More than 1,000 state employee AFSCME members flooded the state Capitol, pressing legislators to pay state government’s oldest unpaid bill for back wages owed since July 2011.

Once again Bruce Rauner is doing everything possible to circumvent state law and block state employees from being paid what they are owed. AFSCME will continue to do battle in every available legal venue to compel fair treatment for employees.

“Illinois needs a leader like JB who will bring people together and who cares about working families,” AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said.

Sen. Bill Brady introduced Senate Amendment 1 to SB 2680, which would amend the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act to provide that the design, implementation, and administration of a health insurance plan shall not be the subject of negotiations.

On April 2-4, AFSCME, COGIC, and civil, human and workers’ rights leaders gathered in Memphis for a series of events to honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy and the courage and sacrifice of Memphis sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968.

AFSCME has won another round in the battle for payment of step increases that Gov. Rauner has illegally frozen since July 1, 2015.

Employees at UCAN, a youth services agency on Chicago’s West Side, won their union election on March 20 after a vicious anti-union campaign waged by their employer. They fought for a better future—and they won.

In the March 20 Illinois Primary Election, voters chose candidates best able to carry forward the fight in defense of workers’ rights in the November General Election. Union members made a big difference in these critical races!

Thousands rallied nationwide on Feb. 24 to unite for their freedom to form strong unions and against anti-union forces, honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of the Memphis sanitation workers' strike.

Governor Rauner’s proposed 2019 state budget is more of the same. The budget is fundamentally unbalanced, propped up by a series of vague and unworkable schemes resting on taking away collective bargaining rights from public employees.