Council #1 Members Protest State Agency Budget Cuts

Among the Council #1 members protesting state agency funding cuts are (left to right) Ray Decker and Mike Senn, who teach at the Lincoln Hills School for Boys, and Mickey Kaiser, who teaches at the Fox Lake Correctional Institution.

By Sarah Jancich
Assistant Editor

Council #1 members gathered at the Capitol Thursday (March 28, 2002) to voice their concerns about the state agency funding cuts in the Assembly's proposed budget repair bill.

"We stand to lose a lot if this bill goes through, " said Mickey Kaiser, a teacher at the Fox Lake Correctional Institution. "Just because the system is bankrupted, it's not fair to balance the budget on our backs."

Members of the Council #1 UniServ are employed by the state and have been working without a contract since July 2001. While the Assembly's proposed budget protects K-12 funding, staff in the state's correctional facilities will suffer from cuts in retirement, health insurance and longevity pay benefits.

"They are unilaterally changing the things we bargained for over the past 20 or 30 years," said Ray Decker, who works in the reception center at Lincoln Hills School for juvenile offenders. "We had to fight (for these benefits) every year, and now they're just going to take them away."

Council #1 members have been allowed to trade unused sick leave for health insurance premiums at retirement and collect longevity pay each June, which is an incentive for long-term work. The proposed bill will eliminate both benefits. "We made that deal in lieu of salary increases at the bargaining table," Decker said.

Kaiser and Decker worry about the quality of education they can provide if the proposed cuts become law. "Our class sizes will double, services we've offered in the past won't be there anymore, staff will be laid off and some might choose to get quality health care somewhere else," Kaiser said. "We won't be able to attract the quality people we need."

WEAC President Stan Johnson said WEAC remains concerned about the potential cuts to state agencies and their effect on children and the economy.

"WEAC will stay involved throughout the rest of the budget adjustment process to find solutions that balance the need to eliminate the deficit with the need to preserve essential state services, as well as school district and community funding," Johnson said.

Kaiser stressed the importance of the educators in the state's correctional facilities who help criminal offenders earn a high school equivalency diplomas. "Why would anyone want to cut funding from the most effective way to prevent recidivism?"

"If we keep just three people from returning to prison, our salaries are paid for."

Before the budget adjustment bill becomes law, it must be voted on by the state Senate, pass through a conference committee and ultimately be signed by the governor.

Resource page on 2002 state budget crisis
State budget impacts Council #1 members
Ethan Allen teachers share thoughts with President Johnson

Posted March 28, 2002