Arbitrator sides with union in wage dispute

[July 20, 2011]  SPRINGFIELD -- An arbitrator blocked Gov. Pat Quinn's plan to deny 30,000 state workers the salary increases that were set to start at the beginning of this month, saying Quinn's decision violated a 2008 contract between the state and workers' union.

Quinn's office said the state denied the $75 million in higher wages to employees in 14 state agencies because the Legislature didn't appropriate enough money.

"Funding these raises would mean that these agencies would not be able to make payroll for the entire year, disrupting core services for the people of Illinois, including children, the elderly and those with special needs," Quinn spokeswoman Annie Thompson said. "We will be appealing the arbitrator's decision."

However, the governor's office was unable to say which court -- the state's court of appeals or a circuit court -- will receive the appeal.

Arbitrator Edwin Benn acknowledged the state's financial troubles, but he said in the ruling that the state's contract with the workers' union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31, must be honored.

This "is a very simple case with a very simple bottom line ... the state did not keep its promise. The state must now keep its promise," Benn wrote.

"The words '...shall be increased by 2.00% ...' leave nothing to the imagination. '(S)hall' is not discretionary," Benn wrote.

Henry Bayer, executive director for AFSCME, said Tuesday's decision has implications beyond honoring the employees' pay increases.

"This is a question of whether the fundamental right of working people to bargain collectively will be upheld in Illinois," Bayer said in a written statement. "We welcome this ruling, because it makes clear that the governor cannot simply break a contract at will."

The original contract, approved by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, had a 4 percent pay bump set to start July 1 of this year. Facing the fiscal reality that fulfilling the agreement could result in layoffs and furloughs, Quinn struck a deal with AFSCME last year to give a 2 percent increase starting July 1, 2011, then an additional 2 percent increase Feb. 1, 2012. That would give the union members their 4 percent pay increase -- just seven months later than was originally contracted.

Quinn's appeal will take a broader view of the situation when he begins the process through the state's court system. The arbitrator was limited to reviewing the language of the contract and could not consider state statutes and the Illinois Constitution, both of which Quinn's office invoked when arguing in the case.

If the court upholds Benn's opinion, the state will have to cover the raises starting retroactively July 1.

[Illinois Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON]