Employees at SIU School of Medicine protested in April after being told they were no longer part of the union. Photo BY PATRICK YEAGLE They took a firm stand, and then they promptly retreated. In late April, SIU School of Medicine in Springfield surprised about 230 employees by not deducting their union dues from their […]
Council 31
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‘Clerical error’ means headaches for SIU union
Employees at SIU School of Medicine protest the school’s assertion that they are no longer in the AFSCME Local 370 union. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE A group of unionized employees at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield claims the school is illegally trying to force them out of their union. With signs, chants […]
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No raises for unions under House resolution
Kevin Holmes of Springfield devotes his life to caring for a young man with severe disabilities. For that full-time work – seven hours a day, seven days a week – Holmes makes just more than $11,000 per year, which puts him and his wife below the federal poverty level while she goes back to school. […]
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AFSCME under siege
What would drive a crowd of unionized state employees to boo the very governor they helped elect? The answer is about $83 billion of pension underfunding, a broken labor contract and a lot of jobs in jeopardy. When Gov. Pat Quinn stood before a crowd of fellow Democrats and union members on Governor’s Day at […]
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Time to graduate?
Illinois grapples with another round of difficult budget cuts, some lawmakers want to eliminate the state’s constitutional flat-rate income tax requirement, opening the door for what some experts call a more equitable and lucrative graduated income tax. Illinois currently has a 5 percent individual income tax for all taxpayers, regardless of income. But a pair […]
