As AFSCME seeks to take Rauner out of contract talks, state data shows how lucrative past contracts have been

September 2, 2015

Average salary for AFSCME workers increased by 22 percent since 2000

SPRINGFIELD (Sept. 2, 2015) – The Illinois House could vote as early as today to override a bill that Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed, Senate Bill 1229. This bill would strip Rauner’s ability to bargain with the government union representing almost all state workers, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME. Instead, if an agreement is not reached within two months of negotiating, the terms of the state’s next AFSCME contract would be decided by an unelected labor arbitrator.

SB 1229 is directly targeted at Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has been urging AFSCME to accept a modest contract because of the state’s dire fiscal situation. If SB 1229 becomes law, it would take effect immediately and expire in 2019 – after Rauner’s current term ends.

New research from the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute demonstrates how lucrative past AFSCME contracts have been. According to state data, in the last 15 years the average salary for a state employee has increased by 22 percent. Meanwhile, median household income in Illinois has dropped by 8 percent.

“AFSCME is seeking $4 billion in additional benefits and wage increases that Illinois taxpayers can’t afford,” said Ted Dabrowski, vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute. “Before members of the Illinois House vote to put the terms of the next contract in the hands of an unelected arbitrator, they must consider how taxpayers – those who’ll have to pay for AFSCME’s benefits – have fared in recent years.”

The new research is online here: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/senate-bill-1229-an-assault-on-taxpayers/

Highlights:

  • According to the State Employees’ Retirement System, the average salary for a state employee was $57,439 in 2000.
  • In 2014, the average salary for a state employee was $70,272, according to SERS.
  • In 2000, real median household income in Illinois was $62,311, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • The latest data available pegs real median household income in Illinois at $57,196 – a drop of 8 percent since 2000.
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Experts are available to comment on this research and the vote to override the governor’s veto in Springfield and Chicago.

FOR INTERVIEWS: Diana Rickert or Nathaniel Hamilton (312) 607-4977