Rauner Administration pushing for a shutdown of state government

The Rauner Administration is spreading lies in its efforts to derail Senate Bill 1229, legislation he vetoed last week that would provide a path to reach a contract settlement for state employees without the risk of shutting down state government by a strike or lockout.

The bill would provide state employees with the option of utilizing the same kind of arbitration procedures that have been available to police officers, firefighters, and other public safety employees in Illinois for more than 30 years.

You have to wonder why such a sensible approach would strike such terror in the heart of the governor—and you don’t have to think hard to come up with the answer: The Administration’s ferocious animosity to the legislation is a plain indication that Rauner remains firmly committed to forcing a strike in state government. His campaign pledge—to "take a strike and shut down the government” to “re-do everybody’s contract”—is still his plan.

That’s why every AFSCME member should call his or her state representative and senator right now to urge that they override Governor Rauner’s veto of SB 1229. Call toll-free at 888-912-5959 or click to call.

That’s also why every argument the governor has made against the bill is a red herring, and there isn’t a shred of evidence to support his claims:

• He says the bill is unconstitutional, yet these same procedures have been utilized by countless governmental bodies and their public safety employees for decades.
• He says the deciding arbitrator would be “union-friendly”, when in fact the bill provides for the selection of a neutral, independent arbitrator by mutual agreement of the union and the employer. The very same procedure is used hundreds of times every year in Illinois to resolve grievances or settle contract disputes, and anyone familiar with labor law knows that arbitrators rule for the employer as often as they do for the employees.

Yet now, even as our state remains adrift without a budget to set its priorities, the governor is focusing all his energies on besieging legislators to uphold his veto.

In truth, state employee contract negotiations are far from the determinative factor in Illinois’ financial future. You could add up every single proposal that Rauner now has on the bargaining table—most of which are grossly unfair to employees—and you still wouldn’t make a dent in the state’s $4 billion nudget shortfall.

More fundamentally, why should frontline state employees—with their modest middle class standard of living—bear a greater share of the burden of solving the state’s fiscal problems than Rauner’s big business buddies who reap some $2 billion annually in corporate tax breaks?

Which brings us back to where we started: From every appearance, Rauner’s going all-out to defeat SB 1229 because he wants to eliminate unions in state government. He wants to force employees to accept draconian cuts to their standard of living and their rights on the job. And if they won’t, he’s prepared to force them out on strike and keep them out, regardless of the consequences for public services or the citizens who depend on them. Any legislator who plans to vote to uphold his veto should be asked if he or she supports such an irresponsible course of action.

Every public employee—indeed every Illinois citizen—has a big stake in blocking the governor’s bid for unfettered power. The best way to do that right now is for every union member to call his or her legislators and urge them to vote to override the governor’s veto of SB 1229.