There’s been a 50-year national push to unionize inmate workers in prisons – including a 2020 article published by Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. The rights granted in Amendment 1 to all “employees” could result in Illinois prison unions.

The union representing state workers is currently holding a strike authorization vote. Understanding whom AFSCME represents better equips taxpayers in evaluating AFSCME’s demands and whether a strike is reasonable.

An administrative law judge could issue a decision as early as Sept. 1 on whether Illinois state workers and the governor are at an impasse in contract negotiations. Here’s a rundown of the proceedings between Illinois’ largest government-worker union and the state, as well as their potential impact on residents and state employees.

AFSCME does all it can to perpetuate the myth that it is the “little guy” – the victim – in any contract negotiations with the state. The evidence paints a different picture.