US union membership sinking, except for managers: study - Yahoo News

 

protester holds a sign during a march for labor and union rights on March 4, 2015 in New York City (AFP Photo/Spencer Platt)

Washington (AFP) - Labor union membership has sunk across the United States over the past 15 years for most jobs except legal workers, mathematicians and, ironically, management, according to a study published Monday.

The Pew Research Center's new survey said that the number of union members in jobs classified as "management occupations" rose from 438,000 to 562,000 in the 2000-2014 period.

Over the same period, the number of union members in manufacturing jobs fell by nearly half to 1.1 million.

In another once relatively strongly unionized sector -- installation, maintenance and repair occupations -- the number of union members fell from 933,000 to 655,000, according to the study.

Overall union membership sank to 14.6 million people last year, or just 11 percent of the workforce, marking a steady slide since the peak of the labor movement in the 1950s, when nearly 35 percent were in labor unions.

Pew said the gain in management occupations involved not high-level executives but people deemed management because they had authority over others, including school administrators, construction foremen, food-service managers and other supervisory personnel.

And the rate of union membership in the category remains extremely low at 4.5 percent.

The losses in union jobs over the past three decades have all been in the private sector, while public sector unions remain strongest.

Many economists blame the growth in income disparity across the country to the weakening of unions. In the past three years unions have fueled a growing movement to force higher wages for low-paid workers in retail and fast-food service jobs.

Despite a decline in pro-union sentiment, the Pew study said more Americans still support the right to unionize.

Forty-eight percent have a favorable view toward unions, compared with 39 percent unfavorable. Just five years ago, more people had negative views of unions.

There was relatively stronger support for the right to unionize: 62 percent of people back fast-food workers in their right to set up and join unions, and 82 percent back the same rights for manufacturing and factory workers.

But only 45 percent of those surveyed say the fall in union membership has been bad, while 43 percent say it has been mostly good for the country.

US union membership sinking, except for managers: study - Yahoo News

Rauner details more budget cuts

 

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Bruce Rauner's effort to patch a big hole in this year's budget includes cutting aid for low-income college students and programs for sexual assault and homeless youth.

Documents obtained Thursday by the Lee Enterprises Springfield bureau show the Republican governor's attempts to close a $1.6 billion budget gap will mean reductions to the state's Monetary Award Program, which helps students offset the cost of college tuition.

Nursing homes face a 16.75 percent reduction in Medicaid reimbursement rates saving an estimated $53 million, while programs that pay for sexual assault treatment, domestic violence initiatives, homeless youth programs and teen parents also will see $1.1 million in cuts, the documents note.

The latest list of cuts came as Rauner aides met behind closed doors with budget officials from the legislative branch as part of a pow-wow to outline the latest developments in the governor's attempt to manage the state's budget mess.

State Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, attended the session. Steans, who is a lead budget negotiator for Democrats in the Senate, said the specific programs identified for reductions were not a surprise.

"It is totally aligned with what we expected when we worked to close the $1.6 billion gap," said Steans.

Members of the House and Senate last month approved a plan to cut most state agencies by 2.25 percent and allow Rauner to dip into a series of special state funds to fill the hole that occurred when the state's temporary income tax expired in January.

But, some social service programs had already run out of money, leaving Rauner aides the task of picking through individual programs to find the 2.25 percent savings as the clock ticks down on the state's fiscal year, which ends July 1.

Among those announced Thursday was the University of Illinois Sickle Cell Center in Chicago.

In addition, as part of the deal with lawmakers, hospitals were spared, putting the Medicaid savings largely on the back of the state's nursing homes.

The current year budget remains a sticking point for the governor and Democrats who control the General Assembly.

On Good Friday, Rauner riled Democrats when he made another $26 million in cuts to programs covering autism therapy, indigent burials, epilepsy treatment and addiction prevention.

Democrats in the Senate Wednesday rammed through a plan to jumpstart funding for those programs, but House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, believes Rauner has the ability to fund those programs without legislative help.

Rauner budget chief Tim Nuding has warned lawmakers that the governor might not be done when it comes to cutting programs as a way to close the budget gap.

kurt.erickson@lee.net

Rauner details more budget cuts

Rauner appointee to Illinois Gaming Board heads group that took money from casino: BGA | Chicago

 

A Gov. Bruce Rauner appointee to the Illinois Gaming Board heads a group that has taken money from the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the state’s most lucrative casino.

In naming Illinois State Police special agent Hector Alejandre last month to the board that regulates the state’s casinos, Rauner said Alejandre “will bring a law enforcement perspective to the position.”

The governor noted that Alejandre is the president of the Hispanic Illinois State Law Enforcement Association, or HISLEA, a nonprofit organization of Latino police officers.

The group — which holds safety seminars and provides college scholarships — has taken $5,500 in donations from Rivers since 2012. The money went toward scholarships and programs, according to Juan Valenzuela, a spokesman for the group.

Alejandre wouldn’t talk about that.

Don Tracy, who chairs the gaming board, said that after being asked about the casino’s donations, Alejandre has agreed to recuse himself from voting on anything involving Rivers that comes before the board in the next six months.

Valenzuela said the group has decided not to take any more donations from Rivers Casino as long as Alejandre is on the gaming board.

Another HISLEA member, past president Isaiah “Danny” Vega, is the gaming board’s deputy administrator of enforcement, investigating casinos to ensure they’re operating above board.

The Rivers Casino donations came while Vega and Alejandre were both top officers of HISLEA.

Vega didn’t return calls seeking comment.

Mark Ostrowski, the gaming board’s administrator, said Alejandre and Vega haven’t broken any agency rules.

But Aaron Jaffee, who was gaming board chairman, under former Gov. Pat Quinn, said “people who sit on the board can’t take money” from the casino industry. “We’ve always held very strict standards.”

In January, Rauner replaced Jaffe with Tracy, a Springfield lawyer.

“The administration does not believe these prior donations, which help support scholarship programs, will impact Hector Alejandre’s ability to remain impartial while a member of the Illinois Gaming Board,” a Rauner spokeswoman said. “The last donation to the HISLEA by Rivers Casino was more than six months ago, and it will decline any future contributions.”

A Rivers spokesman didn’t respond to requests for comment.

 

The gaming board regulates the state’s 10 casinos.

Last year, Rivers reported taking in more than $425 million after paying winnings, a figure that made the casino the most lucrative in Illinois, state records show.

Rauner’s EPA pick and his lobbyist-father

In January, Ryan McCreery was in the private sector, trying to calm Kentucky residents who feared that a natural gas pipeline proposed by his then-employer would contaminate drinking water.

Today, he’s one of the state’s top environmental regulators, hired by the Rauner administration in February as deputy director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Asked about his environmental experience, McCreery pointed to his time as a contractor and public affairs manager for the gas and oil pipeline company Kinder Morgan.

“I partnered with stakeholders on many different projects,” he said in response to questions, “with the objective to expand energy infrastructure in an environmentally conscious and compliant manner.”

McCreery’s father, W. Michael McCreery, os a longtime Springfield lobbyist. And the elder McCreery intends to lobby the Illinois EPA, he says in a registration statement filed with the state.

Ryan McCreery said there will be no conflict of interest, though.

“My father has listed numerous agencies under ‘lobbying intent,’” Ryan McCreery said. “He does so on an annual basis so as to be covered in case he gains new clients throughout the reporting period.”

Ryan McCreery said his father doesn’t have any current environment-related clients, nor will he take any as long as his son is deputy director of the state EPA.

Michael McCreery didn’t return calls.

Ryan McCreery said Nancy Kimme, acting on behalf of Rauner’s transition team, recruited him. Kimme, a lobbyist, was chief of staff for Judy Baar Topinka, the late Illinois state comptroller. Kimme couldn’t be reached for comment.

— Brett Chase

Rauner appointee to Illinois Gaming Board heads group that took money from casino: BGA | Chicago

Illinois GOP targets political hiring; Democrats wary | Miami Herald Miami Herald

 

Illinois Republicans have unveiled legislation backed by Gov. Bruce Rauner they say will clean up state hiring rules that allow a governor to hand out jobs to loyal lieutenants instead of hiring strictly on merit.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Karen McConnaughay of St. Charles, is intended to rectify problems uncovered last year in a hiring scandal at the Illinois Department of Transportation under former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.

It defines the type of employee a governor may hire without restrictions, because he needs someone with a similar political affiliation to carry out his wishes. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized the need for such allegiance to the boss among high-ranking policymakers. In a 1990 case from Illinois known as "Rutan," the high court decreed, however, that most government jobs should be open to anyone who can show proper ability and skill.

But majority Democrats in the General Assembly are wary. The bulk of McConnaughay's measure is devoted to limits placed on collective bargaining units, going so far as to remove some employees from labor unions and empowering the government to transfer or dismiss those found to have been improperly hired at IDOT. They warn that the bill could lead to more politics in state hiring.

It also includes a "hiring reform" section which directs agencies under the governor to correct faulty job descriptions, revise procedures for determining exempt positions and seek to decertify union coverage where appropriate.

"It's good legislation," Rauner said last week. "We strongly support it. We look forward to having hearings about it."

Posts for which a governor may hand-pick candidates based on loyalty, such as those handling confidential information or who speak publicly for the executive, are for the most part not covered by the Supreme Court rules. They're referred to as Rutan-exempt.

In recent years, investigations showed IDOT hired more than 250 employees into jobs the agency described as performing duties that would exempt them from hiring rules, meaning IDOT could hire anyone it chose for them. But then some did routine work such as mowing grass or answering phones — jobs that should have been available to the general public. Many were transferred into jobs that had union protection, defeating the purpose of the politics exemption, which should have meant that they could be fired, as well as hired, at will.

"That was always the intention, that Rutan-exempt employees are at-will employees," McConnaughay told The Associated Press last week. "That in itself is an automatic conflict with collective bargaining. ... You can't have it both ways."

The GOP stance has the support of Noelle Brennan, a federal court monitor appointed to assess state hiring after the authors of a 45-year-old legal challenge to Chicago patronage practices trained their sights on IDOT. In her March interim report, Brennan called the matter an "inherent conflict." She declined last week to comment on McConnaughay's legislation.

The legislation tackles the issue by declaring that Rutan provisions trump collective bargaining unit rules "to ensure that political affiliation is not considered in filling Rutan-covered positions and that collective bargaining units are protected from improper political influence."

The plan also changes the definition of who is eligible to join a union, including eliminating anyone who is exempt from Rutan hiring rules.

But simply removing them from bargaining units could make them purely political, expanding partisanship in state employment, according to the state council of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The proposal "would result in stripping thousands of public employees of their right to be represented by a union," AFSCME Council 31 spokesman Anders Lindall said, "with the perverse result, given the bill's supposed purpose, of giving agencies even greater leeway to circumvent the merit system." It would do "nothing to prevent future political hiring scandals," he said.

To union-friendly Democrats, it could lead to "unintended consequences," said Sen. Gary Forby of Benton, the chairman of the Labor Committee which will decide whether to give McConnaughay's bill a hearing as early as next week. He said he will discuss the issues with McConnaughay.

"Given the history and sensitivity of this issue, we need to take some time and give this a closer look to make sure there are no unintended consequences," Forby said. "For example, the last thing we would want is for something to increase the role of politics in government employment decisions."

Above is from:  Illinois GOP targets political hiring; Democrats wary | Miami Herald Miami Herald

Vernon Hills dismisses Rauner 'Turnaround Agenda' - Vernon Hills Review

 

Vernon Hills followed suit with Libertyville and on April 21 decided not to vote in support of Gov. Bruce Rauner's controversial "Turnaround Agenda."

"There's an awful lot of affirmation in this document that we have absolutely no control over," Mayor Roger Byrne said during the regularly scheduled board meeting. "We're a municipality. This authority being discussed goes against the charter of our state."

Municipalities throughout Illinois are being asked to approve a pre-written resolution that pledges support for a number of Rauner's ideas.

Gov. Bruce Rauner's controversial "Turnaround Illinois Agenda" died on the floor without a single Libertyville trustee willing to recommend approval during an April 14 meeting. ( Rick Kambic )

The proposal advocates for a change to state law allowing municipalities to decide whether or not people should have to join a union as a condition of employment, a practice known as "right to work."

Among several other items, the resolution also pledges support for reforming workers' compensation laws and removing the state requirements for government construction contracting, also known as "prevailing wage."

Village documents indicate Rauner's administration wanted an unmodified resolution approved and sent to Springfield by April 23.

"There's a crisis in Springfield. We can't ignore that," Byrne continued. "This isn't the way to fix it."

Just as in Libertyville last week none of the six Vernon Hills trustees motioned to approve Rauner's proclamation.

"The whole concept of the right-to-work zones is not going to fly. It's an incredibly ill-thought-out concept that the attorney general already said doesn't cut it," Trustee Thom Koch said. "Putting aside whether it's right or wrong, this is a matter to be discussed downstate — not in our chambers."

Although Rauner's proposal was dismissed, Byrne still encouraged discussion.

"You all came here and sat through our regular business, so you might as well speak your piece," Byrne told a group of 42 union engineers, electricians, firefighters and teachers. Nine people took the opportunity.

Among them was at least one Rauner supporter. Lisa Fugina said union teachers in many of the local school districts spend the minimum required amount of time in their classrooms.

"I pay extremely high taxes in Lincolnshire so that my kids can go to good schools, but I don't think they are getting the quality education they deserve," Fugina said. "I'm tired of study halls once a day for kids who aren't even in high school. I'm sorry, homework should be done at home."

Fugina said her job in the medical manufacturing industry is non-union and she doesn't think it's so bad.

"I'm a working mom for 30 plus years at organizations that are considered right-to-work. I get objectives every year and ratings by supervisors," Fugina said. "My raise is not based on a law that gets passed, but instead on how well I performed my job that past year."

The rest of the speakers opposed Rauner's proposal.

Thomas J. Lauman Jr. of Mundelein said his daughters go to Vernon Hills High School and he fears for their future. Lauman is a member of International Union Of Operating Engineers Local 150.

"I'd like to see everyone make an honest living. That's all I make. I don't even eclipse six figures, unlike the governor's wife in her new role as first lady," Lauman said. "I just want to help my kids get through college. If right to work passes, my income will go back to the Stone Age and I'll be struggling to support just myself."

Byrne responded with laughter.

"Yeah, I don't think any of you guys take home $53 million a year," Byrne said. "I don't blame you for being defensive."

Another speaker, Rick Rottman of Gurnee, told trustees he is a business manager for the Libertyville-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 150.

He praised Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik for ignoring Rauner's proposal, but he said Vernon Hills is the real winner.

"Gurnee Mills was built by a bunch of fly-by-night guys who jumped across the Wisconsin border. Everything at Hawthorn Mall except two small stores was built by us, and we were paid a living wage that gave us some spending power," Rottman said. "I have always encouraged our membership to shop Hawthorn because one hand feeds the other."….

Read more by clicking on the following:  Vernon Hills dismisses Rauner 'Turnaround Agenda' - Vernon Hills Review

Bob O'Dekirk blasts Gov. Bruce Rauner on right-to-work zones | The Herald-News

By BOB OKON - bokon@shawmedia.com

JOLIET – Mayor-elect Bob O'Dekirk criticized Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposal for so-called right-to-work zones, saying it would hurt Joliet and Will County.

O'Dekirk said Wednesday that because of the area's strong union tradition, it would likely be hurt if other communities could put into place right-to-work zones.

"Will County and Joliet is a strong union community,"

O'Dekirk said. "I would see Will County and Joliet put at a disadvantage, given the history of unions in this area."

O'Dekirk said Illinois communities that establish right-to-work zones could use them to draw companies and jobs away from those who do not.

Rauner's proposal is to let local communities opt for "Right to Work" laws that bar unions from negotiating contracts that require all employees in a workplace to join a union.

The governor was in Joliet in March making his case for local right-to-work zones.

On Wednesday, Rauner's office issued a statement saying local communities should decide the issue and, "If Joliet voters want to allow unions, the governor has not issue with that. He just wants them to have a choice."

O'Dekirk's comments came after he issued a statement Tuesday that said Rauner's proposal is "anti-worker" and dividing Illinois.

"I will be glad to join Gov. Bruce Rauner in any economic development efforts that recognize the rights of labor unions to operate and so would labor union members who want more job opportunities, but Rauner needs to stop the anti-worker rhetoric that is dividing our efforts to revitalize the state and local economy," O'Dekirk said in the statement.

He also said Rauner had "toned down his anti-union rhetoric to get elected" and said the governor's comments since the election show "he would prefer that Illinois workers have no right to organize."

O'Dekirk was elected April 7 and takes office May 4.

Bob O'Dekirk blasts Gov. Bruce Rauner on right-to-work zones | The Herald-News

NFL concussion settlement granted final approval by judge - LA Times

 

A federal judge granted final approval Wednesday to the settlement of long-running concussion litigation between the NFL and retired players.

In a 132-page opinion in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, Judge Anita Brody called the deal "fair, reasonable and adequate."

Experts for the NFL and retired players project that about 6,000 of the estimated 19,000 retired players would be eligible for compensation, but only 3,600 of them would choose to participate.

“Today’s decision powerfully underscores the fairness and propriety of this historic settlement,” NFL Executive Vice President and general counsel Jeff Pash said in a statement.

Pash added that the settlement would bring “prompt and substantial benefits” to retired players and their families.

The agreement compensates retired players who suffer from a variety of problems, including Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Monetary awards will be determined based on scale that takes into account a player's seasons in the NFL, age at diagnosis and other criteria.

The maximum payout for a player with Alzheimer's, for example, will be $3.5 million. But awards decrease significantly when offsetting factors are considered. The average payout for Alzheimer’s is expected to be $190,000 when age and experience are factored in.

Though there is no limit to the overall amount the NFL could pay out to the retired players, the individual award amounts are capped at amounts that range from $1.5 million for Level 1.5 dementia to $5 million for ALS.

"Despite the difficult health situations retired players face today and that many more will unfortunately face in the future, they can take comfort that this settlement's benefits will be available soon, and will last for decades to come,” said Christopher Seeger and Sol Weiss, co-lead counsels for the retired players, in a statement.

The final settlement revises a deal first reached by NFL and retired players in August 2013 to remove a $675-million cap on payouts to retired players and make other adjustments.

“We are pleased that the settlement was substantially improved as a result of objections that we made,” said Steven F. Molo, lead attorney for retired players who objected to terms of the deal. “We are reviewing the court’s detailed opinion to determine where things go next.”

An appeal of Brody’s decision would delay any benefits until the matter is resolved.

The deal covers all retired players or their estates who didn't opt out by the deadline last fall, regardless of whether they sued the NFL. Around 200 players or their families -- including that of late San Diego Chargers great Junior Seau -- decided to not participate in the settlement. They can pursue litigation on their own.

Retired players and their families have 180 days to register for the settlement. They’ll be ineligible for payouts if they don’t.

An analysis by the plaintiffs estimated an average 12-month wait for retired players from filing a claim to receiving a payout. In some cases, the wait could be as long as 24 months.

Attorneys for dozens of retired players filed the first concussion lawsuit against the NFL in Los Angeles Superior Court in July 2011. The case grew to more than 300 lawsuits which were consolidated in federal court.

NFL concussion settlement granted final approval by judge - LA Times