Union waste and pay raises cost thousands of government workers their jobs
Several of Illinois’ most influential government unions are wasting money on overhead and administrative costs. Workers aren’t getting their money’s worth for the dues they are forced to pay. But state-employee pay has more than doubled over the last decade or so, with lax attendance rules that actually reward workers for showing up late to work....
Several of Illinois’ most influential government unions are wasting money on overhead and administrative costs. Workers aren’t getting their money’s worth for the dues they are forced to pay. But state-employee pay has more than doubled over the last decade or so, with lax attendance rules that actually reward workers for showing up late to work.
So some of you may be wondering: What’s the problem? Aren’t workers getting a great deal?
No, they’re not. There’s a catch. A whole lot of Illinois government workers are losing their jobs.
State employment has fallen to 64,430 from 72,751 in 2006 – a staggering 11 percent drop. A lot of that drop came about through layoffs – Quinn was forced to lay off 1,900 state workers in 2011, another 2,400 state workers got pink slips in 2012 and 1,100 more state workers were let go in 2013.
That’s an awful lot of layoffs, and state government is not alone in shedding jobs. Chicago, where government unions are every bit as powerful, saw city-worker employment drop to 33,300 in 2013 from 39,600 in 2004, shedding more than 6,000 jobs. And in the wake of their historic strike “victory” over Chicago Public Schools in the fall of 2012, public school teachers have endured several rounds of layoffs – layoffs that were entirely predictable as soon as the strike ended and contract terms were announced.
Collective bargaining didn’t stop the layoffs. By driving up the cost of hiring state workers, union leaders made matters worse. And union political clout – paid for by mandatory union dues from workers – didn’t help either. The job cuts came under a governor that government unions had backed heavily.
The benefits provided in government-worker contracts are not often as they seem. Yes, a lot of workers get a lot of raises and get to work under very lax rules. But thousands have lost their jobs. And even with all the layoffs, and the disruptions in government services that come with them, taxpayers are still paying more in payroll costs.
This system doesn’t do right by anyone except union bosses and politicians. Illinois taxpayers and government workers would be better served by affordable pay schedules, reasonable work rules and stable jobs. The unions have blocked the first two, and are failing to deliver on the third. So why are we making government employees pay for unions that have done so much harm to so many people – including workers themselves?