Union coalition, Senator Cullerton reach pension agreement

After weeks of negotiations, the We Are One Illinois union coalition reached an agreement on Tuesday, May 6, with Senate President John Cullerton on legislation to address the severe crisis facing Illinois’ public pension systems.

The union coalition includes the AFL-CIO, Illinois Education Association (IEA), Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Police Benevolent and Protective Association (PB&PA), Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois, Laborers, Illinois Nurses Association (INA) and SEIU in addition to AFSCME.

The coalition’s approach in these negotiations was guided by a fundamental framework of enacting an ironclad funding guarantee, including new revenue as part of the solution, and limiting the burden placed on public employees and retirees. The agreement meets all three goals.

While We Are One Illinois worked to reach this agreement, ever more draconian proposals were advancing in the House of Representatives. They culminated in House passage of Senate Bill 1, legislation that would drastically reduce the pension income of both active employees and current retirees throughout their retirement years.

The coalition was determined to resist steep cuts to retirement benefits like those in SB 1. While the agreement that was reached with the Senate President does not exempt either employees or retirees from any reduction in pension benefits, it does provide consideration and choices, vastly improving on the harsh cuts of SB 1.

The agreement negotiated by We Are One Illinois will be embodied in Senate Bill 2404. Click here for a summary of the coalition's negotiated agreement.

Please call your state senator today with this message: "I urge you to OPPOSE SB 1, which makes public employees and retirees alone fix the state's pension problem. Instead, please SUPPORT SB 2404, legislation developed by the We Are One Illinois union coalition and Senate leadership. It requires employees and retirees to share in the burden but does not put our retirement security at risk." Reach your senator by dialing 888-412-6570 or use the union coalition's click-to-call tool.

The negotiated agreement (SB 2404) differs from SB 1 in important ways:

• SB 1 caps annual COLAs at extremely low levels, cutting the 3% compounded COLA for both active employees and current retirees to a fraction of what it is today. The Senate agreement gives employees and retirees the option of maintaining a 3% compounded COLA.
• SB 1 raises retirement ages without regard to the physically and mentally demanding professions held by public workers, including nurses, police, teachers and corrections officers,  just to name a few. The coalition's agreement leaves retirement ages intact.
• SB 1 limits the amount of salary that earns a pension, failing to acknowledge the mandatory long hours and difficult jobs worked by many in public service. The We Are One Illinois agreement offers viable ways to avoid that.
• SB 1 requires all active employees to contribute 2% more of salary to the pension plan. The negotiated agreement allows employees to make a choice based on what they feel is best for themselves.
• SB 1 offers no choice. It simply imposes steep cuts without adequate consideration. The coalition's agreement gives employees and retirees a range of options.

SB 1 is more than just unfair; it’s blatantly unconstitutional. But recent remarks by the Speaker suggest that he believes a majority of the Illinois Supreme Court will uphold his bill. The legal system has never offered a guarantee of justice to average people and it is a high-risk strategy to think that we can just let SB 1 pass and take our chances in court.

The legislature now has a choice to make. The negotiated agreement reached in the Senate and embodied in SB 2404 offers the best opportunity for a fair and responsible solution to the ongoing public pension underfunding crisis.

Make the call today. Reach your senator by dialing 888-412-6570 or use the union coalition's click-to-call tool. Your retirement security depends on it.

The first critical test will come in the Senate this week. If SB 1 is called for a vote, we need to ensure that it is defeated—and to build support for SB 2404 as the only viable alternative.

We Are One Illinois has demonstrated its willingness to offer a credible way forward, to ensure fairness for public sector employees and retirees, and to ensure the stability of the retirement systems for the next generation. Now legislators of both parties in both chambers must embrace it.