Even Illinois Democrats Concerned As Government Union Membership Nears 100%
March 28th 2011 · 0 Comments
Union membership surges among Illinois workers
John O’Connor | The Associated Pres
March 27, 2011
Springfield, Ill–It’s getting lonely at the top of Illinois state government.
In the past eight years, more than 10,000 state employees have joined unions, a four-fold increase over the previous eight years, according to records analyzed by The Associated Press.
If pending requests are approved by the Illinois Labor Relations Board, nearly 97 percent of state workers would be represented by unions — including many employees once considered management. Only 1,700 “bosses” would be left out of nearly 50,000 state employees.
While Republican governors in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states move to throttle the influence of state employee unions, the surge in Illinois’ union membership worries even traditionally union-friendly Democrats, who fear it could harm the effective management of government.
It has put them in the awkward position of trying to smother union growth even as they criticize GOP curbs elsewhere.
Gov. Pat Quinn’s office is pressing a key union to give up several thousand new members. If negotiations fail, Democratic lawmakers will likely resurrect proposed legislation to limit union-eligible jobs and rescind union coverage for thousands of people.
Read more @ The Journal-Standard.
Tags: AFSCME, Democrats, Governor Pat Quinn, Illinois
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