SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In the first-ever strike authorization vote in Illinois state government, 81 percent of the members of AFSCME Council 31 have voted to give their union bargaining committee the authority to call a strike.
The vote comes after Gov. Bruce Rauner broke off negotiations with the union more than a year ago and has refused to meet with the AFSCME bargaining committee ever since.
“We have come to this juncture for one reason only: The refusal of Governor Rauner to negotiate with our union,” Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said at a news conference today.
Instead of working toward a compromise, Rauner has been seeking the power to unilaterally impose his own extreme demands. They include a 100 percent hike in employee costs for health care, which would cost the average state worker $10,000 more in out-of-pocket costs; a four-year wage freeze and an end to safeguards against irresponsible privatization.
“Bruce Rauner may think he can dictate, not negotiate, but this vote shows that AFSCME members are determined to stand up for basic fairness,” Lynch said.
Stephen Mittons, a child protective investigator in the Illinois Department of Human Services in Chicago, also spoke at the news conference.
“I voted yes to authorize a strike because my family needs health care we can afford, because my community needs public services it can rely on, and because Governor Rauner needs to come back to the bargaining table,” he said.
Steve Howerter, a counselor at Illinois River Correctional Center in Canton, also spoke up.
“We live in our communities, we care about our communities and we serve our communities. We understand the situation the state is in money-wise, because we are taxpayers too. And so we are willing to do our part, but what we’re not willing to do is give up our voice,” he said.
AFSCME International President Lee Saunders said public service workers provide valuable services to their communities not to get rich but because it’s their calling.
“All they ask in return is basic respect, in the form of fair wages and benefits to do their jobs more effectively,” Saunders said. “But Governor Rauner has shown a shameful disrespect for Illinois state workers and the communities they serve. By refusing to negotiate in good faith, he has demonstrated again that he puts his own agenda before the best interests of working families.”
AFSCME Council 31 represents some 38,000 Illinois state employees who protect kids, care for veterans and the disabled, respond to emergencies, help struggling families and much more.
The vote to authorize the union bargaining committee to call a strike does not necessarily mean there will be a strike. The committee will meet in the coming days to chart its path. Litigation could also play a role.
Lynch stressed that state workers don’t want to strike.
“We are keenly aware of the importance of the public services we provide, and we are willing to compromise,” she said. “But if Governor Rauner continues to refuse his legal obligation to bargain in good faith, he risks a strike that would shut down state government, and he alone bears responsibility for the harm a strike would cause.”