The first stage of our fight for our jobs and benefits in underway. Your Executive Board conducted site meetings last week at all locations, spreading the word that we must all get involved in this fight. Many assistant public defenders showed up, heeded the call, and contacted County Commissioners to express dissatisfaction with Todd Stroger’s misguided budget plan. Now, our representatives at AFSCME are meeting with Commissioners to try to get our message out and change the direction of the harmful budget cuts proposed by Public Defender Edwin Burnette.
One request we heard loud and clear during these site meetings is that people want us to get out a good message to the public, a message that explains all the hard work we do and explains the value we are to the taxpayers of Cook County. We listened, and we are working hard on putting the finishing touches on a public message that will dispel any notion that the attorney-ranks of our office is filled with patronage hires and slackers. The plan for rolling out this message is still in the works, so stay tuned.
If there are newer attorneys who feel that their jobs are on the line, and you want to do something more, you can. We are looking for a couple newer attorneys who can become the public face of proposed layoffs. This would involve the possible appearance at a media function, and some discussion of how a layoff would affect you. If you have any interest, please call Brendan Max or Bob Galhotra.
Your Executive Board met Monday with an AFSCME representative to discuss further action in this budget process. As you may know, Todd Stroger is scheduled to present his budget proposal to the County Board next week. In advance of this, AFSCME lobbyists are busy this week meeting with Commissioners and trying to help shape the budget process. We have been assured by AFSCME representatives that they will unveil a union alternative budget proposal by next week. This proposal will include cost-saving measures that don’t reach into the pockets of assistant public defenders and other hard-working union members.
One other message came from our meeting on Monday- AFSCME does not have many allies in this fight, and we face a real battle during this budget process to hold onto our hard-earned wages and prevent any layoffs. A major rally will be a necessity in the future. By our best estimation, our participation in the phone calls last week was good but not great. When it comes time to rally, we need everyone. When AFSCME makes the call, we must all be prepared to take the time to rally in a show of union strength.
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