{"id":685,"date":"2009-12-02T17:50:46","date_gmt":"2009-12-02T23:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cookcountypd.org\/blog\/?p=685"},"modified":"2009-12-02T17:50:46","modified_gmt":"2009-12-02T23:50:46","slug":"county-update-from-afscme-council-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/local3315.org\/blog\/index.php\/2009\/12\/02\/county-update-from-afscme-council-31\/","title":{"rendered":"COUNTY UPDATE FROM AFSCME, COUNCIL 31"},"content":{"rendered":"

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COOK COUNTY<\/em><\/strong> UPDATE FROM AFSCME COUNCIL 31<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A News Bulletin for\u00a0Cook County\u00a0AFSCME Members:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Sales Tax Repeal\u00a0Threatens Services<\/span><\/strong> — <\/strong>A penny\u2014or half penny\u2014lost could have a very big cost for\u00a0Cook County services.\u00a0 The incessant battling over the one cent sales tax increase enacted by the County Board nearly two years ago may be heading for its conclusion.\u00a0 On Nov.17, the County Board voted to repeal half the increase; then on Nov. 23, Board President Todd Stroger vetoed the repeal.\u00a0 And on Dec. 1, the Board voted to override Stroger\u2019s veto.<\/p>\n

AFSCME and other concerned organizations lobbied hard against the override, hoping to sway at least a few of those who voted for the repeal to change their positions.<\/p>\n

The sales tax is needed because the County is living on \u201cborrowed time\u201d right now.\u00a0 Even with the partial repeal in place,\u00a0sales tax revenues\u00a0will continue to flow through most of the current fiscal year, helping to keep the County afloat for now.\u00a0 But once the full impact of the repeal is felt, those revenues will plummet.\u00a0 And the County\u2019s health system is getting extra federal and state aid this year that can\u2019t be counted on going forward.<\/p>\n

The Health Systems Board is warning that repeal of the tax increase could result in further layoffs at the County\u2019s\u00a0public hospitalsand clinics.\u00a0 At the same time, a federal judge is ordering the County to greatly increase hiring at the jail.\u00a0 And the County\u2019s\u00a0juvenile detention center\u00a0continues to be under heavy legal scrutiny, requiring additional revenue.\u00a0 Something will have to give somewhere now that it appears that the County will lose the $200 million that the half penny increase raises.<\/p>\n

Make Your Voice Heard<\/span><\/strong> — <\/strong>If County employees don\u2019t speak out for County services, who else will?\u00a0 If your\u00a0County Commissioner\u00a0was among those who voted for the repeal, be sure to let him or her know that you are very concerned about what the impact will be for County services and jobs.<\/p>\n

And while you\u2019re at it, be sure to thank your Commissioner if he or she stood against repealing the half cent in the first place.\u00a0 Those who voted against were:\u00a0 Murphy, Sims, Moreno , Beavers and Butler .\u00a0 Commissioners Joan Murphy and\u00a0Deborah Simsdeserve special thanks since they face tough reelection campaigns against opponents who are trying to use their support for the sales tax increase against them.<\/p>\n

County<\/span><\/strong> Still Stalling at the Bargaining Table<\/span><\/strong> — <\/strong>Negotiations over a new contract for AFSCME members in\u00a0Cook County\u00a0are moving at a glacial pace. Management negotiators have been insisting that without certitude about whether the sales tax increase will remain in place, they can\u2019t know what the County\u2019s fiscal prospects will be.<\/p>\n

The County has essentially refused to bargain over wage increases, and AFSCME has filed\u00a0unfair labor practice\u00a0charges with theIllinois Labor Relations Board.<\/p>\n

Union negotiators have argued that County employees are struggling to balance their own budgets and deserve a pay increase to help them keep up with the cost of living.\u00a0 In addition, the Union is refusing to go along with the large increases in\u00a0employee health care\u00a0costs that Management is pushing at the bargaining table.<\/p>\n

The AFSCME Bargaining Committee, made up of representatives from all fifteen AFSCME local unions representing\u00a0Cook County employees, is determined to protect the gains AFSCME members have made in improving their working conditions and standard of living over the past two decades.<\/p>\n

None of the other unions that represent County employees whose agreements have expired have settled their contracts.\u00a0 AFSCME is seen as the lead union in Cook County and other unions generally follow the pattern that our union sets when we settle our contract.<\/p>\n

AFSCME is continuing to sponsor periodic solidarity actions\u2014with displays of unity in every worksite\u2014in order to send a strong message to Management that we don\u2019t intend to go backwards or back down.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to get the fair contract we deserve!<\/p>\n

Protests Send Health Board Back to the Drawing Board<\/span><\/strong> — <\/strong>The independent Health Systems Board that oversees the County\u2019s hospitals and outpatient clinics has shown itself ready and willing to hear the concerns of all stakeholders in the system.\u00a0 But in initially laying out its goals for the system, the Board gave greater credence to the voices of outside consultants than to those of its own employees or concerned citizens.<\/p>\n

Earlier this Fall, the Board unveiled a strategic plan for the County\u00a0health care system\u2014drawn up by those outside consultants–which would have resulted in the closure of several community clinics, as well as a reduction in\u00a0hospital beds.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the Board continued its practice of providing for stakeholder input\u2014and Board members quickly got an earful at a series of community forums.\u00a0 AFSCME members and other labor and community groups turned out in force to get their message across\u2014County health care services\u00a0are vitally needed and should not be cut back.<\/p>\n

AFSCME Regional Director Peter Schmalz testified at the hearing held in\u00a0South Holland\u00a0on October 19th and urged the Board to revisit the strategic plan in order to take into account the views expressed by\u00a0health care advocates, health system employees and community residents in the hearings.\u00a0 Subsequently, Health System CEO William Foley told AFSCME that the Board would do just that.<\/p>\n

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AFSCME continues to play a leading role in the Emergency Network to Preserve\u00a0Cook County Health Services, a coalition of unions and community groups committed to ensuring that Cook County continues to provide\u00a0quality health care\u00a0services to all those in need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COOK COUNTY UPDATE FROM AFSCME COUNCIL 31 A News Bulletin for\u00a0Cook County\u00a0AFSCME Members: Sales Tax Repeal\u00a0Threatens Services — A penny\u2014or half penny\u2014lost could have a very big cost for\u00a0Cook County services.\u00a0 The incessant battling over the one cent sales tax increase enacted by the County Board nearly two years ago may be heading for its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/local3315.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/local3315.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/local3315.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/local3315.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/local3315.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/local3315.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/local3315.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/local3315.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/local3315.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}