L e g i s l at i v e U p dat e
A pril 24, 2015
Published
for
Labor Activists
M ichael T. C arrigan , P resident
by the
T imothy E. D rea , S ecretary T reasurer
I l l i n o i s AFL- CIO
J ason K eller , L egislative D irector
The Illinois General Assembly completed its business for the week today. Friday was the House and Senate third reading deadline
to pass bills over to the opposite chamber. Both chambers will return to Springfield on Tuesday, April 28 at 12pm. The House
deadline to pass Senate Bills out of committee is Friday, May 8 – the Senate deadline to pass House Bills out of committee is
Friday, May 15. The Governor’s Office did introduce two amendments to SB 979 and SB 981 that stripped collective bargaining
rights from public employees and changed the definition of “employee” in many state labor laws to remove protections for all
workers. Both amendments were placed in a sub-committee of the Senate Labor Committee and may not receive a hearing.
G e n e r a l
A s s e m b l y
Senate Votes to put a Band-Aid on Rauner’s Cuts
Last month, the General Assembly voted to sweep $1.3
billion from special funds, including the Road Fund, to plug
a $1.6 billion hole in the FY15 budget. On April 3, Governor
Rauner announced $26 million in cuts to service providers
who work with those that have autism, epilepsy, pay for
burials of indigent, and tobacco cessation programs.
This week, the Senate adopted SB 274 (Kotowski/Chapa
LaVia) by a vote of 57-1. The legislation gives Governor
Rauner the authority to access special funds in total of $26
million – to restore public health grants and human services.
House leadership has indicated the legislation may not be
considered in that chamber.
The Governor’s office announced more cuts this week.
According to a document released by Rauner’s budget
office, the Department of Human Services will see an
overall loss of $1.1 million. That includes a $419,000 cut
to domestic violence shelters and a $103,000 reduction to
homeless youth services. A mental health program involving
psychotropic drugs would be cut by $42,000. Spokeswoman
Veronica Vera said the only two programs not affected are
for developmental disabilities and mental health. Illinois
community colleges will see a $6.37 million cut, according
to data from its governing board.
UAW Passes Legislation to Bolster American Manufacturing
Representative Mike Smiddy (D – AFSCME member) successfully passed HB 3438 this week out of the House. It is
a joint UAW/IL AFL-CIO initiative. The legislation would require all motor vehicles purchased or leased for one year
or more by a State agency to be manufactured in the United States or Canada. The vote in the House was 70-42-0. The
legislation will now go to the Senate, where Senator Dave Koehler (D – Peoria) will be the chief sponsor.
Eric Dean Named General President of Iron Workers International Union
Walter Wise, General President of the
Ironworkers International Union announced
his retirement effective July 1, 2015. Upon
the announcement, the Ironworkers General
Executive Board unanimously elected Eric
Dean of Local 63 in Chicago to succeed
General President Wise.
Dean completed his apprenticeship in 1984 and became a
journeyman ironworker in Local 63. As an accomplished
ironworker he worked for various contractors as a journeyman,
foreman and project superintendent throughout the Chicago
area. After serving several positions in his Local Union, he
was elected as president of the Chicago and Vicinity District
Council of Iron Workers in 2005. General President Joseph Hunt
appointed Eric as general vice president effective August 4,
2008. General President Walter Wise appointed Eric as general
secretary effective Februrary 1, 2011.
Upon taking office, Dean will join Dennis Williams, President
of the United Auto Workers, William Hite, President of United
Association and Frank Christensen of the
Elevator Constructors as International Union
Presidents who began their careers in Illinois.
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Page 2
Labor Turnout is impeding Turnaround
Local labor activists continued to turnout to stop Bruce
Rauner’s turnaround resolution at village boards, city
councils and county boards this week. With large
numbers of union members watching, the elected officials
of Naperville, Vernon Hills, Livingston County, Mt.
Zion, Pecatonica, Vandalia and Vernon Hills tabled the
resolution. In Wauconda, the resolution failed for lack of
support from any council member. The resolution passed
in Effingham County, Newton, Third Lake and Wayne.
According to Bernie Schoenberg of the State Journal
Register, Rauner spoke to the Illinois Bankers Association
and said “special interest groups that like big government
and currently control government, they’re showing
up by the hundreds. They’re shipping them from other
communities by the busloads to protest.”
In response, Anders Lindall from AFSCME said, “It’s
false and insulting to local communities for the governor
to dismiss or distort grassroots resistance to his antiworker tactics. If he listened to testimony in town after
town, he would hear teachers, caregivers, construction
workers and tradespeople protecting their middle-class
standard of living against the governor’s attacks. The
only ‘outsiders’ I’m aware of at these meetings are the
governor’s own staff.”
In reality, there are 1,300 cities and villages and 102
counties in Illinois. Despite lobbying by Rauner and his
staff for the past month, the overwhelming majority of
elected officials are not putting the turnaround resolution
on their agenda for consideration. To date, 46 units of
local government have placed the turnaround resolution
on their agenda and 22 have passed it. A 48 percent success
rate. Using the total number of local governments in the
State, only .01 percent of local governments have passed
the Rauner turnaround agenda.
At this time the IL AFL-CIO is aware of the following
hearings will be held next week:
• Chicago committee on workforce development to
consider anti-turnaround resolution on April 28th
• Cook County Board of Commissioners to consider
anti-turnaround resolution on April 29th
• Jefferson County Board will consider the anti-worker
Rauner resolution on Monday, April 27 at 7 p.m.
• Lexington City Council, 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 27
at 329 W. Main St., Lexington, IL 61753
• Village of Mahomet will consider Rauner resolution
6 p.m. Tuesday, April 28 at Village Administrative
Office, 503 E. Main Street
• Kane County Board Committee of the Whole, 4 p.m.
April 28 at Gov’t Ctr, 719 S Batavia Ave, Geneva.
Bldg A, County Board Room (next scheduled Board
meeting 5/12)
Local Governments throughout the State will be posting
their agendas for next week. Please contact Bill Looby
at [email protected] or 217-492-2612 for additional
postings. For agendas posted in Cook County please
contact Nora Cay Ryan at [email protected] or
312-222-1000.
For updates
www.facebook.com/ILAFLCIO
18th Congressional District Filing Closes
Filing for the Special Election in the 18th Congressional District to fill the term of
Aaron Schock closed at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 10th. The Special Primary
Election will be held on Tuesday, July 7th and the Special Election will be held
on Thursday, September 10th.
Adam Lopez of Springfield and Robert Mellon of Quincy filed for the Democratic
nomination and State Senator Darin LaHood of Peoria, Michael Flynn of Quincy
and Donald Rients of Benson filed for the Republican nomination.
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Page 3
In other bills this week:
HB 229 (Franks) - Amends the Counties Code.
Provides that the Division concerning local government
consolidation applies to McHenry County, Lake County,
and DuPage County (currently, only counties with a
population of more than 900,000 and less than 3,000,000
that are contiguous to a county with a population of more
than 3,000,000). Language was removed for employee
protections before the House vote was taken. Passed
House 61-40-4 to the Senate. Labor opposes.
HB 373 (Madigan/Raoul) – Sets up the lease of land
for the possible construction of President Obama’s
Library and the Lucas Museum in Chicago. Passed both
chambers, sent to Governor. No position.
HB 397 (Welch/Sullivan) – Prohibits the State Charter
School Commission from reversing a school board’s
decision to deny, revoke, or not renew a charter. Passed
House 60-40-2. To Senate. Labor Supports.
HB 574 (Madigan) – Places state historic sites under
the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity and makes the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum a separate state
agency. The amendment to the bill authorizes DCEO
to create a nonprofit corporation to promote businesses.
The corporations would be run by a 16-member board of
directors chaired by Governor Rauner. The corporation
would receive money from the state and private donors.
Individuals from Labor testified against the legislation
because it isn’t clear if current employees will be
protected, prevailing wage and responsible bidder
provisions may not apply to the new corporation, and
the legislation is silent on whether political contributions
can be made to the new board members. The amendment
was recommended by House Executive Committee to
floor by a vote of 11-0. The amendment has not been
adopted by the House. Governor Rauner initiative,
Labor opposed.
HB 3323 (Acevedo/Holmes) – The Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency shall adopt rules governing all
corrosion prevention projects carried out on community
water supplies. Passed House 115-0. To Senate. Labor
Supports.
HB 3497 (Currie/Munoz) - It provides the Capital
Development Board (CDB) with continued authority to
use the Single Prime project/procurement method with
protected subcontractor contract delivery method for
procuring construction projects and gives CDB greater
ability to take advantage of efficiencies achieved using
this approach. Under current law, CDB’s Single Prime
authority expires on July 1, 2015. This legislation would
extend the expiration date by five years. Passed House
95-19-1. To Senate. Labor Supports.
HR 11 (Thapedi) – Encourages fast track trade authority
and passage of a trade pact with European Union. Passed
House International Trade Committee 6-1. To Floor.
Labor opposes.
HR 189 (Hoffman) - Urges the United States Department
of Energy to provide the $1 billion that was previously
committed to the FutureGen Project. Passed House
Energy 10-0. To Floor. Labor supports.
HR 243 (Reis) - Urges the President of the United
States and his administration to speed up the process of
granting final permits to enable construction to begin on
the completion of the Keystone XL pipeline network for
reasons of consumer protection and national security.
Passed House Energy 6-3-0. To Floor. Labor supports.
SB 47 (Clayborne/Dunkin) – Requires day and
temporary labor agencies to keep and file statistics on
the race, gender and ethnicity of applicants with the
Department of Human Rights. Passed Senate 30-16-1.
To House. Labor Supports.
SB 564 (Biss/Jackson) - Requires the Governor’s Office
of Boards and Commissions to establish and maintain on
the Internet: (1) a centralized location for an electronic
mail listserv for users to receive notices of the meetings
of each board and commission and their agendas; and
(2) a listing of the meetings times and agendas for each
board and commission. Provides that the Office shall
provide and post that information at least 48 hours before
each meeting. Passed Senate 51-0-0. To House. Illinois
AFL-CIO initiative.
SB 1834 (Biss/D’Amico) – Defines a video event
recorder. Requires owners of contract carriers that
have this video event recorder to post a sign stating
conversations may be recorded. Any data recorded by
camera is property of the owner of that vehicle. Passed
57-0-0. To House. Labor Supports.
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Page 4
IDOT/CDB to host Statewide Listening
Tours on Infrastructure Needs
Acting IDOT Secretary, Randy Blankenhorn, in conjunction with the Capital
Development Board, announced a Statewide “listening tour” today to discuss
infrastructure needs and priorities. The meetings are “intended to be a listening
tour, sparking discussion that ultimately leads to a package of recommendations
that can be presented to Governor Rauner and General Assembly for consideration
this spring.”
The schedule of meetings can be found at: http://www.idot.illinois.gov/aboutidot/stay-connected/events/Infrastructure-Investment.
Union members are encouraged to RSVP for a meeting as soon as possible.
Governor Rauner along with State and local officials need to hear that a Project
Labor Agreement is a tool used in both the public and private sector to ensure
smooth completion of projects with a workforce from the community and that
Prevailing Wage supports a strong middle class by protecting area wage standards
in communities in which the project is located.
e Date
h
t
e
v
a
S
8th Annual
Illinois AFL-CIO COPE Golf Outing
The Rail Golf Course - 1400 S. Club House Drive, Springfield, IL
Monday, June 8, 2015
1 PM Shotgun Start / 6 PM Dinner
Registration available at www.ilafl-cio.org
Call 217.544.4014 For More Information On These And Other Legislative Issues Important To Working People - www.ilafl-cio.org
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04/24/15
Page 5
2015 Illinois Workers’ Memorial Day Events
Decatur
Tuesday, April 28, Decatur Trades and Labor Assembly Workers’
Memorial Day Service, 5:30 PM on the northwest corner of the
Macon County Courthouse lawn, located at 253 West Wood Street
in downtown Decatur. They will read the names of those who have
died on the job. Contact Lloyd Holman, 217-620-4923 or Carl
Draper, 217-791-1279.
Joliet
Friday, April 24, Will and Grundy Counties Trades and Labor
Council annual Workers’ Memorial Day Dinner at the IBEW 176
Banquet Hall in Joliet. Contact Charlie Hanus at 815-744-2886.
Alton
Tuesday, April 28, the Greater Madison County Federation of Labor
AFL-CIO will hold their annual Workers’ Memorial Day services
at the Workers Memorial Statue located in the Gordon F. Moore
Community Park, Highway 140 and Park Rd, Alton. Services will
begin at 7:00 PM. Contact Rick Wieckhorst at 618-254-1395 or
Dean Webb at 618-259-8558.
Bloomington
Tuesday, April 28, Bloomington-Normal Trades and Labor
Assembly Workers’ Memorial Day Service at White Oak Park
Pavilion in Bloomington. The ceremony will begin at 6:00 AM.
Names will be read of local union members who have lost their
lives. Contact Ron Morehead at 309-828-8813.
Champaign
Tuesday, April 28, 3:00 p.m., Champaign County AFL-CIO and the
East Central Illinois Building & Construction Trades Council will
hold a memorial service and recognize workers from Champaign
County who have died while at the workplace. The event will be
held at the Worker Memorial Site on Parkland Way, (east entrance
to Parkland Jr. College off of Mattis Avenue) just across the drive
from Olympic Memorial site. Seating will be available. This is
an outdoor event. Contact Brad Diel at 217-841-2822 or brad@
uwayhelps.org.
Chicago
Tuesday, April 28, 10 a.m., Outside OSHA Region 5 Office, 230 S.
Dearborn St., Chicago, IL. Gather to celebrate the 45th anniversary
of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act and thank OSHA
for protecting us from dangerous, unhealthy conditions at work.
Solemnly remember workers across Illinois and the United States
who have been injured and killed on the job.
Peoria
Tuesday, April 28, Labor Council of West Central Illinois Workers’
Memorial Service. We will be gathering at the Peoria Labor Temple,
400 NE Jefferson in Peoria at 5:00 PM and walk to the Workers’
Memorial site at 419 Fulton Street. We will have a brief ceremony
to remember workers injured, or killed on the job. Contact Mike
Everett at 309-673-3691.
Quad Cities
Tuesday, April 28, Quad Cities Federation of Labor Workers’
Memorial Day Service at 11:30 AM at the USW Local 105 Hall, 880
Devils Glen Rd, Bettendorf, IA. The union hall will open at 11:00
AM. All working families are invited to this service sponsored by
Alcoa Davenport Works – Joint Safety and Health Committee. For
more information, contact Joshua Schipp at 309-738-6536.
Rockford
Tuesday, April 28, the Rockford United Labor Workers’ Memorial
Day Ceremony will be held at the Workers’ Memorial Tablets
located behind the E.J. ‘Zeke’ Giorgi Building, 200 South Wyman
Street in Rockford. The event will be at 5:00 PM and a light dinner
will be served immediately following the ceremony. For more
information, contact Bill Corey, 815-968-1411.
Springfield
Tuesday, April 28, Springfield and Central Illinois Trades and Labor
Council Workers’ Memorial Day Service at 5:30 PM at the Illinois
State Library Atrium, 300 S. Second Street in Springfield. They will
recognize fallen workers and lay roses at the monument. Reception
will follow. For more information contact Scott Saunders, 217529-6976.
Spring Valley
Save the date for a Workers’ Memorial Golf Outing scheduled for
Friday, June 12th at Spring Creek Golf Course in Spring Valley, IL.
Workers’ Memorial Scholarships: $2,000 scholarships awarded to
eligible dependents of members of IVFL affiliated locals who have
been either killed or permanently injured on the job. Email: ivfl.
[email protected] for more information.
Call 217.544.4014 For More Information On These And Other Legislative Issues Important To Working People - www.ilafl-cio.org
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