Illinois State Workers' Union To Announce Results Of Strike Vote
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The state's largest public employees union announces the results of a strike authorization vote at a mid-morning Thursday news conference in Springfield.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 represents 38,000 state workers. Members voted over a two-week period that began Jan. 30.
The union hopes to pressure Gov. Bruce Rauner back to the bargaining table. AFSCME accused the governor of breaking off contract negotiations; of rejecting efforts to get the talks restarted; and of attempting to dictate healthcare cost increases, a wage freeze, and privatization.
The Illinois Labor Relations Board sided with Rauner late last year by declaring an impasse; Rauner then tried to implement changes unilaterally but was ordered to hold off when the union went to court.
The governor has said, through his lawyers, that he continues to seek a contact that is "fit to taxpayers and state employees alike."
Authorization does not mean a strike is imminent. It gives AFSCME's bargaining committee the authority to call a strike if it sees fit.