Bill would bring balance to union/management relations
Gov. Quinn is seeking a common-sense change in the state's management/labor relations.
State legislators are returning to Springfield today for a relatively brief special session that is expected to include a vote establishing greater separation between management and labor in state government.
If members of the Senate act responsibly, they will join Gov. Pat Quinn in supporting legislation that would exclude nearly 4,000 positions from union membership.
State labor leaders are foaming at the mouth over this proposal. They've described the measure as an "assault on workers' rights to bargain collectively" and mobilized their members to lobby against the measure. AFSCME national president Gerald McEntee has called Quinn to complain about the legislation.
Frankly, it's disappointing that labor leaders are acting so irresponsibly. Their conduct kills their credibility.
There is nothing remotely anti-union in this bill, which already has been approved by the Democratic-controlled Illinois House.
If you believe in the right to union membership, you have to believe in the right to management. One can't operate without the other.
But in Illinois government, union membership has gotten out of hand, almost to the point that there is no management.
Under this bill, the state's unionized work force would fall from 95.5 percent to 92 percent. If the bill is defeated and current trends continue, the percentage of state union employees will soon be 99 percent.
Those numbers compare unfavorably to other union states like Pennsylvania (81 percent), Minnesota (85 percent) and New York (83.6 percent).
Here's a mind-blowing statistic: The state's Department of Aging has only one employee who is not a union member or applying to become one.
One manager in an entire state department? Even the most pro-union advocate can't credibly defend that.
Here's another shocking fact. Prison wardens and assistant wardens are applying for union membership. How can the position of a prison warden not be considered management?
Quinn is seeking to exclude from union membership positions like lawyers, auditors and legislative liaisons. No employee who joined a union before Dec. 2, 2008, would be affected.
This legislation reflects basic common sense, something Illinois hasn't shown much of over the past 10 years. There needs to be balance in the state's union/management relationship, and this legislation is one way to advance that necessary goal.
The whole thing is ironic. This group is management. They were not given raises for years. They were furloughed during the years. They jumped at the chance to join the union in order to get their deserved raises. In many locations, the people they supervised were earning more money than them. The union was glad to get them even though they are "fair share" members. Almost all of them are anti-union. They were anti-union management before they had the opportunity to join the union; and they remain anti-union now. They complain about having to pay the "fair share" dues. Yet, they want the benefits. Most front line state employees would be happy to see them out of the union. There are layers, and layers of management. Once this group joined the union, the state had to hire more "HR" people to handle grievances. Another layer added. What is needed is more front line staff, and less layers of management.
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