Anti-union law set to affect some state employees
A new anti-union law now going into effect could see thousands of state employees lose their collective bargaining rights, including 1,900 who are already in a union.
Public Act 97-1172 – once known as SB 1556 – was passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Pat Quinn over AFSCME’s strong objections.
The Quinn administration has now begun the process of notifying those individuals whose positions are designated for exclusion from the collective bargaining rights provided by the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act.
While challenges to these designations will face an uphill battle, there is an appeal procedure in place for employees who believe they have been wrongly targeted.
Objections must be filed at the Illinois Labor Relations Board within ten days of the employee’s notification of the exclusion. In order to ensure that this deadline is met, any member who believes there is a basis on which to challenge his/her exclusion—and wishes the union to file that objection-- must complete and submit an information form to Council 31 within four days of receiving notification of the exclusion. (Click here to download a copy of the form.) Employees can also choose to file their own objections directly to the Labor Board.
If employees do not have a basis on which to appeal the decision or their appeal is denied, AFSCME has negotiated additional rights for any union member who is targeted for removal from the bargaining unit:
- Base salaries of employees removed from a bargaining unit shall not be reduced.
- Employees removed from the bargaining unit will have the option to move into an equal or lower level bargaining unit vacancy within their agency per Article XX, Section 3j of the Master Agreement (provided that the specific employee’s skills are not specifically needed in his/her current position).
- Employees who are removed from the bargaining unit and are not offered a bargaining unit position that would not result in a loss of pay will have enhanced bidding rights to return to a bargaining unit position (provided that the specific employee’s skills are not specifically needed in his/her current position) at any time in the future that a position is available.
This is going to be a very difficult time for the union members who find themselves targeted by the governor to be stripped of their bargaining rights. However, just as AFSCME fought long and hard to prevent this law’s passage, it will also continue to fight for employees who are hurt by it. Those targeted for exclusion can choose to remain as union members and AFSCME will continue to represent them in personnel matters to the fullest extent that the law allows.