 On the labor front, 2016 is ending much the same way it began in Illinois – with
the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees obstructing
progress toward a new contract for state workers.
In the meantime, taxpayers are on the hook for the costly effects of AFSCME’s
stall tactics. For each month the AFSCME contract is not in effect, Illinois is
paying an additional $35 million to $40 million in health coverage costs alone.
Over the course of the 18 months the state has been without a contract, that’s
$630 million to $720 million.
Throughout negotiations, Gov. Bruce Rauner attempted to bring union costs more
in line with what Illinoisans can afford. But AFSCME refused to compromise,
instead demanding wage increases of 11.5 to 29 percent by 2019, platinum-level
health insurance at little cost to workers and a workweek with overtime for
workers after just 37.5 hours. In total, AFSCME’s demands would cost the state
an additional $3 billion in increased wages and benefits.
Taxpayers cannot afford that.
After the Illinois Labor Relations Board issued a decision in November declaring
the parties at impasse, AFSCME took to the courts to prevent the governor from
implementing his reasonable contract offer.
We can expect more of the same obstructionist behavior from AFSCME in 2017. And
a first-ever AFSCME strike could be on the horizon.
2016 recap
Obstructionist tactics have been the theme of AFSCME’s “negotiating” strategy.
According to an administrative law judge with the Illinois Labor Relations
Board, AFSCME’s approach to negotiations was “atypical.” She added, “… the
[u]nion’s conduct calls into question its commitment to reaching an agreement
through bargaining.”
Negotiations between AFSCME and the state came to a halt in January, with
AFSCME’s lead negotiator stating, “I have nothing else to say and am not
interested in hearing what you have to say at this point – carry that message
that back to your principals.”
More recently AFSCME’s rallying cry has been, “Don’t dictate, negotiate.” But
AFSCME leadership conveniently ignores the facts.
First, it was AFSCME’s own costly demands that led to the stalemate between
parties. AFSCME persisted in these demands despite the fact that Illinois state
workers are already the highest-paid state workers in the nation when adjusted
for cost of living. In fact, AFSCME worker salaries grew five times faster than
Illinois workers’ earnings and twice the rate of inflation from 2005 to 2014.
Second, it certainly wasn’t Gov. Bruce Rauner’s negotiating team that left
negotiations refusing to speak to the other side. It was AFSCME that had no
interest in listening to the state’s negotiators.
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 Third, AFSCME now is actively thwarting the process it agreed to
during negotiations. The parties committed to bargain in good faith,
and if they disagreed on whether stalemate existed, they would
submit the issue to the Illinois Labor Relations Board to determine
whether the parties had reached impasse. But now that the board has
declared the parties at impasse, AFSCME refuses to abide by the
decision.
Not only has AFSCME initiated multiple lawsuits against the state to
prevent implementation of the contract, it has even filed a case
against the board itself. Each lawsuit has the same goal: preventing
implementation of the contract.
What to expect in 2017
Nothing in AFSCME’s behavior hints that the union wants to arrive at
a contract fair to both taxpayers and state employees. Instead, its
actions demonstrate that the union is bent on continuing its
obstructionist tactics into 2017.
It’s possible those tactics could lead to a state worker strike. And
it’s certain that those tactics will continue to cost state
taxpayers millions.
In a December newsletter to AFSCME members, the union repeated its
common rhetoric: State employees will have to accept Rauner’s terms
“or go out on strike.” Despite Illinois’ dire economic climate and
steepest-in-the-nation population decline, AFSCME leadership is
upset that the state hasn’t caved to its demands for raises and
increased benefits.
Then AFSCME informed its members in bold:
So as 2016 began with failing AFSCME negotiations and a potential
strike, 2017 will begin with failed AFSCME negotiations and a
potential strike.
In the meantime, AFSCME’s actions cost state taxpayers $2 million
each day the contract is not implemented. The union persists in its
stall tactics in spite of Illinois’ precarious financial situation.
The state currently has over $11 billion in unpaid bills. Illinois’
pension debt jumped to $130 billion in 2016 (up from $111 billion).
And the state has the nation’s worst credit rating. What’s more,
Illinois residents are leaving the state in droves. It doesn’t take
an economist to understand that AFSCME’s demands are unreasonable in
the current economic climate.
But AFSCME isn’t interested in negotiating. It is only interested in
perpetuating its power play against state taxpayers in its
relentless pursuit of unrealistic contract demands.
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