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 Buried beneath the election chatter this week was a wonky labor
ruling in a Springfield appellate court. But the issue at hand could wind up
being more costly than almost anything else Illinoisans hear discussed on debate
stages.
AFSCME – the largest government worker union in the state – may pull off one of
the most insulting waiting games in state history. The payoff? More than $3
billion, courtesy of Illinois taxpayers.
This saga begins all the way back in December 2014.
That’s when then-Gov. Pat Quinn started negotiations for a new state worker
contract with a somber tone. His administration set the stage by noting a $6.4
billion backlog in unpaid bills, a $1.6 billion budget deficit and $111 billion
in unfunded pension liabilities.
AFSCME’s reply to the state?
Hike the income tax, then scrap the Illinois Constitution’s flat income tax
protection and hike taxes some more. In other words, “rob Peter to pay me.”
One month later, Gov. Bruce Rauner took office. In part, he was elected because
taxpayers were frustrated with the power balance in Springfield and wanted a
more fiscally conservative voice at the bargaining table.
AFSCME knew they would not be facing a negotiator they helped elect, so their
strategy was two-fold. The first tactic was to try to bargain with someone else,
but efforts to remove Rauner from the negotiating table in the General Assembly
fell short on multiple occasions.
The other option? Stall. AFSCME knew it could tie up any attempts at reform in
court. Meanwhile, they could fund efforts to elect a new governor willing to
play ball.
Before getting into specifics, it’s important to know Illinois state workers are
not to blame for any of this. It’s also important to know what those state
workers receive.
For one, they are the highest paid state workers in the nation after adjusting
for cost of living. Second, they receive platinum-level health insurance at a
bronze-level price. And third, many state workers receive overtime pay after a
37.5-hour work week. That’s not to mention pension benefits that are far out of
line with anything one can expect in the private sector.
None of this is necessarily bad in isolation. Public-sector workers should
expect decent pay and benefits. But AFSCME worker incomes grew 5 times faster
than Illinois private-sector incomes from 2005-2014. In the face of a sputtering
state economy where taxpayers are already shouldering an enormous tax burden,
there must be a compromise.
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We all can’t work for the state.
The Rauner administration introduced its first AFSCME contract
proposal in February 2015. It and subsequent offers avoided
widespread layoffs, preserved extremely generous disciplinary
procedures, sick time, and holiday policies, and instituted a
temporary wage freeze. It also would have increased employees’
contributions to their health care costs and not paid out overtime
until employees clocked 40 hours.
AFSCME countered with wild demands, including wage increases of 11.5
to 29 percent by 2019, platinum-level health insurance at little
cost to workers, and a work week with overtime for workers after
just 37.5 hours.
The state estimated AFSCME’s demands would cost an additional $3
billion compared with what Rauner proposed.
The old AFSCME contract expired June 30, 2015.
By September, the state and AFSCME were on their third tolling (or
temporary) agreement, which included language assuring they would
continue meeting in good faith until both sides declared an impasse
or the Illinois Labor Relations Board ruled both sides were at
impasse.
After more than 20 bargaining sessions and 67 days of negotiations,
nothing was moving.
The state declared an impasse on Jan. 8, 2016. And after much back
and forth, the Illinois Labor Relations Board finally issued an
impasse decision in November 2016, which meant Rauner could finally
move to implement the state’s last, best offer.
But rather than obey the ruling, AFSCME filed a lawsuit in their
home turf of St. Clair County, declaring the board’s ruling
illegitimate.
Days turned into months turned into years of appeals. And on Oct.
23, 2018, the Fourth District Appellate Court ruled in AFSCME’s
favor. Of course, there will be more appeals as the clock keeps
ticking.
So, will the four-year stalling gamble pay off for AFSCME?
The answer will become clear soon enough. And taxpayers will be on
the hook for the winnings.
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