Domination Of Illinois' Workforce Becomes Campaign Issue
From the Springfield State Journal-Register
In 1942, the first union locals of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees formed in Illinois, with a comparative handful of members working for the state. Fast forward to 2014. AFSCME now has nearly 70,000 members in Illinois — with more than 39,000 of them working for the state in the offices of the six statewide elected officials.
AFSCME is the largest state employee union, but it's far from the only one. More than a dozen unions represent state government workers, everyone from the Teamsters and Service Employees International Union to the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Fraternal Order of Police and Illinois Nurses Association.
Now, the state's heavily unionized public workforce has become a key issue in the campaign for governor.
Republican Bruce Rauner said in a November 2012 piece for the Chicago Tribune that government employee labor unions are “the most powerful political force in Illinois today, by far.”
“They have contributed mightily to our state's budgetary and economic chaos,” he wrote. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has angered unions by canceling pay raises and closing state facilities and pushing for pension reform. He was even booed by union protesters at the 2012 Illinois State Fair.
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has angered unions by canceling pay raises and closing state facilities and pushing for pension reform. He was even booed by union protesters at the 2012 Illinois State Fair.
But Quinn also has pulled in at least $4.3 million in direct contributions from organized labor groups, who say they remain worried about Rauner, even though he has softened his statements about public worker unions since winning the GOP primary.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Springfield State Journal-Register
In 1942, the first union locals of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees formed in Illinois, with a comparative handful of members working for the state. Fast forward to 2014. AFSCME now has nearly 70,000 members in Illinois — with more than 39,000 of them working for the state in the offices of the six statewide elected officials.
AFSCME is the largest state employee union, but it's far from the only one. More than a dozen unions represent state government workers, everyone from the Teamsters and Service Employees International Union to the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Fraternal Order of Police and Illinois Nurses Association.
Now, the state's heavily unionized public workforce has become a key issue in the campaign for governor.
Republican Bruce Rauner said in a November 2012 piece for the Chicago Tribune that government employee labor unions are “the most powerful political force in Illinois today, by far.”
“They have contributed mightily to our state's budgetary and economic chaos,” he wrote. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has angered unions by canceling pay raises and closing state facilities and pushing for pension reform. He was even booed by union protesters at the 2012 Illinois State Fair.
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has angered unions by canceling pay raises and closing state facilities and pushing for pension reform. He was even booed by union protesters at the 2012 Illinois State Fair.
But Quinn also has pulled in at least $4.3 million in direct contributions from organized labor groups, who say they remain worried about Rauner, even though he has softened his statements about public worker unions since winning the GOP primary.
Read more in our daily News Update...