State Employee Update: May 2025
Big cuts coming at us
It’s taken only a few months for Elon Musk and his DOGE team to wreak havoc in the federal government—with tens of thousands of employees being summarily fired, some agencies altogether dismantled, and many more nearly crippled. Much of the disfunction and chaos is driven by Project 2025, a bulky report issued last year by the Heritage Foundation as a blueprint for the second Trump presidency.
The state’s FY 26 budget, as proposed by Gov. Pritzker earlier this year, is effectively a ‘no layoff’ budget—which is very good news for AFSCME members in state government. But, as the threat of federal cuts looms ever larger, legislators are increasingly talking about the need to be prepared to reshape that budget—and potentially to make significant cuts. Needless to say, our union will oppose any cuts that would negatively impact union members or the vital services they provide.
On another front, President Trump is waging all-out war on labor unions. He has acted unilaterally to strip hundreds of thousands of federal employees of their collective bargaining rights and refused to honor existing union contracts. He is making drastic cuts to the Department of Labor, including weakening its worker safety divisions. And he has effectively paralyzed the National Labor Relations Board and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
AFSCME is fighting back on numerous fronts—with demonstrations at agencies slated for closure in Washington, D.C.; town halls in the districts of Republican legislators who seem poised to slash Medicaid funding, and grassroots actions. Nationally, our union is a plaintiff in more than a dozen lawsuits challenging some of the most outrageous actions of the Trump Administration. We’ve already won restraining orders in several of these cases—i.e. the courts are ruling that our claims are sufficiently compelling that the administration cannot move forward with its cuts and layoffs until there is a final ruling in the case.
Updates for members on Health Alliance plans
In mid-February, Health Alliance announced that it will end its partnership with the State of Illinois, effective June 30, 2025. As a result, a significant number of state employees, as well as annuitants, need to select a new health insurance plan during the FY26 enrollment period this May.
FY2026 Benefit Choice Resources are now available online. AFSCME has been in discussion with DCMS to ensure that employees are not harmed by this change. The union has received assurances from DCMS that the vast majority of individuals impacted by this change will be able to find a new plan that includes their current doctor within its network. Each health plan has a directory of providers which can be accessed here.
Additionally, health plan carriers have committed to helping former Health Alliance members transition as smoothly as possible. Support teams will be available through both the carriers and DCMS to assist with any issues that may arise during the transition. Contact information for the plan administrators as well as the CMS Bureau of Benefits is also available.
To help employees make the best decisions for themselves and their families, the state is holding Benefit Choice Fairs across Illinois during open enrollment. Benefit Choice fairs provide an opportunity for employees to speak directly with representatives from both the state and the participating health plans. The dates and locations of these fairs are available here.
FOIAing You!
The Freedom Foundation, a dark money (lots of money) fiercely anti-union organization, is trying to expand its reach and impact in Illinois. You may recognize that name. These are the wealthy elite who hate the fact that public employees in our state can come together in a union to improve their working lives.
AFSCME has learned that this organization is submitting extensive FOIA requests to state agencies to gather information on state employees. They want your work email and work phone number—and to find out if you are working remotely. Why? Well, the glossy mailers they’ve been sending to some employees’ homes to try to get us to quit our union just aren’t working. No thanks!
We know just what to do with them—into the trash can they go. We’re not that easily duped. We know the Freedom Foundation’s real goal is not our well-being, but destroying unions in the public sector. They claim they can help you put a little more money in your pocket now—and all you have to do is help them weaken our union so we can’t continue to negotiate strong contracts with first-rate wages and benefits.
So if you find that the Freedom Foundation has infiltrated your email-—or is trying to target you because you work remotely—you don’t even need a trash can to fight back. Just hit ‘delete.’ And then make sure you are and remain an AFSCME member helping to build our union ever stronger.
It's Fix Tier 2 Action Week
Hopefully you’ve gotten the word through AFSCME Council 31’s website, social media, emails and texts: This is a critical moment to turn up the heat to pass legislation to improve Tier 2 pensions.
Over the past year, we’ve put the issue of pension fairness front and center in the Illinois General Assembly. We cannot let it slide away now as dozens of other issues begin to crowd the legislative agenda. If you haven’t already called AND emailed your legislators, be sure to take action right now.
- Click HERE to send your lawmakers an email
- Dial 507-497-1665 to be connected to your lawmakers by phone. Tell them you're an AFSCME member who lives in their district and ask them to support the Fair Retirement and Recruitment Act so we can retire with dignity.