More than 6,800 Illinois educators have stopped sending money to IFT

By Mailee Smith

05/07/2019

More than 6.7% of employees represented by Illinois Federation of Teachers in Illinois are no longer paying dues or fees to the union.

TAGS: fair share, IFT: Illinois Federation of Teachers, Janus v. AFSCME, unions

More than 8,000 Illinois workers have stopped paying AFSCME Council 31

By Mailee Smith

04/29/2019

Thousands of Illinois workers are no longer sending a part of their paycheck to one of the state’s most politically active unions.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, fair share, Janus v. AFSCME, labor, unions

AFSCME Council 31 spent just 17% of funds representing workers in 2018

By Mailee Smith

04/26/2019

Union’s own reporting shows only 17% of overall spending went for “representational activities” in 2018. Just what are Illinois public employees paying for?

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, collective bargaining, Janus v. AFSCME

Illinois House passes bill making it easier for Chicago teachers to strike

By Mailee Smith

04/03/2019

Two of the nation’s largest government union strikes in the past decade happened in Illinois – both by the Chicago Teachers Union. And now a bill in the General Assembly would give Chicago teachers more chances to go on strike.

TAGS: Chicago, collective bargaining, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, strike, unions

Duped: How millions of dollars in AFSCME member dues flow to politics

By Vincent Caruso

02/12/2019

State workers don’t really know much about how AFSCME spent $7.7 million on politics. That’s because records don’t detail and the union’s Illinois chapter obscures how most of the money was used.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Janus v. AFSCME

Union worker representation only 20 percent of AFSCME spending in Illinois

By Vincent Caruso

02/12/2019

Federal financial filings from Illinois’ largest government union show only 20 percent of its spending goes toward representing its members.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Janus v. AFSCME

Worker freedom: More than 3,700 Illinois state workers stopped paying money to a union in 2018

By Vincent Caruso

12/23/2018

Of the more than 3,700 Illinois state workers who stopped sending part of every paycheck to a union, 2,800 stopped sending their money to AFSCME.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, dues, fair share, Janus v. AFSCME, unions

Geneva teachers union strike leaves 5,800 students in the lurch

By Janelle Cammenga

12/05/2018

Six years after last threatening to strike, the teachers union walked the picket line – a collective bargaining tactic not allowed in any of Illinois’ neighboring states.

TAGS: education, IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, pensions, strike, teacher salaries

Union dues at work: AFSCME gives $1.4 million to Madigan

By Mailee Smith

11/06/2018

State records show AFSCME has funneled at least $1.4 million to Michael Madigan and Madigan-controlled committees in the past five years – including at least $823,200 just this year.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, dues, Mike Madigan, unions

How to make an extra $3 billion, the Illinois way

By Austin Berg

10/25/2018

AFSCME – the largest government worker union in the state – may pull off one of the most insulting waiting games in state history. The payoff? More than $3 billion, courtesy of Illinois taxpayers.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Bruce Rauner, collective bargaining, income tax, state worker pay, taxes