facility for 108juvenile offenders, with astaff of 95 employees.• In addition, 23 humanrights investigators and41 commerce commis-sion employees arethreatened with layoff.

Continued from the facing page

Marching in Murphysboro’sApple Fest parade.

Picketing at IYC Murphysboro.

At the State Fair.

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/27/11 4:59 AM Page 5

COOK COUNTY

6 On the Move October 2011

Bargaining may pick up; budgetdeficit looms; Oak Forest closes

Long and tortuous contract

negotiations withCook County couldgather some much-needed steam as thetwo sides were sched-uled to meet in lateSeptember for thefirst time in manyweeks.

“THE BIGGEST PROBLEM HAS

UNDOUBTEDLY BEEN THE COUN-TY’S FISCAL WOES, WITH A HUGE

budget hole looming like a dark cloud over all thedeliberations,” Council 31Associate Director Mike New-man said. “But management’sfoot-dragging has also been a

factor.”The snail’s pace has

resulted in the state LaborBoard issuing complaintsagainst the county for bad-faith bargaining.

Ongoing County Boarddeliberation on a budget fornext year will continue to casta shadow over county workers,even if a settlement is reachedthis fall.

A better way than furlough days

THERE IS A GAPING BUDGET

hole that must be filled, yetboard President Toni Preckwin-kle remains determined to rollback the final quarter-point ofwhat once was a 1-percent salestax increase, a move that willdeepen the hole.

Last year Preckwinkledemanded that countyemployees take furlough or

shutdown days or face hun-dreds of layoffs. MostAFSCME members voted toaccept the pay cuts ratherthan risk losing jobs in thesetough economic times.

Unfortunately, ratherthan acknowledging the sacri-fices that county employeeshave already made, Preckwin-kle is talking about more shut-down days as well as unpaidholidays. And she is sayingthat even if shutdown daysand unpaid holidays becomea reality, there will still be lay-offs.

“We believe there is a bet-ter way,” Newman said.

The union is developingcost-saving and revenue-enhancing proposals that willaddress the county’s revenueshortfall without placing anundue burden on countyemployees.

Oak Forest Hospitalclosed

DESPITE A YEAR-LONG BATTLE

waged by AFSCME in coalition with Citizen Action Illinois, SEIU, local elect-ed officials, church groups, com-munity organizations andpatients, Oak Forest Hospitalclosed Aug. 31.

On two occasions, the coali-tion was successful in persuad-ing the Illinois Health Facilitiesand Services Review Board toreject the county’s request forapproval to close down the hos-pital. Supporters of the hospitalrepeatedly packed board hear-ings and presented compellingand emotional testimony on theimportance of the hospital totheir lives.

But the county ignored theboard’s rulings and proceededto virtually close the hospitaldown, leaving little more than a

skeleton crew in place.Then Preckwinkle persuad-

ed Gov. Pat Quinn to make newappointments to the ReviewBoard. When it met, the newmembers clearly had theirmarching orders. Despite thefact that the board’s staff hadrecommended a “no” vote onthe county’s request, the majori-ty voted in favor of closure.

Ronald Eaker, the board’slone vote against the closure,said that many will die and oth-ers will have their health careseriously affected as a result.

Only time will tell if the county follows through on its commitment to put a newregional outpatient center onthe grounds. Meanwhile, some 60 AFSCMEmembers were slated to belaid off, though the union is pressing management to find other positions forthem.

Federal spending required for economic recovery

Y ou hear itoften: Familiesmust balance

their budgets, so the governmentshould, too.

BUT JUST BECAUSE YOU HEAR IT

OFTEN, DOESN’T MEAN IT’STRUE.

“This belief may respondto our ingrained notionsabout thriftiness and ‘livingwithin our means,’” says econ-omist Josh Bivens of the Eco-nomic Policy Institute. But “itis entirely wrong from thestandpoint of basic econom-ics.”

President Clinton’s LaborSecretary Robert Reich says itwith a little more edge: “Everytime you hear an Americanpolitician analogize thenation’s budget to a familybudget … you should knowthe politician is not telling thetruth. The truth is just theopposite. Our national bud-get can and should counter-act the shrinkage of familybudgets by running largerdeficits when families can-

not.”The idea that families

only spend what they earn isbunk anyway. They borrow tosend kids to college, or buy ahouse. They might borrow tobuy a car so they can get backand forth to work, thus earn-ing more than enough to payoff the car and buy otherthings that generate econom-

ic activity for other businessesand workers.

Not that the federal gov-ernment can or should runup deficits indefinitely. Thereare times when the govern-ment should pay down itsdebt. And there are othertimes when it should run uphigher deficits on purpose.Now is one of those times,

according to many of thenation’s top economists.

Budget cuts will raiseunemployment

“When workers andplants are idle and offices areempty, and when investmentfunds are begging to be bor-rowed, this is the time for

deficits,” EPI’s Bivensexplains. “The federal govern -ment can foster economicrecovery by incurring them.In fact, they are a pre-condi-tion to a robust recovery.”

Then why isn’t the Con-gress authorizing spending toaid states, to build schools,roads, water systems, the elec-trical grid and Internet con-nectivity, to subsidize educa-tion and training, researchand development and more?

After all, such expendi-tures are not spending, theyare investing. When the gov-ernment puts money intobuilding a school, for exam-ple, that building becomes anasset that creates value forfamilies for years to come.

But politics is getting inthe way.

“The GOP has no politi-cal interest in having moregrowth prior to the 2012 elec-tion,” asserts Lawrence Mishelof EPI. “There is no evidencethat deficit reduction, whenwe have more than 9 percentunemployment, will do any-thing to create jobs and muchexperience to show that it willweaken growth and raise

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Debt debate misses the point

Tax rates for millionaires have been falling

24.8%

28.5%

27.7%

30.8%

28.8%

27.5%

22.1%22.5%23.0%23.4%

28.3%

27.9%

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Source: Economic Policy Institute graph from IRS data

Graph shows the effective tax rate -- the percentage of yearly income paid in income taxes.

Continued on the facing page

COOK COUNTY

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/28/11 5:44 PM Page 6

AFTER THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

REDUCED ITS GRANT TO THE

CITY, HE ELIMINATED THE MID-night shift in the Departmentof Family and Support Ser-vices emergency shelter out-reach program, cutting outthe jobs of some 20 employees.

Victims of domestic vio-lence, the mentally ill, run-away youth and others whoare on the streets at nightwith nowhere to go will feelthe brunt of these cuts, whichare vital to protecting womenand children from violence,aiding those in crisis, and inwinter months preventinghypothermia and frost bite.

Now he is trumpeting aplan to privatize all of the cityDepartment of Public Healthcommunity health centers,which would force the layoffof 500 or more AFSCMEmembers. These dedicatedhealth care professionals haveserved for years, sometimesdecades, in the city’s toughestneighborhoods.

Those layoffs wouldn’tjust hurt the employeesinvolved. They would reducevital services to city residentsin need and harm the Chica-go communities where cityworkers live, adding to theranks of those who are joblessand struggling. The clinicsprovide essential primary andpreventive health care tothousands of individuals inChicago’s most medicallyunderserved communities.

And from all indications,the department’s mentalhealth clinics could also beon the privatization choppingblock.

More privatizationplanned

EMANUEL IS ALSO PLANNING TO

privatize the Department ofRevenue’s Water Division,where 25 employees would beaffected.

He recently claimed thathe wants to give employeesthe opportunity to competeon improving services. Yet hecontinues to forge ahead withthe elimination of these cityjobs without even giving theaffected employees theopportunity to put forth theirsuggestions for improvingoperations.

AFSCME has already sub-mitted ideas these frontlineemployees have generated tomake such improvements.

“We strongly believe their ideas should be testedbefore the city turns to out-side vendors to perform thiswork,” Council 31 AssociateDirector Claudia Robersonsaid.

A request for proposalsfrom potential vendors wentout at the beginning of Sep-tember; bids are due at theend of October.

Soon to follow could bethe work of administering thecity’s employee benefits. The

administration claims that“the City’s cost for employeebenefits and their administra-tion has increased in recentyears.”

In fact, if you just consid-er the administrative costs,the reverse is true. There arecurrently 21 employees in thisoffice, hiring has been frozenand the office is operatingwith a number of vacancies.So the administrative costshave actually decreased. Andlast year, the office respondedto over 69,000 phone contactsand more than 10,000 walk-ins.

AFSCME to mayor:There’s a better way

“WHEN MAYOR EMANUEL

announced that he intendedto lay off hundreds of cityemployees, he said that couldbe avoided if labor unionswould make work rulechanges to help address thebudget shortfall,” Robersonsaid. “But the city never madeany attempt to initiate negotia-tions over work rules affectingour members.”

Nonetheless, AFSCMEjoined with other unionsthrough the Chicago Federa-

tion of Labor and issued areport, identifying more than$240 million in potential costsavings through streamliningand greater operational effi-ciencies in city government.

“The mayor should quitthe grandstanding and sit downwith our union members tofind ways of preserving essentialservices while making the deliv-ery of those services more effi-cient,” Roberson said. “And heshould begin the cost-cutting byeliminating clout from the bid-ding for city contracts and cut-ting the thick layer of unneed-ed middle managers.”

On the Move October 2011 7

unemployment.”

Spending cuts: ‘The worst thing you can do’

WHEN THE GOVERNMENT BOR-rows money and spends it,that spending creates newdemand for goods and ser-vices. If people are unem-ployed, they’ll be called backto work.

In good economic times,when nearly everyone isalready working, excess gov-ernment spending will raisethe demand for scarce goods

and workers, causing infla-tion. That’s when governmentshould retire some of its debt.Taking money out of theeconomy by collecting morein taxes than it spends willprevent runaway inflation andan overheated economy. Butthese are anything but goodeconomic times.

“The worst thing you cando in these circumstances isslash government spending,since that will depress theeconomy even further,”Nobel Prize winning econo-mist Paul Krugman said in hisNew York Times column.“Demanding spending cutsnow are like medieval doctors

who treated the sick by bleed-ing them, and thereby madethem even sicker.”

Conning the public

ROBERT REICH EXPLAINS THE

economic crisis this way: “Thelousy economy is due to insuf-ficient demand. Consumers –who are 70 percent of theeconomy — can’t and won’tbuy, because they’re runningout of cash. They can’t bor-row against homes that areworth a third less than theywere five years ago, and mostconsumers are bad creditrisks anyway because they’relosing their jobs and their

wages are dropping. They alsohave to start saving for thekids’ college or for retire-ment, which will cut theirspending even more.”

He concludes that “if con-sumers can’t and won’t buy,and employers won’t hirewithout customers, thespender of last resort must begovernment. We’ve under-stood this since governmentspending on World War IIcatapulted America out of theGreat Depression — reversingthe most vicious of viciouscycles. We’ve understood it inevery economic downturnsince then.”

And those cynically seek-

ing political gain from thenation’s misery understand it,too.

“The GOP cares solelyand exclusively about its richcontributors,” says Mike Lof-gren, who recently retiredafter serving 16 years as a pro-fessional staff member on theRepublican side of both theHouse and Senate BudgetCommittees. “The party hasbuilt a whole catechism onthe protection and furtherenrichment of America’s plu-tocracy. Their caterwaulingabout deficit and debt is somuch eyewash to con thepublic.”

Budget deficit threatens vital services in ChicagoEmanuel targets workers, touts privatization

If his first four months in office are anyindication, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s planto balance his budget will include laying

off city employees, eliminating jobs, and cutting or privatizing city services, includingthose needed by the most vulnerable residents of Chicago.

Continued from the facing page

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Mayor Rahm Emanuel is trying to privatize Chicago Departmentof Public Health clinics, despite strong opposition.

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/29/11 11:47 AM Page 7

Stuffed to the brim and cutting corners

STATE PRISON OVERCROWDING CREATES DANG

The Department of Corrections has come up

crowding in the Illinois prison system: chang

In a system with a rated capacity of 33,373 inmates,

DOC has crammed in nearly 49,000. Instead of using

an industry standard that measures capacity by the

number of cells, or square footage per inmate (a stan-

dard established by the American Corrrectional Associ-

ation, from which DOC has sought accreditation for a

decade), the state has decided that it will count the

number of beds it can shoehorn into its facilities. That

changes the “capacity” to 51,000.

“It’s outrageous that DOC is trying to juggle the

numbers to hide a problem in our prisons that could

easily escalate,” Council 31 regional director Ed Cau-

miant said.

DOC now claims its prisons are under capacity,

despite having cellhouse basements and even former

offices and at least one prison gym filled with bunks;

despite having four beds in some cells; despite putting

two inmates in a single “segregation” cell, or, when

segregation cells are full, leaving uncontrollable

inmates in general population, with nothing but a dif-

ferent colored jumpsuit to show they’re trouble;

despite being unable to move inmates out of hospital

beds because there are no beds in the cellhouses.

Less recreation, more fights

Those cooked books don’t provide much comfort

to staff at Vandalia Correctional Center, where 1,800

inmates are now housed in a facility that had been

holding at 1,450 to 1,500.

“We’re living in basements,” said Russ Stunkel,

president of Local 943 at Vandalia. “There are 60

bunks in what they are calling the ‘lower level’ in three

buildings. And the gym is filled with bunks. It affects

everything – clothing, food, visitation, recreation, even

the hospital. It takes six months to see a dentist.

“When someone in the hospital is ready to be

released to general population, they have to stay there

for two or three days until we can find a bed for them.”

With the gym filled, inmates have no recreation

area when the weather keeps them out of the prison’s

outdoor “yard.”

“It puts everybody on edge,” Stunkel said. “In a

common area we might have 20 chairs and 100

inmates, so they fight over the chairs.”

In one dorm a fight over chairs got out of control,

he said. “We have fights daily. We used to have one

every three months.”

Budget mess compounds problems

The dangers of overcrowding – more pressure on

staff, heightened stress and agitation among inmates,

increasing violence – are being aggravated by the con-

tinuing effects of the state’s budget crisis:

• Too few staff are available to watch too many

inmates;

• The quality and quantity of food is going down;

• The prisons are not being adequately maintained;

• Education, counseling and other programs that pre-

pare inmates for release are cut back or discontinued;

• Overtime is mounting, raising costs and leaving pris-

ons staffed by exhausted security staff; and

• Many so-called “mandatory” posts are not being

staffed.

“It’s getting to be a huge, huge problem,” said

Local 943 President Randy Hellmann. “The system

has 4,000 more inmates than we had two years ago.”

8 On the Move October 2011

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/27/11 5:03 AM Page 8

NGEROUS PROBLEMS

up with a unique way of solving the growing crisis of over-

nging the method for counting prison capacity.

n

e

.”

s

s,

n-

-

d;

s-

g

”

He said Pinckneyville CC, where he works, “used

to have 200 inmates less. We have as many as four

inmates to a cell. The stress level goes up dramatical-

ly. The quality of food is down.”

The prison, which is a “secure” medium-security

facility, just under a maximum-facility level, is required

to keep certain inmates separated from one another.

“We can’t put predators with vulnerable inmates,”

Hellmann said. “Some inmates must have lower

bunks; we have to keep rival gangs separated. But

we’re out of bed space when they arrive, so we can’t

classify the new inmates and get them into appropri-

ate housing.”

Offering ‘good time’credits would help

One of the principal causes of overcrowding is the

2009 suspension of meritorious good time credits.

This should not be confused with the politically disas-

trous MGT Push program, which was roundly and right-

ly criticized, and halted after dangerous inmates were

allowed to leave prison early.

Without bonafide earned good time, inmates stay

in prison longer, and have much less incentive to

behave well while there. At the minimum-security Van-

dalia CC, the average stay that was once nine months

is now at 13 months, Stunkel noted.

“Our population went up pretty quick after they

quit giving good time,” said Rob Fanti, president of

Local 472 at Sheridan Correctional Center, where the

inmate count went from 1,250 to 1,650.

Sheridan is a specialized drug treatment facility.

But with no additional staff and so many extra

inmates, the highly regarded program is losing trac-

tion.

“In one building we have four counselors for 400

inmates,” Fanti said. “It should be one for 25.”

With inmates unable to earn good time, “It took

away a good tool that allowed us to create a safer

environment,” Hellmann said. “Now there’s no real

reward for good behavior. The population is more agi-

tated and feels they have nothing to lose.”

Security is further hampered by the need to use

segregation cells for general population inmates, he

said. That means when someone is out of control,

there’s nowhere to send them to cool down. “It inhibits

your ability to maintain security,” Hellmann said. “Staff

assaults are up.”

Not so ‘maximum’ security

With its maximum-security unit “completely full,”

Stateville CC is putting inmates who should be there

into its reception center, which does male-convict

intake for the entire state system.

“There are five classifications of inmates in a mini-

mum-security setting,” said Local 1866 President

Ralph Portwood. “That includes violent guys who

should be in seg. More contraband is getting into our

facility. We have people sleeping in cots in cubicles.

“Putting guys on top of guys puts everybody on

edge and creates a hostile environment. Yesterday we

had 25 guys in a gang fight on their way to the gym.

More staff are being assaulted.”

More staff urgentlyneeded

Shortstaffing is compounding the overcrowding

problems.

“The staffing problems are re-emerging,” Hell-

mann said. AFSCME’s agreements with the state that

allows staff to refuse mandatory overtime and efforts

to end abuse of temporary assignments forced some

new hiring in the past couple of years. But mostly it

hasn’t kept up with attrition, and no new training-acad-

emy classes have entered the system for months.

“They’ve lowered the number of mandatory posts

and we have worse staffing ratios,” Hellmann said.

“On the 11-to-7 shift, there are 34 correctional offi-

cers. It’s a very dangerous situation.”

At Stateville, officers must take maximum-security

prisoners from around the state to Chicago for medical

treatment and court dates.

“That leaves us with even fewer staff at the facili-

ty,” Portwood said.

At Sheridan, the COs are being pulled out of recre-

ation areas, leaving only Leisure Time Specialists

supervising inmates in the gym and yard.

“It’s a serious incident waiting to happen,” Fanti

said. “If a fight starts, who will stop them?”

Mandated overtime is coming back, he said. And

posts that have never been left empty in the past are

closed to avoid even more overtime.

At Vandalia there is often no one in the yard, with

300 inmates.

“The public wants criminals off the street,”

Stunkel said. “But we need support.

“Something’s going to happen,” he warned. “We

don’t know where or when. But we know it will.”

Illinois’ future? Prisons like this one in California are under court order torelease inmates because of overcrowding.

On the Move October 2011 9

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/28/11 5:49 PM Page 9

10 On the Move October 2011

Preparations begin for negotiating new state contract

Adeterioratingrelationshipwith Illinois’

governor combinedwith a host of otherunwelcome factorspoint toward a com-bative round of nego-tiations to replace astate master contractthat will expire onJune 30.

“THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST CHAL-LENGING BARGAINING CLIMATE

WE HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED,”Council 31 Director HenryBayer told members of thestate negotiating committee,who met for the first time inSeptember at four regionaltraining sessions. “We arealready in a fight to protectwhat we havegained inthe last con-tract. Weusually justhave to fightfor a newcontract.”

He citedthe strug-gling U.S.economy,the attackson publicemployeesand collec-tive bargaining in nearbystates, and the steady ham-mering away by the corporatemedia, which vilifies publicemployees and agitates forcuts to their pay and benefits.

Bayer argued that if Gov.Quinn can get away withblocking negotiated wageincreases, closing state facili-ties and laying off nearly2,000 employees, “it will makecollective bargaining in thisstate very difficult for all pub-lic employees.”

Bayer expressed hope thatcourt challenges to Quinn’sactions that the union has filedwould be successful.

“But we can’t put all oureggs in that basket,” he said.“We are going to have to pres-sure the General Assembly toappropriate funding adequateto fully fund our raises and allstate operations.”

The bargaining climatewas sketched out by Council31’s budget and benefits ana-lyst, Hank Scheff. Amongother trends he noted thatthe average first-year wageincrease for state and localgovernment employees whose

contract was settled in 2011 is1 percent.

The training sessionsfocused on what role the com-mittee must play to get a fairsettlement in this climate.The elements include build-ing unity, communicatingwith members, organizingactivities like button days andinformational pickets, build-ing a network of local unionactivists and maintainingfocus during sometimes longand tedious bargaining ses-sions.

“We have a long, hardslog ahead of us,” Bayer said.“But we have successfullynegotiated contracts beforeand if we maintain our unityand our members stayin-volved, we can do it again.”

Hundreds oflocal unionactivists from

around the state willgather in Springfieldon Oct. 13-15 forCouncil 31’s 17thBiennial Conven-tion, with its themeUnion Proud, UnionStrong.

THE CONVENTION WILL FEATURE

ADDRESSES BY NATIONAL LABOR

LEADERS AND REPORTS ON THE

state of our union by Execu-tive Director Henry Bayerand Deputy Director RobertaLynch.

AFL-CIO Executive VicePresident Arlene Holt Bakerwill review the challenges fac-ing labor across the nation.AFSCME Council 40 Presi-

dent Jim Garrity and Wiscon-sin Firefighters PresidentMahlon Mitchell will updateconvention goers on the lat-est developments in the fightfor collective bargainingrights in Wisconsin and otherbattleground states.

Important union busi-ness at the conventionincludes debate and votingon policy resolutions andamendments to the Council

31 Constitution. Delegates, alternates

and guests can all register toattend some of the 18 educa-tional workshops. Topicsinclude: Public Budgets inCrisis — Fighting Layoffs andService Cuts; New Develop-ments in Criminal Justice and Corrections; Labor History for Labor Activists;and Bargaining in HardTimes.

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Work, education,recreation in store at Council 31 convention

State master contract

Oct. 26 – Committeemeets to review contractproposals submitted bymembers through theirlocal unions in order todetermine those thatwill be priorities in thecurrent round of bar-gainingDec. 15 – A statewidelabor-managementmeeting will set thestage and lay thegroundwork for thenegotiations.Jan. 18 – The first threedays of bargaining willbe held in Springfield.Following that, three-day sessions are sched-uled twice a monththrough the end of May.

We are going to have to pressure

the General Assembly to appropriate

funding adequate

to fully fund our raises and

all state operations.

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/27/11 5:03 AM Page 10

On the Move October 2011 11

Harsh reality faces Wisconsin public employees

BEING PART OF A UNION FOR

public employees in Wiscon-sin is getting a lot harder nowthat Gov. Scott Walker’s unionbusting bill is taking effect.

In the first place, every localunion must hold recertificationelections every year. In nearlyevery other state, and for unionscovered by the National LaborRelations Act, a certificationelection is held one time. Theunion continues to representthose workers unless they active-ly seek a decertification vote.

To make matters worse,workers who don’t vote areautomatically counted as “no”votes, making it much harder towin an election.

Adding to the difficulties,state and local governments areno longer able to negotiate “duescheckoff” agreements, soemployers don’t deduct duesfrom members’ paychecks evenif employees request that theydo. Now union members have tosend their checks directly to theunion.

And Walker is cuttingdeeply into state employees’paychecks. For the average stateworker making $50,000 a year,new deductions for pensionand health-care coverage willcut about 9 percent, or roughly

$4,400 in take-home pay,according to a Milwaukee Jour-nal Sentinel article.

But AFSCME members inWisconsin are fighting back.They threw out two of the statesenators who voted for Walker’santi-union, anti-public-employ-ee legislation. They set up anonline dues-paying site to makeit easier for members to supporttheir union.

And they continue to orga-nize politically against Walker’songoing attacks on publicemployees.

Shawnee CC localawards scholarships

FOUR CHILDREN OF LOCAL 3605members have won $1,000scholarships from the ShawneeCorrectional Center union.

Member Debbie Smith’sson Clayton will study nursing atShawnee College and is aimingto be a physician’s assistant.

Phil Bailey’s daughter Vic-toria plans to study nursing atSoutheastern Illinois Collegeand would like to do missionarywork.

Maurice Cox’s daughterMaggie will attend Northern Illi-nois University and hopes tobecome a lawyer.

Randy Hammersley’sdaughter Hayley plans to studyspeech language pathology atShawnee College.

City of Chicago unionleader recognized forlongevity

A LONGTIME AFSCME ACTIVISTwho helped city of Chicagoworkers form their union withAFSCME, Lula Johnson-White,currently chief steward and sec-retary-trea-surer ofLocal 505,wasrecentlyrecog-nized at aBoardofHealthmeeting for her 45 years of service as a city of Chicagoemployee.

Johnson-White has heldseveral positions within the TBand Communicable DiseasePrograms. She is currently anAdministrative Assistant III pro-viding support to disease investi-gators, epidemiologists andphysicians.

She previously received theKathy Osterman Award inrecognition of her outstandingadministrative service.

Ten students will takeAFSCME scholarshipsto college

HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WHO GRAD-uate in the spring of 2012 andenroll at an accredited universityor college in a full-time, four-year degree program, or a two-year program whose credits willtransfer to a four-year institu-tion, could win a four-year,$2,000-per-year AFSCME FamilyScholarship.

Students are eligible ifeither parent, a legal guardianor a financially responsiblegrandparent is an AFSCMEmember. Ten scholarships willbe awarded this year by theInternational Union to the chil-dren of members from through-out the country.

The winners will be selectedbased on answers to questionson the application form, theapplicant’s essay, high schooltranscript, SAT or ACT resultsand any recommendations orother evidence of the appli- cant’s character or abilities.

To get an application, write AFSCME Family Scholar-ship Program, c/o AFSCMEAdvantage, 1625 L Street, NW,Washington, D.C. 20036. Ordownload the application from the AFSCME web site:www.afscme.org/members/scholarships.

Completed applicationsmust be postmarked no laterthan Dec. 31.

Political science scholarship commemoratesAFSCME leader

COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY SOPHO-mores majoring in a social sci-ence who have a 2.5 average orabove are eligible for the JerryClark Memorial Scholarship, aprogram for children or finan-cially dependent grandchildren

of AFSCME members. To win, astudent must demonstrate acommitment to social justiceand political activism. A $5,000-per-year award goes to the twowinning students for theirjunior and senior years.

Jerry Clark served asAFSCME International’s politi-

cal actiondirector fornearly 20years.

Knownfor hisencyclope-dic knowl-edge ofpolitical

campaigns, Clark helped per-fect AFSCME’s training pro-grams on phone-banking anddoor-knocking in political campaigns.

The scholarship winnerswill be given an opportunityduring the period covered bythe scholarship to work as anintern at AFSCME’s Washing-ton headquarters in the politi-cal action department.

Applications are availableby writing Jerry Clark MemorialScholarship, AFSCME Educa-tion Department, 1625 L St.,NW, Washington, D.C. 20036,or e-mail request to educa-tion@afscme.org. The applica-tion is also available on theInternet: http://www.afscme.org.

Completed applicationsmust be postmarked no laterthan April 30. The winners willbe announced by Aug. 1.

Myth: Public employeesearn more

FACT: THE CENTER FOR STATEand Local Government Excel-lence has a new study conclud-ing that even with benefits fig-ured in, private-sector workersoutearn their counterparts inthe public sector.

The study’s authors saythere is wide agreement that“state- and local-governmentemployees earn less than pri-vate-sector workers with similarjobs and education.

SHORT REPORTS

Strike highlights hotel workers’ struggle

WORKERS AT HYATT HOTELS CARRIED OUT A ONE-WEEK STRIKE BEGIN-ning Sept. 8 in four cities including Chicago. The action wascalled to raise public awareness about the abuse Hyatt housekeep-ers encounter in their day-to-day work.

Support for the strike came from the entire labor movement,with AFSCME members on the picket line at the Park Hyatt inChicago.

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka walked the Hyatt RegencyChicago picket line accompanied by leaders from Council 31 andother unions.

Here’s a story of one Hyatt housekeeper that helps explainwhy the workers are willing to strike, even in these tough econom-ic times:

“My name is Cathy Youngblood, and I am a housekeeper atthe Hyatt Andaz in Hollywood. I believe in hard work, but living inpain is a different story. I have to take medication regularlybecause my wrists and shoulders hurt from having to lift 100-pound mattresses over and over again every day as I change thebedding. Other Hyatt housekeepers have been permanentlyinjured by the grueling work we do.

“Not far from my hotel in West Hollywood, at the Hyatt inLong Beach, California, workers have no union. Conditions thereare even worse. My sisters are required to clean twice as manyrooms in one eight-hour shift, leaving them just 15 minutes foreach room. That’s 15 minutes to change bedding, scrub the bath-room, dust, vacuum, empty the trash, and change linens, amongother things. It’s no surprise that women are getting hurt.

“Today, I strike - not just for myself or for a fair contract at myhotel - but for our right to stand up to Hyatt wherever they areabusing housekeepers.

“We know we can’t take on a global giant like Hyatt alone.That’s why we’re standing together.”

The housekeepers’ union, Unite Here, is calling for a boycottof Hyatt hotels around the country, including the Hyatt RegencyChicago, Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, Hyatt Regency McCormickPlace, Hyatt Regency O’Hare and Park Hyatt Chicago.

More NEIU workers choose AFSCME

LOCAL 1989’S CAMPAIGN TO SIGN UP NON-REPRESENTED WORKERS AT

Northeastern Illinois University took two steps forward this sum-mer with campus childcare workers and groundskeepers signingup for AFSCME.

By a previously negotiated agreement with the university, thenewly represent-ed workers auto-maticallybecome coveredby the AFSCMEcontract and areslotted intonegotiated paygrades.

“With thegroundskeep-ers, we arranged a lunch meeting,” said Ellen Larrimore, thelocal’s president. “We had packets of information about what itmeans to be part of AFSCME and what was in our contract. Theywere pleased to find out that they would have reduced parkingrates in a lot right next to their work site. And they had issues theyhad no way to deal with. They saw how the union could help withthat.”

Many signed union authorization cards on the spot.The childcare workers couldn’t get away from their duties for

a lunch meeting, so John Yaou, the local’s vice president, met withthem individually.

“I wanted to join the union because of the benefits offered,”said Tanisha Phillips. The childcare workers are getting raisesranging up to $2.37 an hour, depending on their job title andprevious wage level. But Phillips also was attracted by “the jobsecurity and protection being part of the union provides. I feelthe union will help us get more recognition for the importantwork we do by taking care of children.”

The local has added more than 100 new members in the pastyear.

Continued on page 15

Groundskeepers sign up for union membership.

Lula Johnson-White shows off another of her many talents asshe sings for delegates to the 2007 Council 31 Convention.

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/28/11 6:23 PM Page 11

12 On the Move October 2011

Tollway road workers get wage hikes

A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT BETWEEN

Local 3883 and the IllinoisState Toll Highway Authorityyields raises of 2 percent, 2.5percent and 3.5 percent.

“There were a lot of diffi-cult decisions to get to a set-tlement,” said Rob Homeyer,the local union president.“The ability to balance theimpact of various issues andweigh the impact on thewhole group, to balance andaddress everybody’s issues,that was the challenge. Wedidn’t agree on everythingamong ourselves, but we did alot with what we were workingwith.”

The settlement givesemployees a choice of health-care coverage plans, with nopremium payments for theHMO choice and a small pre-mium contribution for a planwith a wider choice ofproviders. The employeragreed that there would be nochanges in the plan featuresduring the term of the con-tract.

There was a $250 signingbonus and a 10-year longevitystep added. Employees mustbe given 30 days’ noticebefore being laid off, fromseven days in the previouscontract.

Homeyer said it was hisfirst time in contract negotia-tions and it was “not what Iexpected. I pictured an openconversation with manage-ment, so it was frustrating attimes. There’s stuff you wantto say, especially when youhear something that’s not atrue characterization of thereal situation. But if you speakout in emotion, it can be usedagainst you.”

He said he learned thevalue of having someone “whoremains calm, cool and col-lected rather than gets side-tracked on an emotionallycharged issue.” In this case itwas staff representative Mag-gie Lorenc who led the unionbargaining team.

That team included Mar-

lene Nagel, Brian Bottomley,Linda Adams, Jeff Agonathand Dana Goodman, in addi-tion to Homeyer and Lorenc.

First contract for corrections educators

EDUCATORS EMPLOYED BY LAKE

Land Community Collegewho work in several Depart-ment of Corrections facilitiesfinally got their first contractafter years of stalling by DOCand the college administra-tion.

After getting only onewage increase in the last fiveyears, the teachers will get 3percent in each of the nextthree years. They also got a 5percent increase before thisfirst-contract bargaining wasconcluded.

“The only way they gotthat 5 percent was becausethey organized,” said ChuckStout, the Council 31 staffrepresentative who led theunion negotiating committee.

He said the contract alsosaves the educators $500 ayear on premiums for depen-dent health care. It strength-ened their seniority and gavethem standard due-processprocedures.

Gregg Dogwiler andDewayne Brown served on theunion negotiating committee.

Union members gainingrespect at Ray Graham

A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT

between Local 3492 and RayGraham Association, a non-profit agency that providesdevelopmental disability ser-vices, gives members a 3 per-cent bonus, or 2 percent forthose hired more recently.Wages for the next two years

will each be negotiated sepa-rately.

Martin Luther King Daywill be a paid holiday. Recordof previous discipline will beremoved from an employee’sfile on an accelerated basis.Picking vacations will be byseniority. New hires will getoff probation sooner. Therewill be a sick bank for long-term medical absences.

“It started out rough,”said Tim Olaosebikan, thelocal union president. “Thenwe got a new CEO, and it waspretty smooth after that. Sheagreed to work with theunion, and so far we are nothaving the problems we hadbefore. We got good languageand we are gaining respect inthe workplace. They are push-ing supervisors to follow thecontract. Hopefully when theeconomy turns around, wewill do better on wages.”

The negotiating team wasled by staff representative Kar-men Ortloff, with Olaose-bikan, Debbi Pawinski, ValerieWarren, Lenora Williams,Leona Eizenga, Audrey Lakeand Jon Johansen.

Steady gains for Carterville school employees

A FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT RAISES

wages nearly 18 percent by2015 for non-academic work-ers in the Carterville schooldistrict. Longevity pay alsogoes to 15 cents, from 10cents. Full-time employees willearn 16 sick days per year, upfrom 14, and part-time work-ers will get an additional paidholiday.

“We have a pretty goodrapport with the school boardand the superintendent,”Local 1273 President KimSpencer said. “Money is alwaysthe biggest issue. We haven’thad a five-year contractbefore, but our members werepleased with the money situa-tion.”

The union negotiatingcommittee was led by staffrepresentative Kevan Plumlee,with Spencer, Jim Stocks, IrisGlover, Joe Haven, DebbieCairns and Kendra Ross.

Jerseyville city workers‘look at the community’

WAGES GO UP 1.5 PERCENT IN

the first year of a three-yearagreement between Local1479 and the city of Jer-seyville, with future negotia-tions to determine the termsfor wages and health insur-ance in each of the next two

years.Laid-off employees will

have two years’ recall rights,up from one year. There wereno changes for employees onthe terms of health insurancecoverage.

“Both sides knew the eco-nomic situation,” said DanDeSherlia, the local unionpresident. “We’ve always triedto look at the community andnegotiate accordingly. We’dall like to get more money,but we felt that was what thecommunity could bear. Thecity got the amount they werelooking for and we’ll get theopportunity to do better inthe next two years if the econ-omy improves. A lot of placesthe workers’ wages werefrozen, and ours weren’t. Themeetings we had were decent.We didn’t see adversarial atti-tudes on either side.”

Staff representative CarlaGillespie led the negotiatingteam, with DeSherlia, JasonJones, Darin Howland andBrian Dunsing.

Peoria library pushespay for performance

WARY OF A MANAGEMENT-PRO-posed plan to pin wageincreases on pay for perfor-mance, union members atPeoria Public Library resistedat first.

“It was a long negotiationprocess,” said Joann Jordan,president of Local 3464,which represents a broadrange of Peoria city employ-ees.

They ended up with acontract covering 2010 and2011 that raises wages 2.25percent across the board thisyear and a joint labor-manage-ment committee to establish apay-for-performance plan.

“With us serving on thecommittee, we can stop theworst things before they hap-pen,” Jordan said. “That’swhat sold it for us – theinvolvement of members.They started off with a zeropay increase, so it was a win-win. We thought it was thebest we could do in these eco-nomic times.”

Jordan, Esther Per-schnick, Tiana Helms, DianneHollister, Richard Partee andFrancis Fitzanko served on theunion bargaining committee,which was led by staff repre-sentative Tim Lavelle.

Kane County grouplooks ahead

HOPING THAT THE COUNTY’Sfinancial situation will

improve as the economy does,employees in the Kane Coun-ty clerk’s office agreed to athree-year contract with awage freeze for the first yearand a 1.5 percent bonus.Wages for each of the nexttwo years will be negotiatedseparately.

Management withdrew aproposal that union membersstrongly opposed to changethe hours of work. Employeeswho want to challenge oral orwritten reprimands can nowtake their case all the way toarbitration.

“We were asking for araise, but with the economy,we couldn’t get it,” said Ray-mond Esquivel, an executiveboard member for Local3966. “We fought hard as abargaining team and stoodour ground.”

The team was led by staffrepresentative Carla Williams,with Esquivel, Shanna Beckerand Ayesha Tague.

Randolph Co.: Raises for nursinghome workers

A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT WITH

Randolph County Care Cen-ter raises wages 2 percent inthe first year, 2.5 percent inthe second and 3 percent inthe final year.

“We looked at the budgetand asked for those raises andthat’s what we got,” saidAddrienne Markley, presidentof Local 2402. “The best thingabout negotiations was a newadministrator. Last time wasawful. They fought every-thing. Now we are laying thegroundwork for a good labor-management relationship.”

The home is struggling,in part because the county isbalking at subsidies and inpart because the state isbehind on making Medicaiddisbursements, explained staffrepresentative Steve Joiner,who led the union bargainingcommittee.

“We went into negotia-tions knowing the facility is onthe brink of closing,” Markleysaid.

Julie Clutts, CrystalKempfer, Mike Schobert andLucille Clayton also served onthe bargaining committee.

Raise for Granite CityLibrary workers

NEGOTIATIONS FOR WAGES IN

the second year of a two-yearcontract resulted in a 3.5 per-cent increase for Granite CityLibrary employees.

The library will continueto contribute the sameamount towards employees’health-insurance premiums.

“We met with the directorand a couple of board mem-bers,” said Denise Owens,chief steward at the library forLocal 3405. “We made a pro-posal, they made a counterof-fer and it was over in 45 min-

ON THE LOCAL LEVEL

Jeff Agonath, left, Brian Bottomley, Marlena Nagel, Dana Goodman and Robert Homeyerwere on the Local 3883 bargaining team with Linda Adams, not pictured.

Local 3492 members overwhelmingly ratified their new contract.

Continued on the facing page

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/29/11 11:49 AM Page 12

On the Move October 2011 13

Putting togetherall the elementsof a successful

campaign, Local2371 won a wageincrease when themanagement of RockIsland County Nurs-ing Home was deter-mined not to givethem one.

OTHER COUNTY WORKERS HAD

GOTTEN RAISES, BUT THE NURS-ING HOME WORKERS WERE BEING

denied.“We kept getting told,

‘No, no, no – we’re broke,’”said Shelley Close, the local’spresident.

But the local wouldn’ttake no for an answer. Andthey didn’t have to becausethey knew how to get to yes.

It starts with laying thegroundwork. Rock IslandCounty encompasses three ofthe four cities that make upthe Quad Cities region.Unions there don’t let statelines get in their way – two of

the four cities are in Iowa, butthe local labor federationembraces all four cities andthe surrounding small towns.

That local labor councilhas a long, proud history ofsolidarity and political action.The local unions that com-prise it support one anotherwhenever they face a battle.

And the locals, led byAFSCME, have one of thelargest and most dedicatedgroup of activists who walkthe streets and staff thephones and pass the flyers forlabor-backed political candi-dates.

A significant number ofRock Island County Boardmembers, who have the ulti-mate say over nursing homeoperations, have been electedwith union backing.

With all that behindthem, the nursing homeworkers knew they had a goodchance of success. But theyalso did their homework.

“We found out that onereason the home was so brokewas that the billing hadn’tbeen getting done,” Closesaid. “And of course part ofthe problem is the state is latein paying its share.”

The wage negotiationswere supposed to be conclud-ed by Dec. 1, 2010, but man-agement didn’t even set up ameeting to discuss wages for

the final yearof the unioncontract untilafter the firstof this year.

The localheld twoinformationalpicketactions.

“Wewanted tomake theCounty Boardaware of whatwas goingon,” Closesaid. “We hada call-in daywhere we hadmemberstalking to allthe CountyBoard mem-bers.”

The pick-eting tookplace beforeboard meet-ings. After-wards thepicketers

attended the meetings, whereAFSCME leaders spoke outand so did family members ofnursing home residents.

“We had family membersbehind us, who felt theirloved ones were getting goodcare and that the staffdeserved raises,” Closeexplained. “Some of them gotup and spoke at the meetings.That really helped. We endedup with a 2 percent wageincrease, retroactive toDecember 1.”

Close, Angel Solis, Rhon-da Westmorland and DonnaKeenan served on the unionbargaining team led by staffrepresentative Dino Leone.

Political action. Labor sol-idarity. High quality work.The willingness to stand upand fight for what’s right.Those were the elements thatwent into this battle. Theyfought. They won.

Nursing home workers fightand win

w

utes. Considering the times,we were very pleased. We’llstart negotiating for a newcontract in July.”

The union bargainingteam was led by staff repre-sentative Ed LaPorte, withOwens, Patrick Carney, JohnMefford and Judy Novich.

Long negotiations leadto long contract inHomewood

A FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT BETWEEN

Local 2891 and the village ofHomewood resulted in 12.5percent across-the-board rais-es. Increases for 2010 and2011, due May 1 of each year,were retroactive. Longevitypay was increased andemployees on call around theclock will get a $125-a-weekpremium, up from $50.

Employees will now haveco-payments of 20 percent for“major medical” expenses, upfrom 10 percent.

“It was a long and drawnout negotiations,” said DaveLotz, the local union presi-dent. “But it was normal –give and take on both sides.”

In the end, he said, “Wedid good for employees andgood for the village. The payincrease was fair and we’ll pay

more for insurance, which isgoing on all over.”

One important feature ofthe agreement, he said, was aprovision that allows employ-ees to accumulate more com-pensatory time.

“They work all night withsnow plowing or water mainbreaks,” he noted. “This givesthem the opportunity to dowhat they want to do andspend time with their fami-lies.”

Lotz, Bob Pettigrew,Harry Hammock and DaleDemro served on the negoti-ating committee, which wasled by staff representativeDick Crofter.

Bonuses for NorthChicago school busworkers

BUS DRIVERS AND AIDES WHO

work for First Student Inc.,transporting North Chicagostudents agreed to a three-year contract with bonuses of1 percent the first year, 1.5percent the second and 2 per-cent the third year.

The contract protects theworkers if the school districtchanges bus-service contrac-tors.

“They were saying theeconomy is bad and we

should be grateful we havejobs,” said Geri Romero, pres-ident of Local 1115. “Theywere talking about takingstuff away. They’re alwaystalking about what they don’twant to give us, but we knowthey lost a lot of contractswith other school districts.We realized we still have a joband we aren’t losing any-thing. We kept our (paid)holidays and other benefits.”

Staff representative LeslieCarter led the bargainingcommittee, with Romero,Mary Jarrett, Nancy Koschalk,Rebecca Moore and AnnieBullitt.

Wage increases, no layoffs in Monmouth

WAGES GO UP 2.5 PERCENT

each year of a three-year con-tract between Local 3071 andthe city of Monmouth.

Compensatory time mustbe used by the end of theyear or the employer will justpay the remaining balance.

“Everyone kept theirjob,” said Greg Sage, the localunion president. “We’vealways gotten along with theadministration. Of course youalways want more, but withthe economy like it is, man-agement has the upper hand.

But they were decent.”Staff representative

Randy Lynch led the negotia-tions, with Sage, Kelly Lant,Maura Miller and JaymeHorner making up the com-mittee.

Local keeps fully paidhealth insurance

LOCAL 1132 AND THE FAST-growing village of Milan agreedto 12 percent in wage increasesover the term of a four-yearcontract.

The employer will continueto pay 100 percent of health-insurance premiums.

“Insurance is a very impor-tant part of our contract,” saidSergio Villarreal, an executiveboard member of Local 1132.“It was a good and fair contractconsidering the economy. Wedo a lot for the city. We arecross trained, so public worksand the water department worktogether. We all do a little bit ofeverything, operate a lot of dif-ferent kind of equipment.”

There were no otherchanges in contract language.

“We’re not in this to getrich,” Villarreal said. “We justwant to make an honest livingfor ourselves and our families.”

Staff representative TonyMcCubbin led the bargaining

committee with Villarreal,Kevin Stickell, Arion Cox andJeff Kerres.

No concessions at De Kalb County Nursing Center

MEMBERS OF LOCAL 3537 ATDE Kalb County NursingHome will get a 1 percentwage increase, but only onthe effective date of a reim-bursement-rate increase gen-erated by a new nursing-home bed tax. That increaseis pending federal approvalof a state application.

“The county has nomoney,” said Marla Crad-duck, the local union presi-dent. “They told us that fromthe get-go. We didn’t loseanything and we do havegood benefits.”

She said county officialsare slated to get 8 percentincreases in each of the nextfour years, so that was a sorespot for members.

Negotiations for a newcontract to succeed this one-year agreement will begin thisfall, she said.

Staff representative KathySteichen led the bargaining,with Cradduck, Judy Bene-dict, Steve O’Bryan and DawnLawton.

Continued from the facing page

Political action. Labor solidarity.

High quality work. The willingness

to stand up and fight for what’s right.

Those were the elements

that went into this battle

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/27/11 5:04 AM Page 13

On the Move October 2011 15

President BarackObama’s newjobs plan could

inject 4.3 million jobsinto the falteringU.S. economy, if themean-spirited political ambitions of those who want nothing more thanto defeat him don’tget in the way.

A JOBS BILL WOULD SEND A

SPARK OF LIGHT INTO THE DARK

DAYS BEING EXPERIENCED BY MIL-lions of families devastated bythe current economic crisis.

The nation’s “joblessrecovery” is in its third year.The rich are indeed recover-ing and then some, but work-ing families are hurting. Andwhile joblessness is a crushingblow to households whereone or more of the wage earn-ers is unemployed, it also hasa much wider effect.

“The economic damageextends to the broader work-force and the country in gen-eral through lost wages,income and wealth, as well ashigher poverty,” according tothe Economic Policy Institute.“The national unemploymentrate has been at or above 8.8percent for the past 28months. The underemploy-ment rate has remained

between 15.7 percent and17.4 percent since the springof 2009.”

With so many out of work,those who do have jobs arefinding it ever harder to keepup with their rising cost of liv-ing. Wage growth has beenslower in the last two yearsthan at any time over the last30 years, EPI reports, eventhough wages had alreadybeen stagnant through all ofthat three-decade period. Themedian working-age house-hold saw its income drop by$2,700 from 2007 to 2009.

“As a result,” EPI says,“the typical working-agehousehold brought in roughly$5,000 less in 2009 than it didin 2000.”

Investing in the future

PUBLIC INVESTMENT IS ONE OF THE

best ways to fight joblessnesswhen the economy is slow.Spending on buildingschools, roads, water systems,the electrical grid and Inter-net connectivity, subsidizingeducation and training,research and developmentand more will not only createjobs today and spur relatedeconomic activity, it will paydividends for many years tocome.

EPI estimates the impactof public investments is 1.1million jobs for every $100 bil-lion invested.

If it is passed in its entire-ty, here’s what the president’s

American Jobs Act would doin Illinois, according to aDemocratic Senate Commit-tee fact sheet:• Implement a payroll tax cutfor an estimated 260,000small businesses;• Make immediate invest-ments of at least $1.5 billionthat could support approxi-mately 20,700 local jobs, inhelping to modernize aninfrastructure that nowreceives a nationwide grade of“D” from the American Soci-ety of Civil Engineers;• Provide $1.2 billion in fundsfor up to 14,500 educationand first responder jobs;• Provide $1.1billion in fund-ing to supportas many as14,500 jobs aspart of a $25billion invest-ment to mod-ernize at least35,000 publicschools nationwide;• Make grants of up to $351million in addition to fundsthat would be availablethrough a competitive appli-cation to put constructionworkers on the job rehabilitat-ing and refurbishing vacantand foreclosed homes andbusinesses; and• Subsidize jobs for 5,900adults and 18,900 youths withopportunities to work andachieve needed training ingrowth industries.

‘America isn’t broke’

UNFORTUNATELY, “THE REPUBLI-can Congress – and much ofAmerica’s political elite – hasbecome so mesmerized by the‘deficit debate,’” writes politi-cal strategist Bob Creamer,“that it is on the verge of mak-ing the foolish decision to‘save money’ today by failingto invest in our infrastructurefor tomorrow.”

The labor movement ismobilizing on behalf of theObama plan.

“America isn’t broke,”says AFL-CIO President RichTrumka, “we’re the richest

country in theworld. We willonly go broke ifour leaders failyear after year tocreate jobs andturn our econo-my around. Wecan’t let thathappen.

“Politicians need to recognizethat America’s best days arestill before us. We cannotaccept the disappearance ofthe American middle class orseveral more years of crisis-level joblessness. We can andmust solve the jobs crisis —and we must start now.” Heurged union members to“take action to help us makethis happen,” by calling orwriting their U.S. representa-tives and senators and urgingthem to back the AmericanJobs Act.

President’s job programwould help lagging economy

w

Public investment is one of the best ways

to fight joblessness

when the economy is slow.

“The question thenturns to benefits. Whilethere is agreement that pub-lic employees have moregenerous benefits, does thepublic-sector benefit pack-age make up for the lowersalaries?

“Here are some of theBoston College researchteam’s key findings:• State and local workershave a wage penalty of 9.5percent.• Pension contributions andretiree health insurancehelp close the gap.• Total compensation forpublic sector workers isabout 4 percent less thanthat in the private sector.”

The study concludesthat cutting benefits may bea mistake if the goal is goodgovernment:

“Americans want smart,competent people deliver-ing critically important pub-lic services. As the workforceages and hiring freezes per-sist, government employerswill need to give greaterattention to their talentneeds and how they canattract and retain the peoplethey need.”

Families workingmore, earning less

LITTLE WONDER THE CORPO-RATE media thinks it canturn working familiesagainst one another. Thingsare rough, and not just forthe unemployed.

In 2009 the typical two-parent family worked 26 per-cent longer than the typicalfamily in 1975, reports DavidCoates in the HuffingtonPost. Meanwhile the medianfamily income shrank by 4.9percentage points in thefirst decade of the 21st Cen-tury. It was the first time thathad happened in anydecade since the GreatDepression.

Continued from page 11

SHORTREPORTS

End of summer activities included a Labor Day parade for Bloomington locals, above right, and Local 1989’sfamily picnic.

JBK_OTM_OCT_11_alt_OTM JAN 04 9/27/11 5:04 AM Page 15

“We wanted change,” bus monitor Willie Curry said.

“There were things going on that were unfair. Just because

they are the employers doesn’t mean they can talk to you the

way they do.”

Some of her co-workers got together to talk about form-

ing a union, she said, “and I just jumped in with them. We

were tired of the disrespect and favoritism.”

The school superintendent sharpened the respect issue

for all to see at a meeting of the bus

workers. He was asked why the

teachers always get a percent

increase and the drivers and monitors

get nickels and dimes.

“When I think of teachers, I think

of percent increases and when I think

of the transportation department, I

think nickels and dimes,” was his

reply.

“He lit a fire under us,” said driver

Mike Schenk. “We need a good con-

tract. The one we have with the ‘Meet

and Confer Committee’ was handed

to us by Unit 5. They would say ‘Take

it or leave it.’ I realized we were in

deep trouble and needed a change.”

Favoritism was standard operating procedure.

“It’s not a money thing,” Schenk said. “Sure, we’d like to

get paid holidays – we get none. But mostly we want respect

and fair treatment.”

There are eight-hour routes and five-hour routes. There

are field trips and sports events.

“The trips go to management’s friends,” he said. “There

are no seniority rights for who gets what bus route. We were

tired of being kicked around like dogs.”

Schenk said his wife was the first one in the family to get

involved in the union organizing efforts, but when he saw

management trying to fire the activists, “It was time for me to

jump in.”

In helping him decide which union was best for them,

Schenk said he talked to bus drivers from other communities

when he drove students to a track meet.

“I found out the drivers that were the most happy about

their pay, benefits and working conditions were AFSCME

members,” he said. “That sealed the deal for me. And then I

was impressed with how AFSCME started helping us before

we even voted. We ended up getting paid overtime for field

trips and back pay for the last two years. What a great way to

start a union!”

Curry said it was easy to get co-workers to sign cards to

get to a union election.

“I asked them if they thought it was fair for everybody,”

she said. “Even those getting favors, I reminded it might not

always be that way.

“I said, ‘We’ve done a good job for Unit 5 and we’re being

overlooked. But there’s something we can do. Organize. You

can be part of the solution or you can be part of the problem.

The union won’t be the cure-all, but it will help us.’”

An overwhelming majority of her co-workers agreed.

“AFSCME put us in the drivers’ seat,” Schenk said.

Now they have to hit the accelerator and get a contract.

Bus drivers and bus monitors for the school district covering the Bloomington-Normal area have elected a negotiating committee

and are preparing to bargain after shedding a management-dominated employee association and voting 2-to-1 to form a real

union with AFSCME.

SCHOOL TRANSPORT WORKERS TURN TO AFSCME TO GAIN RESPECT

16 On the Move October 2011

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