COs Prevail in Pension Battle
When Illinois lawmakers reneged on a pension plan for the state’s COs, union members took their fight to the streets and won.
Last year, the Illinois House of Representatives voted nearly unanimously for a union-ratified state contract that includes substantial improvements in pensions for retiring COs. But the Senate refused to take up the measure because it wanted to codify a one-strike drug-testing policy for Department of Corrections employees.
The workers had already agreed to a policy mandating that one failed drug test would result in dismissal from the job. Dismayed by the senators’ wrangling, the Illinois COs forced a change in attitude by attacking them where it hurts the most — in their own backyards. Several of the politicians are from small towns where prisons are major employers.
COs wore buttons and signed thousands of post cards that were delivered to the senators’ district offices, where demonstrations were also held to voice union displeasure. The COs posted yard and window signs in every town, demanding "Fair Pensions for Corrections Employees." In addition, on a cold day last January, a crowd of chanting members anchored themselves in front of the state capitol.
"Nearly 1,000 of us went to the statehouse, only to see the senators end their session without voting on our pension improvements," says Bill Warhausen, a member of Local 1175 (Council 31). "To say we were disappointed doesn’t quite capture it. We were angry. We expected more from them."
Finally, on May 17, the Senate passed the pension bill, and Gov. George Ryan (R) signed it into law a month and a half later.
The pension improvements allow state employees to retire with 30 years of service, even if they are not yet 65 years old. COs also got a raise in their pension: Under the old formula, 50-year-olds with 30 years of service would have received 56.7 percent of their salary; now they will get 75 percent.
"I’m a very happy man, and my family is happy for me," says Paul Hunsaker, a lieutenant in the Vienna Correctional Center. "I’ll be able to retire by August 2002. I would never have dreamed when I started with the department that I’d have a decent retirement after 32 years. Now I can see a big light at the end of the tunnel."
