Earlier this month, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation that drastically changes the collective bargaining landscape for State of Illinois employees. Senate Bill 1229 requires the use of interest arbitration procedures in lieu of a strike or lockout to resolve collective bargaining impasses between the State and the unions that represent its employees. Senate Bill 1229 also bans strikes by State of Illinois employees and prohibits the Governor from declaring a lockout. AFSCME Council 31, the labor union that represents nearly 40,000 state workers, supported the legislation.
The legislation emerges during a period of contentious contract negotiations between AFSCME and the State of Illinois. The parties have been negotiating a successor collective bargaining agreement behind closed doors for several months, and the current agreement expires June 30, 2015. According to AFSCME representatives, both sides remain “very far apart.” There has never been a strike by AFSCME-represented State of Illinois employees, and they have never been subject to a lockout, since they gained collective bargaining rights in 1973. It appears increasingly unlikely that the two sides will reach an agreement prior to the expiration of the current agreement. If they fail to do so, under Senate Bill 1229, state employees would have the right to interest arbitration in lieu of a strike or lockout.
Interest arbitration has long existed as the sole means for resolving contract disputes for publicly employed security officers, peace officers, and fire fighters in Illinois. Under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act (IPLRA), these groups of employees cannot strike in the event that they reach impasse during negotiations with their employers. Instead, since its enactment in 1984, Section 14 of the IPLRA has required that these employees and their employers participate in mediation and interest arbitration proceedings. Pursuant to this statutory framework, the parties begin mediation within 30 days of the expiration of an existing contract if a successor agreement has not been reached. If a mediator cannot resolve the dispute, either party may request binding interest arbitration.
During the statutory interest arbitration process, the parties provide their final offers regarding economic issues and an arbitration panel convenes and hears evidence from both sides in support of their offers. The arbitration panel then issues a decision adopting whichever final offer—the employer’s or the union’s—complies with specific statutory factors. On non-economic issues, the arbitration panel is not restricted to choosing between the parties’ final offers, and may craft a solution that neither party necessarily proposed.
Senate Bill 1229 extends this framework to all State of Illinois employees. The parties would be required to proceed to mediation over any outstanding issues within 30 days of the expiration of the current contract, or the effective date of SB 1229. If a mediator cannot bring the parties to agreement within 30 days, either party may initiate interest arbitration proceedings. Any current agreements would remain in full force and effect during this process.
Democratic legislators believe Governor Rauner has been courting a government shutdown, and according to the bill’s sponsors, Senate Bill 1229 is designed to ensure the continuation of state services even if the parties fail to reach a successor agreement before June 30. Republican legislators characterize the legislation as a power grab by AFSCME, and Governor Rauner is expected to veto the bill.
