Illinois State Workers Join AFSCME – After a Long Wait

November 23, 2009

Five-hundred Illinois state public service administrators have finally gained representation with AFSCME Council 31 after waiting more than a year and a half for their ballots to be counted.

The administrators (technically called PSA Option 2s) had cast their votes in April 2008. But counting those ballots had to wait until the resolution of challenges to the composition of the bargaining unit by the state Department of Central Management Services.

Their victory follows a 2008 win in which nearly 1,000 PSA Option 1s throughout the state joined Council 31 after a year-long ballot count delay. That vote was also held up by a dispute over who should be covered by the state collective bargaining law.

In both cases, the election was whether to join AFSCME, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) or no union.

“After a long struggle, I’m gratified that PSA Option 2s will now have the voice and representation they deserve,” says Council 31 Exec. Director Henry Bayer. “In tough times, a strong union is essential. With AFSCME, all public service workers have the job security and decent wages and benefits only a strong union can provide.”

PSA Option 2s perform audit and other functions for many state agencies, primarily the Department of Revenue and the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

In a separate election last month, 180 working nurse supervisors (PSA Option 8Ns) also joined Council 31. They work in mental health and developmental centers operated by the Department of Human Services, in prisons, and in other state agencies.