AFSCME Union Ratifies New State Labor Deal
Members of AFSCME Council 31 have a new labor deal with the State of Illinois, according to the union.
Ratification votes were taken at various locations over the past week and a half.
It's the first state contract for the 40,000 state government employees since the last one expired in 2015. Efforts to negotiate a new pact with former Gov. Bruce Rauner were unsuccessful.
New Gov. J.B. Prtizker had made resolution of the dispute a priority since his election last year. The agreement includes 11.5% raises over the next 4 years. Other provisions dealing with overtime and subcontracting are included. Members will pay more for health coverage, but far less than what the Rauner Administration was seeking.
“The Rauner era was one of hostility to working people and chaos in state government. AFSCME members got through it by standing together and refusing to be bullied,” AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said in a statement released Saturday. “Now state employees have a fair contract and, in Governor Pritzker, an employer who respects their voice and values their work.”
The union released the following information:
State workers will initially receive a stipend of $625 for each of the past four years worked. General pay increases will follow in January 2020 (1.5%), July 2020 (2.1%), January 2021 and January 2022 (both 3.95%). State employees have received no general increase since July 2014.
Employee premiums and out-of-pocket costs in the state group health insurance plan will increase. Although specific employee contributions vary by type of health plan and salary levels, premiums will go up each January by a composite $13 per month for individuals and $18 per month for families. This maintains Illinois’s standing in the middle ranks of state employee health plans nationally.
“Public service workers in state government clearly believe this contract is fair for all,” Lynch said.
The new contract runs through June 2023.