IL - Council 31 | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

April 06, 2020

IL Child Protection Investigator Makes the Rounds Despite COVID-19 Risk

For this Illinois child protection investigator, telework and social distancing are not options.

February 18, 2020

A 57-Year-Old AFSCME Free College Graduate’s Advice: ‘If I can do it, you can do it’

If a 57-year old AFSCME member can earn his associate degree through the AFSCME Free College benefit, so can you.

August 16, 2019

Meet the 2019 Winner of the Gerald W. McEntee Scholarship

This year’s winner of the Gerald W. McEntee Scholarship juggles a full-time job, graduate studies and union activism.

June 24, 2019

New Era in Illinois: State Workers Secure Fair Contract

In an unmistakable sign that a new era has dawned in Illinois, state workers have secured a fair, new contract from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration.

May 23, 2019

Council 31 Members Make Gains in the Fight for Workplace Safety

AFSCME Council 31 members who work for Illinois’ Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice successfully used their union contract.

May 02, 2019

Illinois State Workers On Proper Step After Illegal Freeze

State workers in Illinois are getting step increases they were denied under former Gov. Bruce Rauner, thanks to the current governor, J.B. Pritzker.

April 08, 2019

Solidarity prevails in Rockford privatization fight

When members of AFSCME Local 1275 (Council 31) stood as one and said no to outsourcing, their employer – Rockford, Illinois, Public Schools – backed down.

January 24, 2019

In the Wake of the Janus Ruling, We're Sticking With Our Union

The billionaires and corporations that brought Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 to the Supreme Court expected a flood of workers to leave their unions. Instead, what’s happening is just the opposite.

November 19, 2018

AFSCME Supports Bill Curbing Workplace Violence

The bill would help protect hospital, psychiatric, behavioral health care, EMS workers and others by requiring the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to issue a federal worker-protection standard.

November 09, 2018

Victory over Rauner in Illinois Was Proof of AFSCME’s Strength

Gov. Bruce Rauner was not a friend of working people. So working people worked hard to make sure he was denied a second term.

November 01, 2018

Fierce Unity and Determination Mark Contract Win for Southern Illinois County Workers

Members of AFSCME Local 2464 (Council 31), county workers from Southern Illinois’ Jackson County, won a new union contract with fair pay and affordable health care.

July 23, 2018

Mark Janus Quits Public Service Job to Serve Big-Money Special Interests

He announced he is quitting his state job as a child support specialist to join the Illinois Policy Institute as a “senior fellow.”

July 10, 2018

‘A Form of Identity Theft’

When a corporate front group misused an AFSCME Council 31 member’s photo, she called the group out on it.

July 06, 2018

New Member Explains Why She Joined Her Union After the Janus Ruling

A must-read column from a new member of AFSCME Council 31 who explains why she converted from being a fee payer to a full union member – after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME.

June 29, 2018

Don’t Believe the Lies, AFSCME Remains Strong

The corporate interests who brought you the Janus ruling are launching their next phase.

June 27, 2018

Supreme Court Sides with Billionaires Over Working People

The U.S. Supreme Court today sided with powerful CEOs, billionaires and corporate special interests against public service workers and everyday working people by issuing an adverse ruling in Janus v. AFSCME.

June 06, 2018

‘We Wouldn’t Have Anything If It Weren’t for Our Union’

Only by joining together in a union can public service workers stand up to those who want to take away their fair pay and benefits and wreck their retirement and health care security.

May 23, 2018

How the Plaintiff in Janus v. AFSCME Benefits from His Union

Mark Janus, the plaintiff in the Janus v. AFSCME case, benefits from his union. So what convinced Mr. Janus to join this destructive lawsuit?

March 27, 2018

UCAN Workers Win a Union

These workers in Chicago joined together to form a union with AFSCME Council 31.

March 23, 2018

Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Rauner Appeal on Steps

Illinois Supreme Court rejects the governor’s appeal of a case AFSCME won at a lower court requiring the payment of step increases.

March 07, 2018

Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court case threatens worker freedom and safety

The Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 Supreme Court case threatens worker freedom and safety. Just ask Council 31 member Randy Clover.

February 13, 2018

We Mourn the Passing of Sister Pamela Knight

We mourn the loss of Sister Pamela Knight, a child protection investigator for the state of Illinois. The Council 31 member died after being attacked while doing her job.

February 07, 2018

Public Service Workers to Supreme Court: Don’t Silence Our Voices

AFSCME and other public-service unions urge the Supreme Court not to silence the voices of workers.

November 02, 2017

Violent Assaults on Staff Increasing in Illinois Prisons, Youth Centers

Assaults on staff in state correctional facilities have increased by 51 percent in the last two years.

October 04, 2017

IL Child Protection Investigator Attacked on the Job

An Illinois child protection investigator, and a member of Council 31, was brutally attacked on the job and is in a coma.

August 07, 2017

Springfield Housing Authority Workers Fight for Fair Wages, Better Contract

The fight for a fair contract continues at the Springfield, Ill., Housing Authority.

July 19, 2017

A Game Show Jackpot Will Change His Life – But Not His Public-Service Job

Why were Illinois sanitation worker Delvar Dopson and his wife competing on the NBC show “The Wall,” and what will they do with the jackpot they won? Bet you can’t guess.

July 12, 2017

Illinois Finally Has a State Budget

Walking back from the brink of fiscal chaos, Illinois finally has a state budget after two years of operating without one.

July 07, 2017

What Janus v. AFSCME is Really About

The leader of AFSCME Council 31 in Illinois explains what the Illinois-based case Janus v. AFSCME is really about.

June 20, 2017

AFSCME Offers Solutions to Struggling Chicago Cabbies

Small business owners who own and operate taxis in Chicago face unfair competition with rideshare operators like Uber and Lyft. A new report by Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500 offers solutions to help save taxi service in the Windy City.

March 06, 2017

Mountain Climber at Work and Outside is Latest Never Quit Winner

Never Quit Service Award winner Amy Biegler personifies the can-do attitude that makes her the champion she is, both on the job and on the mountain – Mount Kilimanjaro, to be precise.

February 23, 2017

Illinois State Employees Vote to Authorize Strike

In the first-ever strike authorization vote, 81 percent of Illinois state workers voted to give their bargaining committee the authority to call a strike if necessary.

February 17, 2017

Good News on Pay for Illinois Public Service Workers

A judge in Illinois has given state employees reason to breathe easier – for now.

February 13, 2017

Playing Politics with a Child’s Life

In Illinois, politics could imperil an infant’s life.

February 09, 2017

Could IL Public Service Workers Go on Strike?

Will Illinois public service employees go on strike? Thousands of workers have until February 19 to decide.

January 25, 2017

Cabbie by Day, Foodie by Night

Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500 member Cheryl Miller got a mouthwatering role in the new Travel Channel series “Driven by Food.”

December 21, 2016

Illinois Prison Workers Play Santa for Homeless Families

Local 1866 chose to be nice, rather than naughty, and give gifts to those less fortunate.

October 18, 2016

Council 31 Members’ Message for Rauner: Come Back to the Table

Illinois Council 31 members are featured in an ad asking the governor to bargain with them.

September 22, 2016

Standing Strong in Illinois

An anti-worker governor is trying to silence Illinois state employees, but they aren’t backing down.

May 31, 2016

AFSCME Sanitation Worker Goes Viral

A smile, a wave, a cupcake and a friendship that went viral.

May 26, 2016

Over 10,000 Rally in Illinois, Demanding Governor Rauner Stop His Hostage-Taking

Chanting “Stop hurting our state!” thousands rallied at the Illinois Capitol to protest Governor Rauner’s harmful inaction.

April 20, 2016

Illinois Direct Support Personnel Push for a Pay Raise

The Illinois public service workers who provide care to thousands of children and adults with developmental disabilities are fighting for a living wage.

December 28, 2015

Taking Back Our Union: Here's How We're Growing Stronger

For the first time in more than 30 years, Chicago cab drivers have a union — a driver-led AFSCME local chartered with the goal of solving tough problems that range from burdensome revenue-raising regulations to police harassment.

December 22, 2015

Thousands Rally for Fairness Across Illinois

Thousands of AFSCME members and retirees sent a loud and boisterous message to Gov. Bruce Rauner this month: Anti-worker agendas have no place in Illinois.

December 04, 2015

Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500 Chartered

A little over a year after a few Chicago cab drivers approached Council 31 about getting a union, Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500 received its official charter and local number.

September 30, 2015

Gov. Rauner Threatens to Stop Health Care Payments

llinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has taken the fight over a new state budget to a new low: He’s stopped making payments to doctors, hospitals and others that provide health care to people covered by the state’s insurance plan.

August 11, 2015

Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500 Makes History

After decades of being treated like second-class citizens by the City of Chicago, cab drivers on Aug. 1 took the historic step of forming their own local union, the first in 30 years in Chicago.

July 13, 2015

Cab Drivers United Get Results on Police Harassment

Cab Drivers United set up a meeting with high-ranking Chicago police officials to discuss policing practices that target cab drivers. As a result, the department issued a “cease and desist” to the officers who made a habit of targeting cab drivers.

June 09, 2015

First McEntee Scholarship Winner Announced

Helping workers win collective bargaining rights “not only built our great union but must be used going forward to make the union stronger,” IL AFSCME member Matthew Whalen wrote in an essay that recently won him this year’s Gerald W. McEntee Scholarship.

April 16, 2015

Corporations Get Tax Breaks While Illinois Taxpayers Get Shaft

In Illinois, Gov. Bruce Rauner decided that $100 million in business tax breaks promised to corporations by a previous governor must be honored. Meanwhile, taxpayers will get the shaft.

IL - Council 31 Archive

IL Child Protection Investigator Makes the Rounds Despite COVID-19 Risk

A 57-Year-Old AFSCME Free College Graduate’s Advice: ‘If I can do it, you can do it’

Meet the 2019 Winner of the Gerald W. McEntee Scholarship

New Era in Illinois: State Workers Secure Fair Contract

Council 31 Members Make Gains in the Fight for Workplace Safety

Illinois State Workers On Proper Step After Illegal Freeze

Solidarity prevails in Rockford privatization fight

In the Wake of the Janus Ruling, We're Sticking With Our Union

AFSCME Supports Bill Curbing Workplace Violence

Victory over Rauner in Illinois Was Proof of AFSCME’s Strength

Fierce Unity and Determination Mark Contract Win for Southern Illinois County Workers

Mark Janus Quits Public Service Job to Serve Big-Money Special Interests

‘A Form of Identity Theft’

New Member Explains Why She Joined Her Union After the Janus Ruling

Don’t Believe the Lies, AFSCME Remains Strong

Supreme Court Sides with Billionaires Over Working People

‘We Wouldn’t Have Anything If It Weren’t for Our Union’

How the Plaintiff in Janus v. AFSCME Benefits from His Union

UCAN Workers Win a Union

Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Rauner Appeal on Steps

Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court case threatens worker freedom and safety

We Mourn the Passing of Sister Pamela Knight

Public Service Workers to Supreme Court: Don’t Silence Our Voices

Violent Assaults on Staff Increasing in Illinois Prisons, Youth Centers

IL Child Protection Investigator Attacked on the Job

Springfield Housing Authority Workers Fight for Fair Wages, Better Contract

A Game Show Jackpot Will Change His Life – But Not His Public-Service Job

Illinois Finally Has a State Budget

What Janus v. AFSCME is Really About

AFSCME Offers Solutions to Struggling Chicago Cabbies

Mountain Climber at Work and Outside is Latest Never Quit Winner

Illinois State Employees Vote to Authorize Strike

Good News on Pay for Illinois Public Service Workers

Playing Politics with a Child’s Life

Could IL Public Service Workers Go on Strike?

Cabbie by Day, Foodie by Night

Illinois Prison Workers Play Santa for Homeless Families

Council 31 Members’ Message for Rauner: Come Back to the Table

Standing Strong in Illinois

AFSCME Sanitation Worker Goes Viral

Over 10,000 Rally in Illinois, Demanding Governor Rauner Stop His Hostage-Taking

Illinois Direct Support Personnel Push for a Pay Raise

Taking Back Our Union: Here's How We're Growing Stronger

Thousands Rally for Fairness Across Illinois

Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500 Chartered

Gov. Rauner Threatens to Stop Health Care Payments

Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500 Makes History

Cab Drivers United Get Results on Police Harassment

First McEntee Scholarship Winner Announced

Corporations Get Tax Breaks While Illinois Taxpayers Get Shaft