State contract ratification vote starts June 12

On May 31 the AFSCME State Bargaining Committee reached a tentative agreement with the Pritzker Administration on a new contract.

After four long years of Bruce Rauner’s adamant refusal to negotiate in good faith and his unrelenting attacks on state workers, state employees can once again have the economic security and job protections that a union contract provides.

Continue to stand in solidarity—come out and vote!

Ratification meetings begin this Wednesday, June 12 and continue through June 21 in AFSCME local unions across the state. 

Here’s information all AFSCME members in state government should know:

• Each local union will set its own ratification meeting dates and times—and will notify all members as soon as possible.
• As operational needs permit, where ratification meetings are scheduled during normal work hours, union members will be able to attend without loss of pay.
• Council 31 staff and Bargaining Committee members will be present at ratification meetings to explain all the details of the tentative agreement and answer any questions members may have.
• Only AFSCME members can participate in these meetings and vote on this tentative agreement. Non-members (in the AFSCME bargaining units) will have the opportunity to join at the meetings.
• A “key provisions” summary, as well as a full listing of all the changes to the contract included in the tentative agreement, will be distributed and reviewed at every ratification meeting. A summary is available on a special website for AFSCME members only beginning on June 12.

The AFSCME Bargaining Committee unanimously recommends a YES vote on this tentative agreement. We’ve come this far by standing together. Be sure to come out and vote.