Lynch in Wall Street Journal: Gov. Rauner is not negotiating in good faith

A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal blamed Illinois state employees for the standoff in contract negotiations with the Rauner Administration. In this letter published Jan. 26, AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch set the record straight:

The tenor of your editorial Jan. 21 (“Illinois Union Showdown”) completely ignores the good-faith efforts public-service workers have made to reach an agreement and Gov.Bruce Rauner’s continued recalcitrance. Please allow me to set the record straight for your readers, many of whom understand the importance of unions and collective bargaining in providing wages and benefits that can sustain working families, boost consumer spending and grow the middle class.

It is Gov. Rauner, not our union, who has chosen confrontation over compromise at every turn. More than six months into the fiscal year, state government has no budget because the governor won’t sign one unless legislators first enact his agenda that includes stripping collective bargaining rights, cutting help for people injured on the job and reducing construction workers’ wages. He’s taking the same my-way-or-no-way approach in union contract negotiations, demanding that public-service workers pay double their current costs to keep their health coverage while getting no pay increase for four years.

Now, in keeping with his campaign vow to force public-service workers to bow to his demands by causing a strike instead of negotiating a compromise, the governor has walked away from the bargaining table, declaring an impasse when none exists. The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees has made clear its willingness to continue to negotiate seeking common ground. Instead, the governor seems determined to seek the kind of conflict he promised, threatening disruptions in services that Illinois citizens depend on.

Roberta Lynch
Executive Director, Afscme Council 31
Chicago