Martin Blumenthal, the Republican candidate for the District 58 state House seat, recently expressed his views on the labor battle between Gov. Bruce Rauner and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
“AFSCME is making demands that the state cannot afford,” Blumenthal told the Lake County Gazette. “The state workers are already getting a terrific deal that no one could get in the private sector.”
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The federation, which represents approximately 35,000 state employees, brought a wish list to recent negotiations with Rauner’s administration, requesting pay increases ranging from 11.5 to 29 percent over the next three years, better health benefits and pensions, and a recalibration of overtime pay, to begin at 37.5 hours per week.
“The union is only interested in perpetuating itself and its leaders,” Blumenthal said. “They can do this by promising the sky to the members who vote for them.”
If the union got its way, taxpayers would fork over up to $3 billion extra in perks, but Rauner wasn’t having it.
Rauner counter-offered, offering a temporary freeze on union members’ current wage levels — lasting four years, but culminating in a $200 million package of incentive bonuses if employees adhere to the deal. Rauner’s rationale is that this would avoid layoffs and not burden Illinois taxpayers.
Negotiations sputtered to a stop in January, with Rauner rebuffing AFSCME’s demands. In March, Democrats in the Assembly attempted to pass HB 580 to try and force contract negotiators to abide by arbitration decisions. Rauner vetoed the bill, with Republicans charging that the law would have stripped Rauner of any authority in the matter.
“I do not think a strike would last long since the workers would lose too much,” Blumenthal said. “The temporary workers can keep the state going until the union backs off from its unreasonable demands.”
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