State Division Annual Report 2008
Contract Fights
Culbertson Memorial Hospital
After four years of negotiations and fighting for their first contract, our nurse members prevailed! They ratified a one year deal with three percent increases and no increase to health care premiums. During our fight for the contract, two of our bargaining committee members were fired. They have since been reinstated. Congratulations to Sandy Valentine and Eileen Blickenstaff!
Illini West High School
Illini West is a new unit for a new school district whose employees have worked for over a year to get their contract in place. After using the services of a federal mediator, these employees were finally able to get their rights secured!
Employee Representation and Bargaining
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
In 2002, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign refused to bargain with the union over parking fees on campus. Local 73 filed charges with the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board that the University was bargaining in bad faith. The Labor Board ruled in the Union's favor and ordered the University to bargain over parking rates. The University appealed the decision to the circuit court and prevailed. The Union requested that the Illinois Supreme Court to hear the case. The Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and ruled in the Union's favor, stating that the parking rates was a mandatory subject of bargaining. Furthermore, they ruled that the University had to apply the parking rates at the 2002 level and reimburse employees the difference that they paid over the 2002 rates with 7% interest compounded annually. The University was required to provide a list of employee names to the Union with the total amount to be refunded. After discovering that the reimbursement levels were inaccurate, the Union worked out an appeal process with the university. Finally, after a long fight, Local 73 members at UIUC are receiving their parking refunds.
This was a great victory for SEIU members at UIUC and it not only resulted in refunds, but it also required the University to bargain over parking rates. The agreement reached over parking is now .07% of an employee's annual wages which reduced the parking rate for all of our members.
Decatur Public School District 61
Custodial members at Decatur Public School District 61 reached a new contract agreement in October 2008. The contract is over four years and provides wage increases of over 3% for each year, as well as employer-paid health insurance. The breakthrough
agreement provides for an employee donation program that allows members to donate time to another member who is out of benefit time and is still off due to an illness or injury. During the period of disability or extended illness, the employer will continue to pay employees' health insurance up to a period of two years.
The other breakthrough agreements provide for employees to receive additional percentage wage increases from 1% to 4.5% based on the number of years with the school district. In addition, there is now an X step that allows employees who are in their last year of employment prior to retirement to receive an additional $500.00 to $3,000.00 wage increase based on their number of years with the school district.
Quincy School District 172 Head Start
The Head Start unit with Quincy Public School District 172 is preparing for contract negotiations beginning in Spring 2009. This will be their second contract as this group was newly organized in 2006. The group has discovered the benefits of being union and the stewards have really stepped up as the voice of the employees. They are currently recruiting a new steward for the Family Support Specialists, holding their own stewards meetings, and actively reaching out to the membership for issues to bring to the bargaining table.
Department of Military Affairs
The fire fighters and security forces for the Air National Guard units working with the State of Illinois are finalizing their contract. One of the important issues that was fought for and won was the right for an employee to retain their state job if an illness makes them ineligible to continue with the National Guard. Previously, if an employee in the Guard developed a condition that forced them to be discharged, he/she would also lose their full time state employment even if they were still capable of doing that work and with no regard to how long they had been in that job! They won the right to retain their state jobs as long as they are physically capable (a standard for all state employees) and as long as they'd been active in the Guard for fifteen years. These units continue to work hard with SEIU and various politicians to bring a flying mission back to the 183rd in Springfield, in an effort to further secure the roles these employees play in supporting both local and state needs as well as serving their country.
SPARC
SPARC employees will ratify a contract that includes increases in company paid life insurance coverage, a new company paid dental plan, company funded 401K, and the right to come back to the table should additional funding for wages become available. SPARC is a non-profit organization providing training and supported employment to developmentally disabled adults that unfortunately has seen its funding sources dry up as a result of the economy and the state budget.
Knox College
A recent meeting at Knox College showed members who want to be more involved in their union and their community! They see that being involved means that you have a voice, and being involved in the community means that you develop contacts that can reach the very people serving on the boards that manage your employment! Their timing is perfect as their contract will be up for
negotiations next year. This will tie in nicely with increased tourism for Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday Celebration, as Knox College is the lone surviving site of a Lincoln-Douglas Debate and houses a Lincoln Studies Center. Many eyes will be on Knox College during the time of negotiations!
Galesburg CUSD
Active stewards and chief stewards make all the difference for Galesburg! They are proof that a unit with active, involved stewards is a unit that works hard for its members and gets situations resolved at the first level. Regular meetings help anticipate potential problems and immediate interactions with management keep most issues from growing into problems. Yet those same stewards are on top of filing grievances if the need is there! The Galesburg stewards are great front line leaders and are a strong voice on behalf of the members.