By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012
     CHICAGO — A plan to push back the deadline for the Chicago Public Schools to release which schools they plan on closing for next school year has been met with criticism by Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Karen Lewis.
     CPS has until Dec. 1 to publish the list of schools they plan to close or consolidate, but school officials have asked for an extension until March 31, a move that the CTU calls against state law.
     CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said in a statement Nov. 2 that “Our goal is to give the community the respect they deserve in this process, rebuild trust with CPS and create a path for right-sizing our district so that we can better invest resources in every child and every school in our city.”
     Lewis said she would like to not see any school closings, period.
     “We do not support delaying the date to announce which schools will be targeted by the district for disruptive actions,” Lewis said. “Given today’s assertion that CPS needs more time to unveil their newest community targets, the only announcement that makes sense on Dec. 1 is ‘There will be no school closings this year.’ We have called for a moratorium on all school actions until we have an analysis of the devastating impact these actions have on our students and neighborhoods.”
     In 2011, the CPS guidelines for closing a school included academically failing schools. This has changed in 2012 to include schools that are underused.
     A nine-member Commission on School Utilization has been formed, including a state senator, former CPD superintendent, a CPS parent, teachers, a Chicago alderman, and a community pastor.
     Lewis said there needs to be a further in-depth analysis of the ramifications of closing schools in Chicago.
     “Clearly we need real analysis, meaningful conversations and valued community input from the parents and groups who have been on the front lines of fighting for more resources and support for neighborhood schools,” said Lewis. “CPS must repair the damage that’s been done by these failed policies as it seeks to rebuild trust with the community. CPS owes Chicago a legitimate fiscal plan that details how we build and support school communities. Taxpayers deserve stability on Clark Street and an end to the revolving door that has created chaos in our school system. They should not change the law because they have a change in leadership.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

Pat Barcas photo
CTU President Karen Lewis talks about the recent CTU strike at the 2012 LEAD dinner: “The winning side didn’t have to fire its superintendent,” she said, referring to head of Chicago Public School’s Jean-Claude Brizard’s resignation earlier this month.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012
     CHICAGO — The momentum for the Chicago Teachers Union and teachers in general keeps rolling along, as the CTU’s annual Legislators Educators Appreciation Dinner (LEAD) sold out for the first time in 15 years on Oct. 26.
     More than 1,000 teachers, legislators and supporters packed the plumbers hall in the west loop, with CTU President Karen Lewis taking the stage as the keynote speaker.
     Lewis, as usual, didn’t have kind things to say about Mayor Rahm Emanuel or how he handled the CTU strike.
     “Just over half of voters have a favorable impression of our mayor now. That’s down 16 points. We were told to back down. ‘Please don’t take this man on, you’ll lose.’ But we knew we were on the right side of history, and that’s what really counts here,” she said. “I’ve got some more news. Nearly two thirds of voters now have a favorable impression of the CTU. That’s an eight point uptick. We found Chicago public school teachers remain enormously popular. Seventy-eight percent of voters approve. It should come as no surprise that over half of Chicago voters supported the strike.”
     Lewis delivered her oratory to much applause, with some members even calling for her to run as mayor, an idea she greeted with a smile and a head shake. She said the decision to strike was one that weighed heavily on the union’s mind.
     “We’re not supposed to say it, we’re not supposed to talk about it. We did not take this strike lightly, I want everyone to understand that. Nobody came in and said this is what we’re going to do, however we did say we would be prepared. We’ve always planned. That’s what we do,” she said.
     Lewis said she’s still fighting for more libraries and social workers in the Chicago public schools system, a problem that appalls her.
“We’re focused, we’re united, and we’re clear about our purpose. We still have 160 schools that are without libraries. People should be appalled by that. We still only have 432 social workers for 400,000 children in need. The answer by the education reformers is to hand over our schools to people that are completely held unaccountable. That is not acceptable,” she said.
     Lewis said she is striving for open communications and accountability in the system, and that the fight is not over.
     “We have said over and over again that we want a quality education for our children, and we have been sold a bill of goods that schools operated by private management organizations are going to provide quality. Where is the accountability? We want open discussion. I don’t care how much money the billionaires have, they have one vote. All they have is one vote,” she said. “We may have won this battle, but there is a war. And we are far from winning that. We will continue to fight.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

Pat Barcas photo
Teachers in Geneva recently filed an intent to strike, but they can’t legally strike until Nov. 9.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012
     GENEVA — A couple months into the school year, and another suburban district has filed an intent to strike. The Geneva Education Association cannot legally strike in Geneva School District 304 until Friday, Nov. 9.
The union and the district have been in negotiations since February, and new information shed by the district won’t do any favors for goodwill in the process.
     Both sides posted their final offers to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board Oct. 26, but Geneva School Board President Mark Gross said in a district 304 press release issued Tuesday that teachers were already filing for a strike several hours before negotiations ended that day. Gross said strides had been taken and the district was close to a settlement with teachers.
     “During that bargaining session, the board tendered a settlement proposal to union leadership at 2 p.m. The board’s proposal included, among other things: (1) a salary freeze for all teachers in year one, except those who qualify for lane movement due to additional education; (2) a 1.65 percent increase for all teachers in year two; and (3) a 2.75 percent increase for all teachers in year three … Upon receiving the board’s offer, the union team met privately until approximately 5:30 p.m., presumably for the purpose The main sticking points between the district and the union has been salaries. The teachers say the district has enough money in reserves for raises and has asked for a 1 percent raise in the first year, but the district wants a salary freeze.
     The previous contract was three years and expired Aug. 15. Teachers have been working with 2011-12 pay levels since then. Both parties are to return to mediation with the help of a federal mediator Nov. 6.
     Teachers posted on the GEA website that accepting a salary freeze would cripple the district and not allow it to attract quality teachers.
     “The Board of Education’s negotiating team continued their stance with the GEA team that they are not willing to make any further offer unless the GEA agreed to a salary freeze. The teachers know that accepting such an offer would be detrimental to the long-term health of the educational environment in District 304, because of the inability to attract and retain true excellence in the teaching ranks over the coming years. The teacher contract is already lower than the surrounding districts, and this would compound that situation. With such a stance on the part of the board, the teachers felt they had no choice than to declare impasse,” the statement read.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012
     Three months of evidentiary hearings concluded last week in Cook County Circuit Court in the ongoing dispute over Gov. Pat Quinn’s failure to pay negotiated wage increases. The parties will appear before the court Nov. 16 to make final arguments in the case.
     At issue in the case are wage increases totaling some $60 million that AFSCME Council 31 argues should be paid to state employees.
     AFSCME contends that Quinn withheld the increases, effective July 1, 2011, based on his contention that the General Assembly had failed to appropriate the funding he had requested to pay the increases.
     AFSCME immediately filed a grievance over the administration’s refusal to honor the contract and secured an arbitration victory in which the state was ordered to pay the monies owed to employees.
     Instead, the Quinn Administration filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court seeking to vacate the arbitration award. For more than a year now, the case has been before Judge Richard Billik.
     In June, Billik issued a preliminary decision in which he found that the state is under a contractual obligation to pay the wage increases, but that the governor’s claim that he could not spend funds that had not been appropriated could be a valid public policy defense which would override the contractual obligation.
     Billik then established proceedings to give the state the opportunity to prove its public policy defense that insufficient funds had been appropriated to pay the negotiated increases. Those evidentiary hearings began in August and continued through Oct. 23. The union had the opportunity to present countervailing evidence and to challenge the state’s evidence.
     In the course of those hearings, AFSCME legal counsel identified funds that the state had not previously acknowledged and was prepared to let lapse at the conclusion of the fiscal year 2012 lapse period at the end of August. As soon as the funds were identified, AFSCME sought an order from Billik to require the state to voucher the funds so that the money would not lapse and could be used to meet the state’s obligations under the collective bargaining agreement should the union ultimately prevail in the court case.
     Attorneys for the Quinn administration opposed the union’s request to voucher the funds, seeking to use the expiration of the state’s fiscal year spending authority as an excuse not to set the funds aside.
     However, in late August the judge granted the union’s request and ordered the Illinois Department of Central Management Services and other agencies under the governor to submit vouchers to the State Comptroller in amounts equal to the personal services funds remaining in the respective agency budgets, and to preserve their statutory 2 percent transfer authority.
     In all, the agencies had to remit vouchers for some $18 million in unspent General Revenue Fund appropriations, in addition to federal and grant funds, as well as other unspent dollars available under the budgetary transfer authority.
     While the court battle has continued over the past year, the Quinn Administration acknowledged that there were clearly sufficient funds available in eight agencies to pay the monies owed.
     After final arguments are heard Nov. 16, the judge is expected to issue a decision in the case before the end of the year. AFSCME has also put the issue of unpaid wage increases front and center in the current round of contract negotiations — making clear that no contract settlement can be reached until the previous contract has been honored.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012
     Carpenters, electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers and laborers all need to take notice of green jobs, if they haven’t already.
     The Ikea store in Bolingbrook has 4,784 solar panels on its roof, producing enough power annually to power 112 homes. Earlier this month, the Chicago Department of Transportation unveiled “the greenest street in America,” two miles running along Blue Island Avenue and Cermak Road. The road is paved with smog eating cement which filters storm water, and lies adjacent to the city’s first permanent wind and solar powered pedestrian lights.
     Doug Widener, executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council, Illinois chapter, said Illinois is a stronghold for green building jobs.
     According to Widener, Illinois ranks second per capita in the number of LEED certified buildings in the United States. Chicago is the number one city in the world for green buildings, containing more than 40 city buildings that are LEED certified, with retrofitting old buildings also a hot spot for construction companies looking to build business.
     Clearly, going green is good for business in a market that has been tough for consumers and contractors.
     The Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan policy research group, has reported that green job growth has increased more than job growth in any other sector under Obama’s presidency.
     A Mitt Romney presidency may threaten this growth and set the country’s years of progress back. He has put the production tax credit into jeopardy, a federal subsidy that has had decades of bipartisan support that gives the wind power industry a 30 percent tax credit.
     This summer, Romney said he aims to let the tax credit expire.
     “The President may believe that his economic plan ‘worked’ and that America wants to repeat the experience for another four years, but the facts don’t back that up. Mitt Romney believes it is a time for a new approach to ensure our nation’s energy independence,” Romney’s campaign said in a statement in July. “He will allow the wind credit to expire, end the stimulus boondoggles, and create a level playing field on which all sources of energy can compete on their merits. Wind energy will thrive wherever it is economically competitive, and wherever private sector competitors with far more experience than the President believe the investment will produce results.”
     Romney’s energy plan requires three big things: open up more federal lands and waters to oil and gas drilling, give states more power to approve permits, and focus on building pipelines such as the Keystone XL. It’s an old fashioned policy that is not sustainable for jobs or the environment.
     “You have to give the president credit. We need a mixed economy. We can’t just rely on old fashioned, oil based technology. Broadening our horizons will make us as competitive as possible,” said State Sen. Michael Noland (D-22nd). “Technology is constantly changing. We have new technology coming online that is going to make our lives more efficient and green jobs will be in demand.”
     Mark Guethle, Painters District Council 30 (PDC 30) director of governmental affairs, said he saw three reasons Republicans block the passage of green jobs.
     “The Republicans have three things against green building it seems: it lowers the energy cost, they create good jobs, and the results are good for the environment,” he said. “I think for the sake of jobs in the area and in the country, it’s important to continue on the path that President Obama has laid out for us.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

Pat Barcas photo
Lee Daniels, former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, speaks last week at Seven Bridges Golf Course in Woodridge. Daniels said there is no clear solution for the Illinois pension crisis, which brings the state $93 billion into debt when pensions are due next summer.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Thursday, Oct. 18
     WOODRIDGE — The clock is ticking as the state’s $93 billion pension bomb primes to explode in Illinois next summer, and no one knows exactly how the problem will play out. Some suggestions and solutions were presented at a “Pension Tension” presentation Oct. 10 in Woodridge.
“Bankruptcy is not an option for the state. If the checks bounce, they bounce,” said State Sen. Ron Sandack, who was joined by Louis Kosiba, executive director of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund and Bruno Behrend, executive director, For the Good of Illinois. “I want my kids to be able to grow up in Illinois, I don’t want them to have to move to Tennessee, Texas or South Dakota.”
The discussion was moderated by Lee Daniels, former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and now a Distinguished Fellow and Special Assistant to the President of Elmhurst College. He pointed out that state pensions are guaranteed.
“Membership in a pension shall be enforceable. It is a contractual relationship that should not be diminished or impaired,” he read from the Illinois Constitution. “It doesn’t take a lawyer to see that if you’re vested, you have a right.”
Daniels said raising taxes to cover the debt is not possible, so reducing the debt is the only solution. Through Pre Pack Administration company insolvency services, your business debts may be managed more effectively. He said reducing cost of living increases, shifting pension responsibility back to school districts, raising employee contributions, limiting public pensions to state employees and raising the retirement age are options, however, each one alters the original agreement that state employees agreed upon when they initially signed their contracts.
Along with reducing debt, the panelists agreed abuse of the system must also be tackled. Double dipping, where state employees feed off multiple pensions, tacking, where contractors join pension plans even though they are not state employees, and exit spiking, or end of career pay raises, are all practices that need to end.
“We need to control spending. Go through all the budgets and cut spending. The next step is to control pension abuses, where a person would work for half a day and be able to use their private pension payments to gain access to the public pension system,” said Behrend. “This needs to stop.”
Sandack said the state pension plans, opposed to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, are not doing well.
“They are not doing well. They are not healthy. They are incredibly unhealthy, in fact. Those funds, are in jeopardy, and jeopardize every taxpayer’s future in the state of Illinois. And that’s not hyperbole,” he said.
Sandack explained that the $93 billion deficit hole actually might be low, based on old accounting practices and not accounting for retiree health care.
“What we’re really talking about is $140 billion in unfunded liability, in unfunded debt. Requirements that we as taxpayers have to backstop…here’s the bottom line: something has to change. The system is going to collapse if nothing occurs. It can’t continue. It will fail,” said Sandack.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Thursday, Oct. 18
     With signs reading “Residents and caregivers must come first” and “Invest in care now,” 2,000 nursing home workers across Illinois launched simultaneous pickets Oct. 10 at 50 nursing homes, calling on owners to invest more of their profits to raise the standards of resident care.
The SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana workers cited a lack of adequate supplies, high rates of worker turnover and persistent short-staffing as factors that impact the quality of care they are able to deliver. Workers said the owners — all members of the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities (IAHCF), should feel compelled to invest a portion of the cumulative $50.5 million in profits they made last year back into resident care and workforce stability.
“We’re understaffed, which means residents can’t get the quality of care and attention they need and excessive workloads exhaust the caregivers as they do their best to meet the needs of the residents,” said Lavern Harper, a licensed practical nurse at Rainbow Beach Nursing Home on the city’s south side as she marched with dozens of other workers.
“We’re standing up for our residents. Owners must invest more from their profits so that residents can get the quality of care they deserve,” she said. Learn if fibromyalgia rash is treatable and what one needs to do.
In 2010, Illinois lawmakers passed groundbreaking nursing home legislation that set standards to better address quality care concerns. One important benchmark was requiring adequate staffing levels, a standard that many of the homes still have failed to meet.
In addition to staffing, workers said many homes are frequently short on supplies. In one case, workers and community activists delivered adult diapers and gloves to the Center Home for the Hispanic Elderly in Humbolt Park after state inspectors cited the home for deficiencies.
Recalling a tragic event that points out the need for increased staffing and safety standards, Joan Stanley, a certified nursing assistant at Lakeshore Nursing Home, explained: “A patient who was in a wheelchair and had been smoking, caught fire at our nursing home and burned to death. We tried to put the fire out, but there were no fire blankets. These owners made an overall profit of $50 million last year. If they just invested some of that money to offer better wages, it would help to reduce worker turnover. When more workers remain on the job for longer periods of time, the level of expertise increases. More experienced workers at an adequate staffing level could prevent some of these tragic events,” she said.

This scenarios sometimes also lead to abuse of residents because of unfair hours, wages, and more. If you feel like that your loved one is a victim of abuse, contact a Schaumburg nursing home abuse attorney.

SEIU officials said family members of nursing home residents have reached out to workers and the union in the past in search of solutions to problems that impact their relatives. The union played an important role in helping to pass the 2010 legislation that was praised by health care professionals.
Still, care providers work under stressful conditions that need to be addressed, the union said.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Thursday, Oct. 18
     EVERGREEN PARK — No details have emerged just yet of the contract agreed upon by members of Evergreen Park School District 124, but the most important thing for parents is, children were back in school Monday morning.
     Teachers voted 136 to 43 on Monday to approve a new contract, with no details available until both sides approve it, a process that was scheduled for Wednesday night. The union represents 135 teachers and 70 support staff at the district’s one junior high school and four elementary schools. Board officials wanted a length of four years on the contract, teachers wanted three.
     The agreement was reached at about 4:30 a.m. Oct. 12, after negotiators were battling in an 11-hour session. About 1,800 students returned to school Monday, they missed eight days of school in the ten day long strike.
     “I think everybody is happy that it is over. We are all relieved that the kids should be back in school on Monday,” said District 124 Board President Kathy Rohan after the decision was made.
     The Evergreen Park Federation of Teachers union Friday posted a brief statement on its Facebook page, saying they are thankful for the agreement and that they miss students.
     “After 11 hours of negotiations, we have reached a tentative agreement. We are thankful that we will be back in school on Monday with our students. We have missed them,” read the statement.
     Students started class Aug. 23, with the strike interrupting their year on Oct. 2. The union wanted better pay, health care coverage, and retirement benefits.
     The Evergreen Park strike came as the Chicago Teachers Union and Lake Forest teacher strikes were over, and a new conflict heats up in Crystal Lake.
     Prairie Grove School teachers did not arrive at a contract agreement with a federal mediator last Friday, and the ensuing strike is impacting about 1,000 students.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Thursday, Oct. 11
     CHICAGO — The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has voted 79 percent in favor of accepting a new three-year contract two weeks after the seven-day long strike ended.
     The contract, voted on by 20,765 CTU members, gives teachers a 17.6 percent average pay raise over four years if the contract is extended an additional year. The ratification also officially ends the strike, which was merely suspended by delegates Sept. 18.
“This shows overwhelming recognition by our members that this contract represents a victory for students, communities and our profession,” said CTU president Karen Lewis. “Our members are coming out of this with an even greater appreciation for the continued fight for public education. We thank our parents for standing with their children’s teachers, paraprofessionals and clinicians.”
     The Chicago Board of Education (CBE) also must approve the contract later this month before it becomes effective, with approval being likely.
     “I am pleased that the members of the CTU have ratified this contract, and we can now demonstrate to our students that even when two sides start far apart, they can find common ground and reach a resolution. It’s an incredibly important message to send,” CBE President David Vitale said in a statement.
     In addition to the salary increase, the deal establishes a new evaluation system for teachers that is based partly on student performance on standardized tests. Principals also will now have more authority to hire teachers for their schools.
The district has said the pay increases could cost up to an extra $74 million a year, a burden that could put strain on the already cash strapped Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
     As of August, when the district passed this year’s budget, CPS spent cash reserves to stem a budget shortfall. The district also faces a nearly $1 billion deficit next year with back pension payments due. Because of that deficit, two bond rating services, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service, have downgraded CPS’ debt. This could mean higher interest rates in the future.
CPS teachers right now make an average of about $76,000 per year. There is no word yet on how the district will pay for the new agreement.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012
     Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, in conjunction with the leadership of Choose Chicago, McCormick Place, and Governor Quinn, announced Oct. 1 that two key shows will be extending their commitments to McCormick Place and the city of Chicago, meaning thousands of union jobs will stay in Chicago.
     The two shows are the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) Restaurant, Hotel, and Motel Show, and the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS).
     “The labor union agreements at McCormick Place have created a new landscape that demonstrates that Chicago is open for business and the best destination in the world for any convention or trade show,” said Emanuel. “I am thrilled that these two shows have extended their commitment to the city and will bring tremendous economic impact and jobs to the city. I’ll continue to work to attract more and more shows to Chicago.”
Governor Pat Quinn applauded the efforts of the state and the city to work together.
     “Today’s announcement by two of the world’s most prestigious exhibitions is proof that the strong partnership between the state, the city of Chicago, the MPEA and its unions will create a renewed era of prosperity and jobs for Illinois,” said Quinn. “Working together, we will make      McCormick Place and Illinois’ tourism industry even stronger for years to come.”
The NRA announced a five-year extension, from 2017-21, that will bring estimated direct expenditures of more than $600 million through 2020, and support approximately 1,650 union jobs per year. IMTS has extended for two years, 2018 and 2020, which will add $346 million in estimated direct expenditures to Chicago’s economy and support more than 2,000 union jobs in each of the two years.
     “AMT and the IMTS Show are proud to be extending our relationship with Chicago which dates back to 1947, said Peter Eelman, vice president, exhibitions and communications of the Association for Manufacturing Technology. “The dramatic and productive changes at McCormick Place have improved the exhibitor experience and the visitor experience and we are pleased to be a part of the trade show future in Chicago.”
     The recently concluded 2012 IMTS show covered 1.248 million net square feet of exhibit space with 1,909 exhibiting companies. Total registration for the six-day event was 100,200, which is a 21.6 percent increase over 2010, marking the largest show-to-show increase ever for IMTS.
     “We’re delighted to continue to call Chicago home — adding to the 63 consecutive years that our landmark National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show has been held here. The labor reforms enacted have made this agreement possible,” said Dawn Sweeney, National Restaurant Association President and CEO. “Chicago is a world-class city. We enjoy working with our partners at McCormick Place and Choose Chicago and are excited that our exhibitors and attendees will have the opportunity to experience this city’s great ambiance and hospitality for an additional five years — through the year 2021.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.