WHEREAS:

            The U.S. Department of Labor traditionally determined the amount of administrative funds states received for running the unemployment insurance program by taking into account the full amount of employee salary costs; and

WHEREAS:

            Several years ago, the Department of Labor under a conservative Republican administration changed its policy and is now basing salary costs on a national average salary adjusted by a standard annual inflation factor; and

WHEREAS:

            This new methodology ignores the real costs of wage settlements negotiated by AFSCME locals; and

WHEREAS:

            This methodology creates a strong anti-union bias and downward pressure on wages by forcing state agencies to choose between wage increases and numbers of employees; and

WHEREAS:

            The Clinton administration was elected with strong union support and the Secretary of Labor has expressed his interest in insuring that the United States has high wage jobs.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

            AFSCME urges the Department of Labor to return to its customary practice of "passing through" salary costs and to request any necessary upward adjustments in its appropriation request to pay for the revised state allocations.

SUBMITTED BY:

Henry Bayer, Executive Director and Delegate 
AFSCME Council 31 
Illinois