Afscme Local 1753

02/16/2021

FYI, the meeting was cancelled today and will be postponed to a later date. We will keep you updated on the new date and time for the meeting.
Thank you!

02/11/2021

Hello, Members! We will be having a Membership Meeting via zoom on Tuesday 2/16/2021 from 2pm-4:30pm. We will share the zoom link on this page the morning of the 16th.
See you there!

10/16/2020

🖤CORRECTIONAL OFFICER'S PRAYER🖤
“Lord, when it's time to go inside,
That Place of steel and stone.
I pray that you will keep me safe,
So I won't walk alone.

Help me to do my duty,
Please watch me on my rounds.
Amongst those perilous places,
And slamming steel door sounds.

God, keep my fellow Officers
Well and free from harm.
Let them know I'll be there too,
Whenever there's alarm.

Above all when I walk my beat,
No matter where I roam.
Let me go back whence I came,
To family and home.”

Some quick statistics that are likely much higher but for quick reference some that have been published in the past for a little perspective:

life expectancy of a correctional officer is 59 years, compared to 75 years for the national average. It has the HIGHEST MORTALITY rate of ANY other occupation, including the highest rates of divorce, Substance Use/Dependence & domestic assault.*

The risk of SU***DE is 39 percent HIGHER than in ALL other professions combined.**
CO’s DOUBLE the su***de rate of police officers, a result of untreated trauma, co-occurring mental health issues, and other stresses related to the job.

COs suffer from PTSD at more than DOUBLE the rate of police officers & the general public. Recent statistics found 34 percent of COs suffer from PTSD, compared to 11-20 percent of military veterans. In a room with 100 randomly selected correctional officers, statistically 34 out of 100 will have PTSD, and 31 will be diagnosed with severe depression.

SU***DE HOTLINE 800-273-8255

10/13/2020

Updated union steward list as of today.

10/08/2020

Correctional Counselor II

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10/08/2020

Correctional Counselor I

Under direct supervision of the Correctional Casework Supervisor, performs beginning level professional duties providing counseling and guidance services to offenders; performs routine beginning level case management duties as outlined by facility; participates in recommending and reviewing treatmen...

10/02/2020

Wexford will now get pandemic pay!
For state employees Pandemic pay that has been owed for awhile will post October 3. Check the ledger.

09/28/2020

Pandemic pay has been extended to October 31st.

The pandemic pay supplement you are receiving because you have been excluded from coverage under the federal Families First Act is set to expire this week on September 30th. AFSCME has been pressing for an extension of this pay supplemental. But as you know, the state’s fiscal situation is very dire. And because state government is now faced with the threat of employee layoffs and service cutbacks, the Pritzker Administration found it very difficult to allocate further funds for a supplemental pay premium.
To prevent the kind of massive disruption in service delivery and in employees’ lives that layoffs and program cuts would engender, assistance is urgently needed on two fronts.
First, Congress needs to pass the HEROES Act which provides significant COVID relief funding to state and local governments. The House of Representatives has already passed the measure, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been blocking passage in the Senate. McConnell had originally argued that states should instead declare bankruptcy and unload their employee pension obligations. Democrats—and even some of his fellow Republicans—strongly objected to that course of action. But now McConnell has simply reverted to refusing to act on legislation that would provide the kind of significant assistance to state and local governments that governors of both political parties are calling for.
AFSCME has been leading the fight in states across the country to press for action in the Senate on the kind of federal emergency funding to states that is so urgently needed. Here in Illinois, Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth are already on board. But in other states, Republican senators have largely fallen in line behind McConnell’s strategy to force drastic cuts on state governments.
Second, and equally urgent, is voter approval of the Fair Tax constitutional amendment which will be on the ballot in Illinois in the upcoming election. AFSCME strongly supports the Fair Tax and urges union members to Vote Yes!
The amendment will remove the constitution’s ban on graduated tax rates like those that the federal government and 35 other states already have. It would trigger enactment of legislation already adopted by the General Assembly that would raise $3 billion in additional state revenues by raising taxes only on those who make more than $250,000 annually. Without the amendment, legislators would not have the option of ensuring that those with higher incomes pay taxes at a higher rate.
AFSCME made the case to the Pritzker Administration that much will depend on how these issues are resolved—whether there is a change of direction in the US Senate and whether there is tax reform in Illinois. If progress is made on both fronts, then there will be a path forward to stabilize state government and potentially continue the pandemic pay supplement.
And here’s the good news: With those possibilities for fiscal stability before us, the Administration has now agreed to extend the 12% pandemic pay supplement through October 31!
In addition, the State will continue to provide the COVID-19 enhanced paid sick time benefit—which is actually more expansive than that provided by the FFCRA.
This alternative benefit plan is an important recognition that you are indeed “essential” and the work you are performing every day is vital to the public good. The threat posed by the coronavirus remains very real. If you need help to keep safe, don’t hesitate to reach out to your local union or your Council 31 Staff Representative.
And remember—stay safe and stay AFSCME Strong!
In unity,
Roberta Lynch
Executive Director

09/23/2020

If you are in Upper Mobility and attending upper mobility college courses:

Follow these instructions
Section X - Time-off, in the UMP Policy Guidelines:

Employees will not be offered nor be required to work overtime when such overtime would conflict with the employees' ability to travel to or participate in a class under the auspices of Upward Mobility, except in times of extreme emergency. Employees are required to provide their supervisor with a copy of their PVA and a copy of their course registration form/schedule at the beginning of each semester.

Employees who are not available for mandatory overtime due to class attendance will remain at the top of the mandatory overtime list for days not conflicting with Upward Mobility classes until selected.

Furthermore, AFSCME Council 31 agrees not to grieve for an employee and the State of Illinois agrees not to discipline an employee who refuses to work overtime under the circumstances of this section.

[email protected]

09/22/2020

Getting Paid What Is Owed

While eligible employees in other agencies have received their pandemic pay supplements with each of their regular paychecks, employees in IDOC had only received the supplemental pay through May 31. AFSCME repeatedly contacted both IDOC and DCMS to press for payment of the money owed for the ensuing months.

Each time, the union was told that the payroll staff had to do all the calculations for the supplement “by hand” and had fallen behind in this work. That might explain a few weeks’ delay, but it hardly explained several months.

Earlier this month, Council 31 sent a letter to IDOC indicating that if the money owed to AFSCME members was not paid, the union intended to take legal action. Within just a few weeks, checks were issued to employees covering another month. And now DCMS has told the union that employees should be paid in full by the end of the current pay period.

09/22/2020

AFSCME Urges Extension of Pay Supplement

AFSCME Council 31 is urging the Pritzker Administration to agree to a further extension of the 12% pandemic pay supplement that was established as part of an alternative benefit plan for state employees who were deemed essential and thereby excluded from coverage under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

The agreement went into effect on April 15 and is currently set to expire on September 30. AFSCME believes that because the FFCRA benefit is still in effect for other employees, those designated as essential should still be eligible for some form of alternative benefits.