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Last updated 9:56 am CT February 09, 2010.
Judge Puts Planned Layoffs On Hold
Saline County Judge Todd Lambert on Monday issued a preliminary injunction sought by a major union to block Quinn's push to lay off some 2,600 state workers.
Lambert made the ruling in favor of Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It bars Quinn
from carrying out the layoffs until the grievances can be worked
out by arbitration or other means.
Lambert says the risk to the possibly affected employees "far outweighs" any damages or other harm the state may suffer by delaying the layoffs to allow for arbitration.
The union sued last month in Johnson County claiming the layoffs would create serious safety hazards for Illinois prison workers and would be inappropriate until their impact is assessed.
Below is the news release issused by AFSCME
COURT ORDER HALTS STATE-EMPLOYEE LAYOFFS
Judge issues injunction in aid of arbitration
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 has won a court decision blocking the implementation of more than 500 state-employee layoffs that were scheduled to take effect Wednesday.
The order also bars the administration of Governor Pat Quinn from effectuating any further layoff of AFSCME members until the union's grievances arising from the layoff process have been resolved. Gov. Quinn had threatened to lay off more than 2,500 employees, despite warnings from the union that such cuts would harm vital public services, erode public safety and drive up the state's overtime costs.
In a decision issued before 9 a.m. Monday, Judge Todd Lambert of the First Judicial Circuit Court in Johnson County ordered that, "pending resolution by agreement or arbitration of the foregoing grievances, defendants are enjoined from laying off employees".
The AFSCME grievances pertain to tens of millions of dollars of state contracts and sub-contracts with private companies for work that should be performed instead by state employees, the state's failure to complete bargaining over the impact of the layoffs on affected employees, and the danger to employees posed by further cuts to state prisons that are already desperately understaffed.
"The governor's threatened layoffs would harm essential services, including public safety, and add to the ranks of the unemployed," AFSCME executive director Henry Bayer said. "We welcome the judge's ruling today that prevents those layoffs from going forward.
"AFSCME calls on Governor Quinn to use this opportunity to revisit his ill-advised layoff plan," Bayer added. "He should rescind the layoffs, protect vital services and save jobs. To save money, he should look at these tens of millions of dollars in private contracts, eliminating those that aren't needed and bringing in-house work that should be done by state employees. He should hire the staff needed to reduce costly overtime in state facilities. And he should listen to our ideas about saving tens of millions of dollars in the group health insurance program.
"The real root of this issue is the state budget crisis," Bayer said. "The governor and every state lawmaker should commit to passing comprehensive tax reform that raises adequate revenue to fund essential services and preserve the jobs of those who provide them."
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