AP: Union membership (Il) surges among state workers

[Omaha Steve]

http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/4527162-418/union-membership-surges-among-state-workers.html

By JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press Mar 26, 2011 06:56PM

SPRINGFIELD — It’s getting lonely at the top of Illinois state government.

In the past eight years, more than 10,000 state employees have joined unions, a four-fold increase over the previous eight years, according to records analyzed by The Associated Press.

If pending requests are approved by the Illinois Labor Relations Board, nearly 97 percent of state workers would be represented by unions — including many employees once considered management. Only 1,700 “bosses” would be left out of nearly 50,000 state employees.

While Republican governors in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states move to throttle the influence of state employee unions, the surge in Illinois’ union membership worries even traditionally union-friendly Democrats, who fear it could harm the effective management of government.

It has put them in the awkward position of trying to smother union growth even as they criticize GOP curbs elsewhere.

Snip: Currently, the Labor Relations Board is considering 31 applications seeking unionization for more than 1,100 employees. That would bump up the number of unionized state employees to 96.5 percent from 94.3 percent, according to an analysis of CMS numbers.

In Wisconsin, about 60 percent of the state’s employees are unionized.

FULL story at link.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Now for everbody else...

[madrchsod]

2. one of the biggest gains in council 31 is private/public funded...

faculties like the one my wife works for. there were two new facilities in the last year that signed afscme contracts. the service workers union has most of the chicago land signed up.

there still are some problems brewing in springfield but i think some of these bills will never get out of committee.
most if not all the unions in northern il have sent buses to madison.

we could be in the same boat as the rest of the rust belt states but the unions backed quinn by getting out the vote.