A.D. Quig

Bio

Covering the boss city of the universe @CrainsChicago. Alum: @thedailylinechi, @rivetradio, @kenrudinjunkie, @totn, @WIUX. Hoosier.
JUN 28, 2018

Mayor Rahm Emanueland Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle slammed the 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 case, and criticized Gov. Bruce Rauner for celebrating a ruling the mayor called “an attack on working families.”

Union officials said they anticipated no changes to current negotiations.

No longer do government employees have to pay fees to the labor unions that represent them in contract negotiations. Those requirements violate workers’ First Amendment free-speech rights, according to the decision.

“I strongly disagree” with the court ruling, Emanuel said. “It is not a victory for taxpayers.”

Emanuel said about 900 of the city’s 33,000 workers pay fair-share fees to unions that represent them but to which they do not belong. Emanuel said he would only be “guessing” when asked how the city will implement the decision, which he noted was “hours old.”

However, Emanuel said he would continue to partner with the city’s 35 unions.

Preckwinkle also blasted the decision.


“This is the culmination of yet another partisan effort to weaken and undercut public employee unions,”  Preckwinkle said. “Janus was funded and supported by corporate interest groups that want to make it harder for workers to stand united, among them our own problematic governor. Collective bargaining remains an important part of the fabric of our country… I’ll continue to support unions and efforts they’re undertaking to protect working families.”


Approximately 82 percent of the county’s workforce belongs to a union or pays fair share fees.


At the county, fair share fees and union dues are withheld from employee paychecks by the comptroller and remitted to unions during the payroll process. Cook County will stop collecting fair share dues effective Wednesday, spokeswoman Becky Schlikerman said. Asked if the county will ask union members to opt-in to paying dues, as the state is reportedly doing, she said their legal department is reviewing the issue.


Velisha Haddox, the head of the county’s Bureau of Human Relations, said the decision would not effect ongoing collective bargaining negotiations. One third of the county’s labor agreements up for negotiation have been confirmed by the board.

“At this point, bargaining continues and we’re not anticipating any impact, but we continue to work with the unions to the extent they raise issues, new issues on the table that we need to help them resolve,” Haddox said.

Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter said he expected the city and county to begin complying with the ruling immediately.

The decision will likely not have an impact on future contract negotiations, Reiter said. Anders Lindall, a spokesman for AFSCME Council 31, agreed.


“We believe that both the city and the county understand the depth of labor’s collective strength in the Chicago, as well as the rest of the state,” Reiter said.


Several aldermen condemned the decision, which was announced just before the City Council’s June meeting.


Ald. George Cardenas (12) said unions had made it possible for thousands of Chicagoans to live middle-class lives. He pledged to fight the impact of the decisions, which could cost unions millions of dollars the groups have used to support candidates and campaign for issues such as a $15 minimum wage.

“Chicagoans, pull up your sleeves and get ready to fight for progress, equality and the American Dream, one union at a time," Cardenas said.


Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) also struck a defiant tone.


“The labor movement is bigger than any right-wing court decision, bigger than any billionaire, or corporation,” Ramirez-Rosa said. “Our labor movement will never die because it is reborn every time a woman says no to sexual harassment in the workplace, every time a worker goes on strike, every time a worker demands dignity in the workplace and stands up for their rights.”


The City Council’s Progressive Caucus called the decision “radical.”


“We will always stand with the public employees keep our communities safe and healthy — and we will continue to defend workers’ right to organize, bargain collectively, and stand up to right wing attacks," the group said in a statement.

City, County officials slam Janus ruling, pledge to keep working collaboratively with unions

Mayor Rahm Emanueland Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle slammed the 5-4 U.S. Supreme C...
JUN 27, 2018
Mayor Rahm Emanuel tapped an alderman without an airport in his ward to oversee the city’s Aviation Department, and aldermen brokered a deal to honor a Civil Rights icon by renaming a street that now honors the U.S. Congress. Chicagoans who earn the minimum wage will get a raise starting Sunday.

JUN 26, 2018
Aldermen have a full slate of committee meetings on tap Tuesday, including a Zoning Committee session that promises a renewed fight over apartments on the Far Northwest Side. The City Council’s Rules Committee will consider Emanuel’s appointment of Silvana Tabares as 23rd Ward alderman — and placing three non-controversial questions before voters in November. While traveling in Washington D.C., Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the latest in a string of initiatives designed bolster the city’s stock of affordable housing. Cook County Clerk David Orr, who will retire at the end of his term, formed a political action committee.

JUN 14, 2018
Former Gov. Pat Quinn showed no sign on giving up on his effort to get a measure limiting Chicago’s mayor to two terms on November’s ballot, while a Republican challenger to Sheriff Tom Dart faces his own challenge for ballot access.

Morning Briefing — Quinn keeps pushing mayoral recall bill, GOP Sheriff candidate faces petition challenge

Former Gov. Pat Quinn showed no sign on giving up on his effort to get a measure limiting Chicago...
JUN 11, 2018
All eyes will be on the U.S. Supreme Court Monday morning, as the justices are expected to hand down their decision in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, a lawsuit triggered by Gov. Bruce Rauner that could reshape the role of public-sector unions across the nation. Admirers in and outside of the labor movement remembered Eddie “Oilcan” Sadlowski, who died Sunday.

Morning Briefing — All Eyes On Supreme Court As Janus Decision Looms; Black Lives Matter Activist To Challenge 7th Ward Ald. Mitchell

All eyes will be on the U.S. Supreme Court Monday morning, as the justices are expected to hand d...
JUN 08, 2018
Chicago Chief Data Officer Tom Schenk Jr. announced Thursday he was leaving the public sector. Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) launched a new Facebook page as he prepares for a tough re-election campaign, former Gov. Pat Quinn pushed a ballot measure that would limit Chicago mayors to no more than two terms, and Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1) gained a new opponent in the 2019 race.

Morning Briefing — Chicago Chief Data Officer Resigns; Reboyras Launches Re-Election Campaign; Moreno Loses One Challenger, Picks Up Another

Chicago Chief Data Officer Tom Schenk Jr. announced Thursday he was leaving the public sector. Al...
JUN 05, 2018
Another candidate joined the already crowded race to replace Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) and mayoral candidates Willie Wilson and Dorothy Brown reported significant donations. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that six new federal prosecutors are on their way to Chicago — four to focus on violent crime.

MAY 24, 2018
Budget Committee Chairwoman Ald. Carrie Austin (34) and License and Consumer Protection Chairwoman Emma Mitts (37) declared war on two aldermen who moved to block a vote Wednesday to commit funding to the new public safety academy and Fleet and Facility Management yard in Englewood. The item passed through Austin’s committee Tuesday, and the new facility would be built in Mitts’ ward on a vacant lot.

Fight Over Funding For Police, Fire Training Academy Forces Abrupt End To Meeting; Mitts, Austin Declare War

Budget Committee Chairwoman Ald. Carrie Austin (34) and License and Consumer Protection Chairwoma...
MAY 23, 2018
While the spotlight will be on the protests expected to erupt at Wednesday at City Hall as the City Council meets, the Chicago Ethics Board could reveal the result of the first test of the city’s expanded sexual harassment ordinance and an alderman announces plans to run for his seventh term.

Morning Briefing — Ethics Board Tackles #MeToo Complaints; Muñoz To Run For 7th Term; Mobile Merchants To Keep Rolling

While the spotlight will be on the protests expected to erupt at Wednesday at City Hall as the Ci...
MAY 22, 2018
The Obama Presidential Center is set to move one step closer to winning final approval from Chicago officials, when the council’s Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards considers the massive $500 million project at its meeting set for 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Obama Presidential Center Set For Zoning Committee Vote

The Obama Presidential Center is set to move one step closer to winning final approval from Chica...

Bio

Covering the boss city of the universe @CrainsChicago. Alum: @thedailylinechi, @rivetradio, @kenrudinjunkie, @totn, @WIUX. Hoosier.