July 4, 2008
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HEADLINES Mediator will play role in state contract talks; AFSCME Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer issued a statement today in Springfield, site of contract negotiations between the Blagojevich administration and the union. Click "more" for the text of the statement. | more
Heartland workers end strike, carry on their fight for fairness "Almost a year to the day after they walked off the job in their effort to gain fair treatment, Heartland Human Services employees voted to end their strike and return to work," Council 31 director Henry Bayer said in a statement released Friday, June 27. "In doing so, they chose to continue their fight in a different arena." Noting that over the entire yearlong work stoppage, just one striker had crossed the picket line, he said, "They intend to maintain that remarkable unity and determination as they continue their fight for fairness on the inside. At 7:30 this morning, in a demonstration of that unity, they marched together back into their workplace." See inside for director Bayer's complete statement on the Heartland strikers, management's negligence, the failure of federal labor law, and the inspiring example of Local 3494's continuing struggle for justice at work. | more
Families from around the state march Thousands of AFSCME members sent a clear message to the Blagojevich administration as they marched through the streets of Sprinfield, accompanying their bargaining committee to the last scheduled negotiating session with management before the state master contract expires on June 30. Union members came from every part of the state to support their bargaining team, which is adamant in its determination not to back down on its core goals of affordable health care, security in retirement and fair compensation for the hard work state employees do every day. | more
Public hearing on Pontiac CC closure set for Aug. 12 A meeting to hear comments from the public on the Department of Corrections plan to close Pontiac prison has been set by the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, in accordance with the procedure set forth in the State Facility Closure Act. The hearing will be held at 5 p.m., Aug. 12 in Pontiac, location to be determined. Members of Local 494 are organizing to have a maximum impact at the hearing. More than 1,000 people showed up in a pouring rain for a Save Pontiac Prison community photo on June 21. A parade on June 4 also demonstrated broad community support for keeping the prison open. The commission will vote on whether or not to recommend the facility closure, though that vote is not binding on the administration.
Barack Obama captures Democratic presidential nomination! He has been our state's favorite son, our senator, and our council's longtime friend and champion. Now, Barack Obama is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for President of the United States. AFSCME Council 31's endorsed candidate, Obama clinched the nomination when the primaries of Tuesday, June 3, put him over the threshold of delegates required. | more AFSCME locals ratify city of Chicago contract! At worksite meetings held Friday, May 30, members of the AFSCME locals that represent some 5,000 City of Chicago employees ratified their new five-year contract with the city. The agreement was reached on May 16, following more than a year of difficult negotiations. "This strong contract is a tribute to the tenacious AFSCME bargaining committee and to the rock-solid membership of the city locals," Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer said. | more
State employees by the thousands With management proposing that state employees shoulder a new, heavy burden for health care, local unions members in every corner of the state showed their determination to win a fair contract, hitting the bricks to stage informational pickets. The heavy turnout for the May 29 Unity Pickets gave AFSCME members a chance to demonstrate, with their presence on the picket lines, that they stood solidly behind their bargaining committee. | more
Union fights state plan to move Transportation jobs Plans to move 148 employees, 100 of them AFSCME members, from Springfield to Benton have stirred a firestorm of protest from AFSCME, Springfield-area legislators, the Chamber of Commerce and downtown businesses. Local 2813, which represents the affected employees staged an informational picket on May 21 to raise the profile of the issue, a tactic that succeeded in getting extensive media scrutiny of the administration’s plan. | more Progress on staffing, direct-care COLA All the work of the Council 31 lobbying team and AFSCME members who pushed for the union's priorities has paid dividends in the FY 2009 budget plan passed by the state House and Senate. It includes funding for a cost-of-living pay increase of 50 cents per hour for direct-care workers who work in community disability agencies, and restores the 1,200 frontline positions in state agencies that were included in last year's budget before they were vetoed by the governor. In addition, the 09 budget as passed fully funds both Pontiac and Stateville Correctional Centers. But there is a very real risk that Governor Blagojevich may act as he did last summer and use his veto power to reject some or all of the budget. | more Forced-overtime epidemic exposed A newly released report from Council 31 has alerted the press and the public to the misuse of mandatory overtime in prisons, veterans homes and centers for individuals with severe mental illnesses or developmental disabilities. The report reveals in detail the skyrocketing cost to taxpayers and tremendous strain on employees that results from this practice. The report was released at a May 8 news conference by Council 31 Executive Director Henry Bayer, who was joined by a number of AFSCME members and several of the 32 Senate co-sponsors of HB 5661, legislation to ban forced overtime in state government. | more Delegates will head to San Francisco Council 31 locals will begin choosing delegates this spring for AFSCME’s 38th International Convention in San Francisco. Delegates will focus on election-year politics as the nation weighs its choice for a president to follow George W. Bush, a man some consider the worst U.S. president ever. AFSCME and other unions plan on playing a key role in electing a president who will set a pro-union, pro-working family agenda for the nation that includes health-care reform, measures to roll back privatization, expansion of collective bargaining rights, retirement security, proper funding for public services and an end to the Iraq war. Delegates to the July 27-Aug. 1 biennial convention will also choose the AFSCME International president, seccretary-treasurer and 32 vice presidents for four-year terms. Delegates vote on policy resolutions and amendments to the union constitution. Safeguard against spread of MRSA AFSCME members who work in congregate settings, like prisons, mental health and developmental centers, hospitals, veterans homes and private-sector developmental disability facilities face a rising risk of infection from a drug-resistant bacteria that is spreading among facility populations and employees around the state and across the nation. MRSA, the commonly used acronym for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, is a dangerous infection responsible for many serious skin and soft tissue infections and a serious type of pneumonia. When not treated properly, MRSA can be fatal. | more |
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