Public Employee Press

The World of Work

AFSCME beats pension rollback

AFSCME Council 31 and other unions beat back a proposal to reduce public employees’ pensions in Illinois. The state’s Democratic Governor, Rod Blagojevich, pushed the proposal as part of this year’s state budget plan, which the legislature approved in May.

The proposal included deep cuts for new hires in addition to reductions for early retirees and limits on cost-of-living increases after retirement.

The union coalition waged a grassroots campaign for months that included town hall meetings around the state, phone banking and full-page newspaper ads.