 The legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules postponed
a decision until at least August on whether to pay the promised 2
percent raises to thousands of workers, many of whom are members of
the state's largest public employee union, the American Federation
of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME.However,
lawmakers, many of whom support Quinn's efforts, said they want a
judge to decide the next move.
State Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Galesburg, said legislative action is
not needed at this point.
"The fact that the courts are going to be involved and an
arbitrator is involved, those are normal avenues when there is a
dispute," Moffitt said.
On Friday, AFSCME filed a lawsuit in U.S. Central District Court
in Springfield to force Quinn to fulfill the 2008 contract the union
signed with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. That deal guaranteed a 15
percent pay increase for many AFSCME members over a four-year
period. This is the last year of that contract, and the pay hikes
were supposed to take effect July 1.
State Sen. John Jones, R-Mount Vernon, said: "I'm from the old
school. When you shake hands, you have a contract; when you sign
your name, you have a contract. And it's a binding contract."
But state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said lawmakers did not
sign the deal with AFSCME. He added that lawmakers wrote the budget
approved last month and the money for the raises was not included.
"The majority in both the House and the Senate both approved a
budget that clearly had personal service lines insufficient to pay
these raises," Righter said.
Even though the governor did not sign the current contract with
AFSCME, Quinn did agree to a 2009 deal with the union that
guarantees Quinn cannot close state facilities or lay off union
workers until next year. Lawmakers, particularly GOP legislators,
have said the 2009 deal hamstrings Quinn as much as the raises
promised in the 2008 contract.
Tuesday also brought hundreds of AFSCME members to the streets in
front of state facilities across Illinois. There were informational
pickets in Chicago, Springfield, Alton, Anna in southern Illinois,
Danville, East Moline and a handful of other cities.
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AFSCME member Lydia Williams, who works for the Department of
Human Services in Chicago, said she wants to know why Quinn has
money to give his staff pay raises, but Illinois cannot afford the
pay hikes promised to AFSCME.
"Where's your integrity?" asked Williams from a picket line in
Chicago. "How can you decide to give your people raises? They're
already making far more than we're making at our agencies."
Quinn last summer approved raises for more than 200 of his
closest advisers and top staff members.
But the governor said Monday that if union members in Illinois
are unhappy, they should blame the General Assembly and not him.
"If they want a raise, they should contact their local legislator
and ask him or her to vote for that," said Quinn.
Quinn has said Illinois simply does not have enough money to
cover the $75 million in raises for 2011, but he blames lawmakers
for not "fully funding" the pay hikes in the 2012 state budget.
AFSCME spokesman Andres Lindall said Monday that the union should
find out next week which judge will hear their case next week. He did
not know when a ruling would be made.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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