- Total Number of Ratified Agreements Now at 17 -

SPRINGFIELD - Governor Bruce Rauner and the following labor unions have agreed to terms on new four-year collective bargaining agreements:  Service Employees International Union ("SEIU"), Local 1 Chicago, the International Union of United Food and Commercial Workers, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Three Councils of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, Mid-Central Illinois Regional Council of Carpenters, and the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenter's Regional Council), the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers - Iron Shipbuilders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers, the Laborers International Union of North America, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, & Transportation Workers, and Illinois State Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers.

In October, the Administration announced agreements with the International Union of Operating Engineers, the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry, and the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers. These agreements have now been ratified. Over the summer, the Administration reached collective bargaining agreements with 5 different bargaining units represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, all of which have also been ratified.

Altogether, the Governor has now successfully negotiated new collective bargaining agreements with 17 different bargaining units representing more than 5,000 state employees.  These developments stand in stark contrast to the ongoing negotiations with AFSCME Council 31.  Despite being offered substantially the same material terms as the Teamsters and the Trades, AFSCME has to date rejected the Governor's chief proposals.

The agreements announced today include :

·         The State will expand the existing group health insurance program by offering employees a variety of new options.  In the expanded program, employees will receive on average $967 per month to either maintain their current premiums, maintain their current coverage, mix and match in the way that is most beneficial to them, or shop for an entirely new custom health insurance package potentially on a new health insurance marketplace.  Employees can also use the State's contribution to purchase insurance through a union plan.

·         A new performance incentive program to reward employees with bonuses for cost-saving measures and meeting or exceeding performance standards.

·         A new, collaborative managed competition program that allows management and the unions to work together to provide low-cost alternatives to outsourcing.

·         A reduction in the payout for accumulated unused vacation from 75 to 45 days for employees hired after January 1, 2016.

·         Continuation of a 40-hour work week with overtime earned after 40 hours.

·         A program to enable the State of Illinois to address minority underutilization in state government.

·         Increased training and certification opportunities for employees.

·         Continuation of the prevailing rate system administered by the Illinois Department of Labor.

AFSCME is now on the opposite side of these negotiations from their own colleagues in organized labor.  AFSCME continues to reject many of the same, reasonable proposals being ratified by wide margins by their fellow state employees:

·         AFSCME continues to reject the health insurance framework accepted by the trade unions.  AFSCME's proposal is to continue the same unaffordable health insurance system that the credit rating agencies have noted in the recent downgrades.

·         AFSCME continues to reject a new performance incentive program accepted by trades and Teamsters.  AFSCME's proposal is to continue to pay employees unaffordable automatic wage increases.

·         AFSCME continues to reject a new, collaborative managed competition program accepted by trades and Teamsters.

·         AFSCME continues to resist moving the overtime trigger to the common workplace benchmark of 40 hours.

·         AFSCME continues to reject a program to enable the State of Illinois to address minority underutilization in state government.

·         AFSCME continues to reject a four-year wage freeze.  Teamsters, in contrast, not only agreed to freeze their wages but did so on top of the 75% in-hire rate.

Exploring Literature Through Ballet

We are proud to announce Ballet Quad Cities has been awarded a Humanities Iowa grant of $5,000 for our "Dance Me a Story" project. Dance Me a Story: Exploring Literature through Ballet, is free to the public and allows people of all ages to explore literature through ballet!

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack (IA-02), Iowa Senate President Pam Jochum, Senator Liz Mathis and Senator Amanda Ragan released the following statement today after the four met in Washington, D.C. to discuss Governor Branstad's plan to implement a move to privatized management of Iowa's Medicaid program, which is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2016. Loebsack and Senators Jochum, Mathis and Ragan have been leading the fight to ensure those who rely on Medicaid are not negatively affected by these changes. Approximately 560,000 Iowans rely on Medicaid, which often serves the state's most vulnerable populations, including low-income families, children, seniors and individuals with disabilities.

"We remain concerned that Governor Branstad's plan is moving too quickly and both those who provide Medicaid services and those who rely on Medicaid to receive medical care will face uncertainty. It is time to pump the brakes and slow down the process so Iowans have a chance to fully understand the possible changes. We cannot allow Iowa's most vulnerable patients to fall through the cracks."

Recently, Loebsack wrote to the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) expressing his concern with the plan and has called on him to protect the wellbeing of Iowans. He has also spoken directly with Sylvia Burwell, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, which oversees CMS, to express his concerns with her. Senators Jochum, Mathis and Ragan have also been fighting in Iowa and earlier today met with CMS officials in Washington to express their concerns.

Davenport, Iowa (November 18, 2015) -. The Figge Art Museum will be offering FREE admission on Saturday for the Holiday Kick-Off Family FREE Day, sponsored by the Quad-City Times.

Celebrate the start of the holiday season with an assortment of holiday-themed crafts in the lobby as well as complimentary cookies and cocoa. Stroll through the galleries to experience the current exhibitions on view, or stop in the museum store to do some holiday shopping.

Current traveling exhibitions include : Ellen Wagener: Horizon Lines, Wit & Whimsy: The Photographs of Kenneth Josephson, Edward S. Curtis: One Hundred Masterworks and Wendy Red Star: Peelatchiwaaxpaash/Medicine Crow (Raven) and the 1880 Crow Peach Delegation.

The Museum Store will have class and store gift certificates available for purchase as well as gift memberships. This holiday season receive a free gift with any gift membership purchase.

About the Figge Art Museum 

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is always free to Figge members and institutional members, and free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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