Illinois – Anti-Worker Fraternity Gets a New Member in Quinn

Members of Council 31 protest anti-worker policies of Gov. Pat Quinn. (Photo by Dave Miller)

At a glance, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn may not seem to have much in common politically with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. Quinn is a Democrat and the others are staunch Republicans. But in recent months, Quinn has joined their shameful fraternity: governors intent on attacking workers’ rights and scapegoating public service workers.

In an unprecedented move in November, Quinn terminated the state government’s contract with AFSCME Council 31. (Previously, Council 31 members worked under a contract extension while negotiations on a new agreement continued.) The termination had little practical effect – all terms of employment are still in place under state law – it signaled Quinn’s lack of respect for collective bargaining. And in doing so, he lumped himself with the likes of Walker and Snyder.

“In 40 years of collective bargaining, Pat Quinn is the first and only Illinois governor to terminate a union contract,” AFSCME Council 31 Exec. Dir. Henry Bayer said, also an International vice president. “His action will heighten employee frustration and provoke instability in the workplace.”

Quinn’s decision to nullify the union contract follows his refusal to pay a negotiated wage increase due in the last year of the contract. An independent arbitrator found Quinn in violation of the contract and ordered him to pay, but the administration went to court seeking to overturn the arbitrator’s ruling. In December, a circuit court ruled that the contract must be honored.

In recent months, Quinn has also launched a full-blown assault on public employee pensions, attempting to portray them as “extravagant” and blaming them for the state’s fiscal woes. In fact, the real problem is the state tax system that favors big business and the rich.

“Rather than telling the truth, as a real leader would do, about the fact that the state’s problems are caused by a broken and unfair tax system that lets the rich off easy, Governor Quinn has instead tried to make public employees a scapegoat,” Bayer said.