Six facts Pritzker can’t ignore when negotiating AFSCME's contract (balloon payment, 2015)

[Manterro]

Pritzker is due to negotiate a new AFSCME labor contract that has gone unsigned since 2015, when the last contract expired. Whether Pritzker protects the little guy – or just continues to take care of the unions – will be evident by the deal he strikes with AFSCME.

http://www.wirepoints.com/six-facts-...scme-contract/

[bobsell]

Fact #7: Cronies must always be enriched at everyone else's expense. That's what Illinois does best.


We're#1! We're#1!

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Originally Posted by bobsell

Fact #7: Cronies must always be enriched at everyone else's expense. That's what Illinois does best.
We're#1! We're#1!

This. All day every day. AFSCME helped JB not only to get elected, but to punish and embarrass Rauner. And they will be rewarded for it, one way or another. That's why public service unions are so dangerous, because they keep politicians in power who enrich them.

In private industry, you've got unionized employees on one side of the table, and company executives (who are supposed to be looking out for the stockholders) on the other. They go back and forth, and hammer out an agreement that no one really likes, but everyone can live with.

But in Illinois, the unionized employees sit on one side of the table, and the politicians (who are supposed to be looking out for the taxpayers) sit on the same side. And then the politicians don't raise taxes to pay for the costs of the agreements (because they don't want to be thrown out of office), don't make the required pension contributions and run a budget deficit for decades, set up a constitutional amendment that says pensions are sacrosanct and cannot be diminished, and then set up a balloon mortgage that kicks the cost down the road for twenty years, until the balloon payment comes due. Welcome to Illinois, where the shortfall is counted in the hundreds of billions in a state where the annual budget is only maybe 37 billion. Throw in a recession where the stock market declines significantly, and we're pretty much farked.

[Nodpete]

It's the same with the teacher's union, ex teacher's sit on the school boards and reward the one's that elect them.

[MSchemist80]

He will probably do what the Dems always do when they negotiate with the unions: get on his knees and (censored).

[Liledgy]

Originally Posted by Nodpete

It's the same with the teacher's union, ex teacher's sit on the school boards and reward the one's that elect them.

Not where I live. Teachers usually have to go on strike to secure a 2% raise. But I he boards have no problem giving superintendents 5% raises to go along with golden parachutes.

[Nodpete]

Right,, they go on strike and the board always gives in to their demands. Looks like the board is on the taxpayers side but the deal was done before the strike. An old union tactic and the board is off the hook. And you are 100% correct about the Superintendents. In my district several years ago, they hired a new Super during the Summer, before she even started the school year, they gave her a huge raise. No explanation from the board.

[BRU67]

I have a feeling no strike will be necessary here. AFSCME gave big money to Madigan in September - nearly triple their previous record of $250k to Blago back in 2002.

https://www.ilnews.org/news/state_po...cfbed352f.html

https://www.wirepoints.com/what-afsc...n-just-bought/

Of course, Madigan isn't the Governor, but this article points out that J.B. gave one of Madigan's committees $3 million. So there's kind of a tie between the two of them there, it would seem.

I hope I'm wrong and that now, solidly in power, they'll negotiate a good deal for the tax payers.

** Whenever you hear me using words like "I hope I'm wrong" and "I guess we'll see" something bad generally happens. Sometimes very bad. But I hope I'm wrong on that!

[treemoni]

Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink

This. All day every day. AFSCME helped JB not only to get elected, but to punish and embarrass Rauner. And they will be rewarded for it, one way or another.

Good. Illinoisians are idiots. The "little guy" IS the union guy. Rauner and Pritzker are the same person. It just seems that Pritzker might know how to play ball. Rauner is what happens when an entitled rich kid thinks he can come in and do whatever he wants. Hopefully he and his supporters (whom he cares NOTHING about) have learned from his massive failure.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by treemoni

Good. Illinoisians are idiots. The "little guy" IS the union guy. Rauner and Pritzker are the same person. It just seems that Pritzker might know how to play ball. Rauner is what happens when an entitled rich kid thinks he can come in and do whatever he wants. Hopefully he and his supporters (whom he cares NOTHING about) have learned from his massive failure.

Definitely good for those "little guys" who work for the State! Those who do not may regret it but I guess we'll see.