News
Michael Sullivan, chair of the firm's Labor & Employment Group, is quoted in "Illinois Legislature Power Plays Threaten USD 500m in Savings," published in the Aug. 19, 2015, edition of DebtWire.
The article concerns whether the Illinois Senate will decide to override Gov. Rauner’s veto of the union-backed bill, SB 1229, straining the governor’s bargaining position and the state’s finances. SB 1229 allows an arbitrator to decide between Rauner’s proposal of union contracts and the unions’ amidst an impasse. An override requires a supermajority vote in both the Senate and the House. Supporting Senate Bill 1229 is the influential American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council (AFSCME) 31, an active lobbyist and litigator of Illinois public pension and employment matters.
General state workers have never before made a power play to strip the governor’s office of the authority to negotiate terms and conditions of employment. A veto override takes a major bargaining tool off the table for Governor Rauner -- the ability to reach impasse in bargaining and then to unilaterally implement his bargaining proposal.
In the article Mike says the bill could economically strain an already stressed state. Rauner has proposed healthcare cuts for the unions and other fringe benefit reductions, which could save an estimated $500 million for the state. The Illinois legislature faces a budget deficit as high as $9 billion next year.
SB 1229 provides an alternative to striking and fundamentally alters the balance of power in collective bargaining. "It allows for an arbitrator who has not been elected to impose contract terms on the parties," says Mike.
