Progress in the fight for back pay

Dating to July 2011, back wages owed to state employees in corrections, human services, juvenile justice, natural resources and public health are the state’s oldest unpaid bill. It’s been a long, tough fight, but AFSCME has refused to back down.

As a result, legislators finally took action. Both the state House and Senate approved House Bill 3793, a special appropriation that includes funding for a portion of the back pay owed to state employees—$50 million, approximately 45% of the total amount owed. You can click the following links [PDF] to see how your legislators voted: House Senate

This progress came after intensive lobbying at the Capitol by local union leaders from across the state—AFSCME’s “Back Pay Brigades”—throughout the final weeks. Their message was reinforced by phone calls and emails to legislators from union members.

In addition, both the Illinois AFL-CIO and the Chicago Federation of Labor went to bat for AFSCME members, making back pay for state employees one of their top legislative priorities.

That solidarity and activism brought more legislators on board, not only to support the appropriation for partial payment, but to make clear that every penny must be paid as quickly as possible. During Senate debate, Senator Sam McCann (R-Carlinville) argued forcefully that state employee back wages must be paid in full. Senator Mike Frerichs (D-Champaign) couldn’t have been any clearer when he added that, “We will resume our efforts later this year to secure an additional appropriation to pay the balance owed.”

The bill now goes to the governor’s desk. Since the Quinn Administration fully supported this measure, there is good reason to anticipate the governor will sign it promptly.

Of course, every penny owed should have already been paid. But given the state’s dire fiscal straits, this appropriation represents a significant step in the right direction—one that will put much-needed money in the pockets of thousands of union members (see video below). AFSCME will resume lobbying lawmakers for the full appropriation when they return to the Capitol for the fall veto session in November, while continuing to battle in the courts as well.

Further information regarding the implementation of HB 3793 is being sent out via e-mail to affected members. If you’re an AFSCME member, make sure the union has your up-to-date e-mail address by clicking here.