Concern over underfunding of both public and corporate pension plans has Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, his party and other conservatives making a pre-emptive strike against the idea of federal government bailouts.
By Paul Kersey
09/27/2012
Negotiations between the State of Illinois and District Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees are at a standstill.
By Paul Kersey
09/06/2012
On Labor Day, the Chicago Teachers Union held its protest in preparation for a strike that is set to begin on Sept. 10, unless negotiations with Chicago Public Schools result in a contract.The protest served two functions: first, as a sort of threat display designed to demonstrate to CPS officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel that...
By Paul Kersey
08/21/2012
A coalition of progressive groups is beginning to coalesce around a proposal to create a progressive income tax in Illinois. Under their plan state income tax rates will increase as one reaches higher incomes, up to a top rate of 11 percent for incomes over $1 million. This plan would leave Illinois with one of...
By Paul Kersey
08/17/2012
As John Tillman noted yesterday, the last few days have been full of political melodrama as the Illinois General Assembly holds a special session that is unlikely to do more than pass a sliver of a reform — if they can even muster that. But I’d like to call attention to the role that AFSCME is...
While they only managed to pass an amendment, the House provided some memorable quotes.
By Paul Kersey
07/09/2012
It is a standard bit of Alinskyite strategy: couch your demands in moral terms. It makes your opponents seem small and puts them on the defensive. But while it sounds simple – replace “we want” with “we deserve” – it’s not foolproof. As AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall demonstrated earlier this week, sometimes the moralizing wears thin, and the...
The more one looks at Gov. Scott Walker
For the second time in as many months, AFSCME opposed a measure that would bring more transparency to Illinois.
Gov. Quinn and the unions are still bickering over money for state raises, but the contract had called for two raises at the start of 2012.
