Illinois AFL-CIO NEWS UPDATE - 03/31/17 The Illinois House and Senate convened for session this week. House committees had to recommend bills for passage on the House floor by yesterday. The month of April will be used for floor action in both chambers. Both chambers will return on Tuesday, April 4th. The House Labor Committee is expected to vote on a $15 minimum wage proposal next week (HB 198). G e n e r a l Statewide Responsible Bidder Clears House Labor Committee The Illinois House Labor Committee passed HB 2493 that would require all local bodies to specify in their call for bids on public works projects and require that contractors must comply with: All applicable Illinois laws to conduct business in the state; Prevailing wage laws; Federal civil rights laws and executive orders; Having valid insurance, general liability, work comp insurance; Having an apprenticeship program; Signing affidavit that the bidder will maintain business in Illinois. HB 2493 will be moved for consideration on the House floor. The legislation further requires contractors to list the number of minorities on each project on their certified payroll turned in monthly. The Illinois AFL-CIO encourages building trades affiliates to reach out to House members and encourage them to vote for HB 2493. A s s e m b l y Temp Workers Get Big Victory The House Labor Committee passed HB 690 (Ammons) this week by a vote of 17-8-1. The legislation seeks to help low wage workers that contract with temp agencies for work. It requires some very basic rights for these workers: When a temp agency offers transportation to a job site, they must offer a return ride. Prohibits temp agencies from charging employees for drug tests, credit checks, and criminal background checks. Requires staffing agencies to endeavor to place current temp workers into permanent jobs if they become available. Requires temp agencies to abide by OSHA standards. Requires temp agencies to provide aggregate employee demographic information. The Illinois AFL-CIO was proud to be a coalition partner on this bill, and we will continue to fight on the House floor in April. Bill to Stop Rauner from Privatizing Advances SB 19 (McCann/Costello) passed the Senate this week with bi-partisan support, 40-15. The legislation restricts the Illinois Department of Corrections ability to eliminate the approximately 124 nurses who currently provide these critical services by bringing in private vendors to perform the work currently being provided by state employees. Governor Rauner announced the privatization of 124 nurses and 175 other health care professionals at the Department of Corrections ten days ago in order to shift the jobs to an out of state for-profit company. This bill seeks to establish the policy that further expansion of privatization of medical and mental health services is not in the best interest of the state. State employees are an essential part of providing adequate medical and mental health care to inmates. The bill will receive a hearing in the House Labor Committee on April 5th. Call 217.544.4014 For More Information On These And Other Important To Working People - www.ilafl-cio.org
03/31/17 Page 2 G e n e r a l Chicago Teachers Union Seeks to Restore Bargaining Rights HB 1253, sponsored by Representative Tabares, seeks to restore the Chicago Teachers Union the right to strike over more issues including class size, length of the school day, layoffs and outsourcing it passed House Labor 17-10 on Wednesday. Under current law, economic issues are the only areas in which Chicago Public Schools is compelled to negotiate with the Chicago Teachers Union, and the only areas over which teachers can strike. The issues included in HB 1253 can come up in bargaining, but current law gives CPS the final say. The CTU is the only Illinois school district subject to these strike and bargaining limits. Hardin City Work Camp Bill Moves Representative Phelps passed HB 499 through House Appropriations-Public Safety Committee this week by a vote of 14-6. The legislation requires the Illinois Department of Corrections to operate the Hardin County Work Camp in Cave-in-Rock, Illinois. It will now go to the House floor for consideration. Sick Leave Bills Move Through Both Chambers Legislation to provide a minimum of five sick days to employees in Illinois advanced through both chambers this week. HB 2771 (C Mitchell) and SB 1296 (Hutchinson) passed the committee stage this week and will be debated on the floor. Labor sought language to mirror what had been done in Chicago and Cook County that would exempt the construction industry from these bills. In addition, current collective bargaining agreements are exempted but going forward the employer and employee must discuss (not necessarily negotiate) how to handle sick days in their bargaining process. Prevailing Wage Legislation Passes Labor Committee HB 2495 passed House Labor Committee 17-11 on Thursday. The bill, identical to SB 2964 from the 99th GA that was vetoed by Governor Rauner, would allow for local bodies to ascertain the proper prevailing rate by using wages in collective bargaining agreements in their area. HB 2495 goes to the floor for debate. A s s e m b l y Senate Grills Rauner s Agencies The Senate Democrats continue to hold appropriations hearings on Bruce Rauner s ideas for a balanced budget. This week the Illinois Department of Labor, Labor Relations Board, and Workers Compensation Commission were before the Senate. The acting director for IDOL, Anna Hui, was asked about the unfilled positions in the state s workplace safety consultation and enforcement programs and the fact that the department is on track to resolve fewer workplace safety cases this year than in past years. Under the IDOL budget proposed by the Department of Labor, a portion of a 5.6% increase would go toward improvements to the department s information technology. Senator McGuire (D Joliet) had this to say following the hearing I urged Acting Director Hui to give proper importance to saving the lives, limbs, and lungs of Illinois public and private sector workers. God forbid that someone is injured, poisoned, or killed at work because the Rauner administration chose to spend funds on IT programs rather than safe workplaces. The lack of clarity for the Governor s agencies is consistent with Rauner s mismanagement of state government, and lack of sincerity or interest in running state government. IDOL Acting Director Leaving Post In what has been a common theme in the Rauner administration, another of his top staff is leaving. The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported Thursday that Missouri Governor Eric Greitens has tapped Anna Hui as director of the Missouri Department of Labor. Former Director Hugo Chaviano abandoned the post just two months ago. It is unclear who will take over at the Illinois Department of Labor. Senate Republicans Attempt to Take Pension Benefits from Employees The Senate Republicans attempted to run SB 2172 (Connelly) and SB 2173 (Connelly) in Senate Executive Committee this week. Both were defeated with the assistance of the Senate Democrats. The bills would have forced state employees to choose between levels of benefits, i.e. consideration. Labor was opposed to both bills. The House Republicans also have HB 4027, which forces state employees to choose levels of benefits, introduced last week, that labor is opposed to.
03/31/17 Page 3 Illinois AFL-CIO Executive Board Meets With Governor Candidates At its regularly-scheduled meeting on Monday, the Illinois AFL-CIO Executive Board met with Democratic candidates for Governor for informal question and answer sessions. The state federation is in the process of implementing a 2017-18 issuebased campaign to expose Gov. Bruce Rauner s anti-worker agenda and actions. This is part of a longer program to educate and inform affiliates and the 2 million members of union families in Illinois about the importance of the 2018 election, said Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael T. Carrigan. It s important that labor not rush to decisions on candidates until we have all the information in front of us. We must move together for this election. Working people and the most vulnerable are getting hurt because of Rauner. We have to get this right and we have to stay together. GOP Health Care Alternative Fails To Get Called For Vote A day after President Donald Trump demanded a vote on the Republican replacement version of the Affordable Care Act, House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the bill for lack of support. Democrats, moderate Republicans and hardline conservatives opposed the measure. The GOP legislation would have stripped health care coverage for 30 million Americans, made deep cuts to Medicaid, privatized Medicare and created a massive tax cut for the wealthy. Ryan said the issue would not be back in the near future, but he and Trump have both stated the issue is not dead. SEIU HC to Picket For a Fair Contract Ten thousand SEIU Healthcare members who work in for-profit nursing homes across the Chicago region and beyond are bargaining with their employers for the wages and benefits that they and the residents they care for deserve. SEIU Healthcare represents members employed as nursing aides, housekeepers and dietary workers in over 100 nursing homes. Workers have not had a raise in more than three years, yet owners are making huge profits. The owners are actually proposing that they be allowed to pay below the Chicago and Cook County minimum wage. SEIU Healthcare has reached impasse in negotiations and is taking steps towards a strike. In a show of strength and solidarity SEIU Healthcare will be doing practice strike pickets across the Chicagoland area (Chicago, Forest Park, Rockford, and Aurora) on April 7th from 2:30-6pm. Elected officials, faith, and community leaders will be walking the picket line, with press events happening at 4pm at each location. All are welcome to join SEIU Healthcare members to demonstrate your support next Friday! For more information please call SEIU Healthcare at (312) 980-9000. 1,500 Tell Rauner Do Your Job In Chicago (Provided by Illinois Working Together) More than 1,500 protesters from labor, community, and religious groups braved the rain Thursday in Chicago in an effort to tell Governor Bruce Rauner to Do your job. The event was held outside of the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Chicago where Rauner was attending a Republican Party fundraiser with ticket prices as high as $40,000 per person. The protest was sponsored by numerous labor and community groups in Chicago.
03/31/17 Page 4 Gorsuch Confirmation Vote Expected In Early April AFL-CIO Opposes; Durbin, Duckworth To Oppose Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, recently concluded his testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a Senate vote is expected soon possibly as early as next week. The AFL-CIO and more than half the Democratic Caucus including Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth have registered their opposition to Gorsuch. In a letter to U.S. Senators, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said: The next Justice confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court will play a critical role in shaping and enforcing the laws that protect working people. A thorough review of Judge Neil Gorsuch s record on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit demonstrates that he is far more likely to rule in favor of corporate interests and against the interests of working men and women. He routinely rules against workers in health and safety cases; he regularly rejects the claims of employees seeking relief from discrimination in the workplace; and he frequently denies workers efforts to secure earned wage and benefits. Based on this review and the evasive answers he provided during his confirmation hearing, we are compelled to oppose Judge Gorsuch s nomination to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. Right to Work Discussed at Rural America Summit On March 25, the Illinois AFL-CIO was proud to sponsor Rural America Summit An Update for the Middle Class, a summit hosted by State Senator Andy Manar. The event hosted about 150 participants at Blackburn College in Carlinville. Discussion topics included the impact of TrumpCare on rural hospitals; the impact of the Trump budget on Agriculture economy; the impact of Gov. Rauner s budget impasse; Right-to-Work Legislation and why it s bad for rural Illinois; and Social Media Organizing. Top picture: Bill Houlihan and Andy Manar talk about the devastating impact TrumpCare would have on rural hospitals in Illinois Bottom Photo: Dr. Magic Wade from the University of Illinois Springfield takes questions regarding the impact of a national Right to Work law. REMEMBER TO VOTE APRIL 4, 2017
03/31/17 Page 5 Save the Date Illinois AFL-CIO host committee Invites you to attend the Jesse White Spring Reception 2017 Monday, May 1, 2017 4:00 6:30 p.m. at the Illinois AFL-CIO 534 South second street, springfield, il $5,000 GOLD SPONSORSHIP / $2,500 SILVER SPONSORSHIP $1,000 BRONZE SPONSORSHIP / $200 PER PERSON more details coming soon 10th Annual Illinois AFL-CIO COPE Golf Outing Monday JUNE 5, 2017 The RAIL Golf Course 1400 S. Club House Drive, Springfield, IL 1 PM Shotgun Start - 6 PM Dinner Limited morning tee times available (first come, first served) $250 per player Please return no later than May 24 (includes green fees, cart, lunch, dinner and prizes) SPONSORS $3,000 - GOLD $2,000 - SILVER $300 - HOLE