IFPE Update November 2018
IFPE New Officers, Exec Board and Rep Assembly:
All positions will take effect January 1st. Thank you to those that have served and to those who were nominated and to represent the local for the next three years.
[ see list]
Steward Training:
If you would like to be a steward for your council, please contact your area vice president. We will be holding steward trainings between February and May in Springfield and Westmont. If there is enough interest in another part of the state, we can hold steward trainings in various IFT offices.
Election 2018:
Thank you to each member who volunteered on a campaign for IFT endorsed candidates, for educating others and encouraging folks to vote, and for voting yourselves. It is powerful to have a say in hiring your boss. We did through the election process and by voting. Rauner—you’re fired and JB – you’re hired. Dan Montgomery, president of the IFT, has been named to Pritzker’s financial advisory committee. This means we have a seat and a voice at the table.
Step Increases:
Governor Rauner has failed to follow court orders to place employees on the appropriate step and to figure the back wages and interest since July 1, 2015. We have no reasonable belief that he will follow these orders before he vacates office. Governor elect Pritzker repeatedly said people need to be paid what they have already earned. It will take Pritzker time to get into office and get a handle from every agency of what work has been done – or not done—to determine employee’s appropriate steps and back wages. We have every reason this will be a priority. Be patient as you have. The courts have ordered the pay, it’s a matter of time.
Bargaining:
We do not know how soon we will get to the bargaining table with the new Governor. When we do there are multiple issues to bargain: There was never a contract from 2015-2019 that was bargained and ratified by both parties. We have been working under the 2015 expired contract. So, we will need to discuss the terms of bargaining 2015-2019. Then, we will need to bargain a contract from 2019-2022. The bargaining team will begin meeting to discuss strategy once the new exec board takes office.
RC-56:
At the end of June, the Governor petitioned the Labor Board to de-certify all but 2 titles in the bargaining unit. This is a voluntarily recognized bargaining unit of approximately 125 members. It would diminish the unit to less than 10 members. The IFPE filed a response to the Labor Board, filed a grievance which was immediately submitted to arbitration and also filed a suit in Cook County Circuit Court. Recently the Labor Board assigned the case and we are waiting for a decision from the Administrative Law Judge to set it for hearing. We will be communicating with Pritzker about withdrawing the petition.
Committees:
After the new exec board takes office, they will be seeking members to serve on various local committees. Please keep an eye out for volunteer requests.
Non-Work Email:
Our means of communicating with members is via non-work email. We cannot discuss union business with state emails. Please make sure the local office has your non-work email, especially for communications during this bargaining year.
IFPE Website and Facebook:
The local has been in the process of updating the IFPE website and it is almost ready for launch. The website address is: www.ifpelocal4408.org.
The local Facebook page is IFPE Local 4408
New Members- Retiree Members:
With the vast amount of worksites across the state in the local and the sometimes lack of cooperation from the state agencies, it is difficult to keep track of all member status. There are delays of getting the information from the state by at least one month.
If you have a new employee at your worksite, within your region, or within the council that you know of, please pass along the employee information to your Area Vice President. We would like to reach out to new employees and potential members as soon as we can. Additionally, if you have the same information about someone who is retiring. We would like to reach out to those retirees so they can become members of the local’s retiree chapter and lifetime members of the IFT and AFT.