A government labor union says it's “positive” the Illinois House will side with it over Governor Bruce Rauner. A key vote on whether to override Rauner's veto of a union-backed bill is expected tomorrow.
The legislation would bar unions from striking and prohibit the governor from locking workers out. Instead, if the parties can’t agree on a contract, an arbitrator would decide.
Keith Kelleher is president of the union SEIU Healthcare Illinois. It represents tens of thousands of child care and home healthcare workers. He says his group did not originally support the idea, because his group didn’t want to give up the right to strike.
“But since the legislation was introduced, we’ve had several bargaining sessions and interactions with the negotiator from the governor’s office, and it’s gotten worse."
The unions have been negotiating with the Rauner administration for months, yet they’re said to be far apart. Rauner says the unions are demanding unreasonable raises; unions say the governor is trying to destroy them.
