CORRECTIONS ONLINE

An E-Bulletin for AFSCME Members in the ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

September 2004

CU-500 BARGAINING OFF TO A ROUGH START � When negotiations for a new CU-500 contract recently got underway, the bargaining committee was stunned to receive a laundry list of management takeaway proposals, including the following: Elimination of TA pay for Lt's running the shift, giving management the right to assign Lt's to Shift Commander, State Police Fitness Standards, shift assignment without regard to seniority, eliminate the Proof Status Memorandum of Understanding and allow management to put CU-500's on proof even if they have a doctor's note.

The CU-500 Bargaining Committee took a strong stand against these demands. Very little progress was made. The next bargaining session is set for September 29. Stay tuned.

TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENTS � The Union�s historic arbitration victory limiting TA's to 60 days is already producing the desired results�posting and filling of permanent vacancies.

On August 19 the IDOC Local Union Presidents voted unanimously to refuse to extend any temporary assignments unless and until IDOC recalled the laid off members and met with AFSCME to jointly prioritize vacancies to be posted and filled.

The Department agreed to meet with union representatives on a district by district basis to prioritize the vacancies to be filled. The meeting in District 5 was held on September 7 and IDOC is already posting some of the Union-proposed positions, which should result in getting laid off RC-14 employees recalled.

There is no question that terminating all temporary assignments creates certain temporary hardships for some of our members. However, the point of doing this is to get positions filled and to get laid off members recalled. As evidenced by the response of IDOC, this strategy seems to be working, and the IDOC Local Union Presidents are to be commended for their solidarity and willingness to stand up for the right priorities.

Meetings for Districts 2, 3, and 4 are to be held the week of September 20th. District 1 has not yet been scheduled.

FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS WORKERS BUSHWHACKED -- George Bush has directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to lay off up to 2,000 prison workers in response to budget cuts according to a recent article in the Washington Post. At the same time that these public employee union workers are losing their jobs, read the news from Nashville Tennessee, home of the Corrections Corporation of America, the largest private prison operator in the world:

Private prison operator expects business increase By Matt Gouras (The Associated Press) (9/14/04) The company told investors that post-Sept. 11 proposals from President Bush have funneled more money into the U.S. Marshals Service and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. "CCA has seen significant increases in populations from these two agencies in the last year," the company wrote in its presentation to investors. The company said the Bush administration is also cutting prison construction in favor of contracting with private companies and local governments. The Bureau of Prisons is CCA's single biggest customer, accounting for 16 percent of the company's revenue, according to a presentation prepared for CCA executives on a road tour this week with investors.

PEOPLE CONFERENCE SETS STAGE FOR NOVEMBER � Over 500 AFSCME activists from across Illinois gathered in Springfield on September 11 to make endorsements and lay plans for the upcoming election.

Participants heard from Illinois Senator Dick Durbin who described the heated presidential contest now underway as the �most important election of my lifetime.� Durbin criticized the Bush Administration for catering to the wealthy and special interests at the expense of working families�citing the massive loss of jobs on Bush�s watch, the Administration�s fight to take away overtime pay from millions of workers, and the soaring costs of health insurance.

A complete list of AFSCME PEOPLE endorsements will be available on the Council 31 website (www.afscme31.org) and will be featured in the upcoming issue of On The Move.

ILLINOIS PRISON SYSTEM UNDER THE GUN -- Some politicians and media pundits continue to allege that Illinois has too many prison beds. But that�s standing truth on its head. In reality, the Illinois prison system is overcrowded and understaffed�to an alarming degree.

In fact, Illinois has the third most overcrowded prison system in the nation.

Staffing levels are dangerously low throughout the system�and tensions are steadily rising. Over the past year there were four inmate-on-inmate murders�compared to three such deaths in the five preceding years. And rule violations for dangerous contraband were up 23%.

RAISING REVENUES KEY -- Pressure to further downsize the state�s prisons comes from those who want to shrink all government services no matter what the consequences to the public good in order to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

That�s why AFSCME has joined with dozens of other organizations in the A+ Coalition which seeks to reform the state�s tax system to make it fairer�and to raise additional revenues. In recent months, the Coalition has held well-attended hearings in Jacksonville, Bloomington, and South Holland to educate the public about the crisis in state finances and its impact on important public services. Ken Kleinlein, president of Local 3567, and George Walker, president of Local 494, presented testimony at the hearings.

But given the uphill battle to enact a tax increase, Council 31 is also continuing to press for an expansion of licensed gaming that could provide a significant infusion of new revenue in the next fiscal year�when there will almost certainly be another round of battles over prison closures and downsizing.

TAKING THE INITIATIVE � One of the most important ways to combat the misinformation that�s out there about conditions in the prison system is to bring legislators out to the prisons to see what�s really going on. Local1866 President Ralph Portwood recently hosted a delegation of Democratic legislators�and has one scheduled for Republicans--to educate them about the dangerous conditions at Stateville CC�which is at 141% of capacity, with over 2,800 inmates.

SECA FUND DRIVE HAS NEW, PRO-UNION OPTION -- The State Employees Combined Appeal (SECA) drive is under way at most State of Illinois and university workplaces. This annual effort to solicit donations from state and university employees provides an important opportunity to build the Union Community Fund, the AFL-CIO's new pro-labor charitable fund. Many AFSCME members already make charitable donations through the SECA program. Regrettably, far too often those funds end up in the hands of agencies which spend this money fighting the efforts of their employees who wish to have a union. By designating the Union Community Fund (UCF), members can ensure that their donations are being used for the purpose of providing vital services, not for the purpose of beating unions.

So if you give to SECA, we urge you to designate UCF as your charity of choice.

IDOC APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR OF LABOR RELATIONS -- Rick Bard, former Deputy Director of District 5, has been appointed as Chief of Labor Relations, replacing Acting Chief Justin Smock.

GRIEVANCE AND STANDING COMMITTEE MEMBERS ELECTED -- Congratulations are in order for the following people elected to the AFSCME Corrections Standing Committee: Renee Kelly (Parole), Ralph Portwood (Stateville), George Walker (Pontiac), Ken Kleinlein (Western), Rob Fanti (Sheridan), Rick Depratt (Danville), Randy Hellmann (Pinckneyville), Terry Baker (Taylorville), and Larry Flynn (Vienna). The two positions for Juvenile Division are in a run-off as all 4 candidates tied.

The following AFSCME local union leaders are also congratulated upon their election to the Corrections 3rd Level Grievance Committee: Pat Rensing (Pinckneyville), Joyce Black (Vienna), George Guidish (Centralia), Jeff Hohlbauch (Lawrence), and Ada Johnson (Stateville).