AFSCME Local 448 Northwestern Illinois State Employees Union / AFL-CIO / Council 31
AFSCME Local 448 Northwestern Illinois State Employees Union / AFL-CIO / Council 31
AFSCME Local 448 Northwestern Illinois State Employees Union / AFL-CIO / Council 31
AFSCME Local 448 . . . Proudly Representing Over 600 Workers in the Illinois Counties of Boone, Bureau, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago
New Contract Ratified!
After six months and countless hours at the bargaining table we have finally reached a tentative agreement with the State of Illinois and members statewide came out in droves to ratify the new contract with a whopping 99% of members voting in favor of the new agreement!
I would like to thank Laurie Scudder and Greg Duffy for being a part of the bargaining team. Their participation in this process will greatly benefit our local.
In addition to historic pay increases and no increases in health insurance costs until 7-1-24, our health care costs overall are less than half of what they were in the last contract. We made some major changes in this contract. One of which is the right of the employee to choose if they want to receive Compensatory Time or cash payment for overtime worked. For some, this was not an issue but for many, especially those in DHS, it was. While the change was effective 7-1-23 unfortunately CMS is behind in advising agencies of many the changes in the new contract, for DHS this happens to be one of those changes. Rest assured that we are aware of the issue and are addressing it.
It's All In The Contract!
Now that the contract has been ratified the next steps are to make agencies aware of the changes and to get the contract book printed and distributed. CMS has the responsibility for making agencies aware and AFSCME Council 31, thanks to our new agreement, has the responsibility to have the contract book printed. How it will be distributed is still under discussion.
The good news is that we should have the new master contract in our hands much sooner than the last one, since Council 31 does not have to jump through all the procurements hoops the state does. Until we get the new copies continue to use your only contract book but make sure you consult the Contract Change document you received at the ratification meeting you attended. If you didn’t attend a ratification meeting or tossed the paperwork you were given the documents will be posted on our website for your reference.
Convention Call
The AFSCME Council 31 Bi-Annual Convention will be held this October in Springfield. Elections for delegates, alternates and guests will be held at the in- person membership meeting to be held 9-7-23. The meeting will be held in Dixon at the DOT office located at 819 Depot Avenue. If you would like to be considered for one of the positions to attend the convention but cannot attend the meeting you MUST submit your request to be considered in writing to Alice Sutherland at presidentafscmelocal448@gmail.com PRIOR to 6:30 PM on 9-7-23.
Labor Day Parade and Picnic
Bring your families and come walk in the Rockford Labor Day Parade on Monday, September 4th. We will meet in the parking lot across from the old post office on South Main Street at 8am where school busses will take us to our parade lineup spot. After the parade join us at the picnic. Food and drink tickets will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis starting with those walking in the parade.
Scholarship Winners Announced
Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 AFSCME Local 448 Cyndi Overton Memorial Scholarship!
Avery Medina
Avery is the son of member Art Medina who works for the Dekalb County DHS. Avery is attending Arizona State Univeristy, College of Health Solutions. Avery is a high-performing student with a strong work ethic and dedication to personal growth.
Keiden Eason
Keiden is the son of member Lakeyda Eason who works for DCFS in Freeport. Keiden is an active member of his Church and has successfully completed ComEd's Tool of the Trade program which is designed for high school students to explore the skilled trades careers at ComEd.
Keiden will be studying Social Work at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee. Keiden chose this line of study due to his desire to help people and watching his mother help people in her job as well as family and friends.
Drew Streckwald
Drew is the son of member John (Kip) Streckwald who works for DNR at Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park.
Drew will be attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign majoring in Agricultural and Biological Engineering and will be pursuing a dual degree.
Drew is no stranger to high goals and hard work. While in high school he participated in football, basketball and baseball. Not only that, but he graduated first in his class at Lena-Winslow High School.
Want To Receive Text and Email Updates?
In an effort to keep everyone up to date on what is going on, we are trying to gather personal email addresses and cell phone numbers so that this can be used as a method of contact when important things come up and we need to get the word out fast. If you would like to receive email and text updates, please send your PERSONAL email address and cell phone information to Alice Sutherland at presidentafscmelocal448@gmail.com. You can also do this by going to www.afscme31.org and entering your email address in the “Sign UP for Email” space, then completing the information asked for.
Welcome To Our AFSCME 448 Website!
It is a pleasure to present our AFSCME 448 website to our members! The website launched publicly on December 6, 2019, and the primary purpose of the website is to communicate noteworthy news, events and information to our 600+ local 448 members. Like any well-planned and useful website, our website will never be “completed” or “finished”; we will make regular updates to it as new information and needs dictate.
I invite you to tour and experience the website, from page to page, to learn what we are sharing and communicating, and to also solicit from you what information our website lacks and needs. We look very forward to your review of the website, and any “wish list” items going forward. Email your comments to us at afscmecouncil31.local448@gmail.com, or by using this website's contact form. Also, while you are visiting the site, please be sure to sign up for emailed news alerts from us. Sign up takes just a moment, and it lets us build a database of local 448 members’ email addresses so that we can, as needs arise, email important and timely news and information to our membership.
Help Is Just A Call Away!
We wanted to take a moment to remind you that if you are experiencing excessive stress, depression or anxiety, help is available through the AFSCME Personal Support Program. It's now even easier to access the help you need as PSP services are available via Telehealth. You can call 1-800-647-8776 for assistance.
Meet Our Members
As you know, our Local represents employees in many State agencies throughout Northern Illinois. We would like to get to know each and every one of you better. So, if you would like to help us do that, answer the following questions and we will feature a different employee in each newsletter and here on the website. Email your submissions to Alice Sutherland at presidentafscmelocal448@gmail.com.
1. Tell us about your job, and let us know the agency you work for.
2. How does your job provide a valuable public service?
3. What's your inspiration to go to work every day?
4. How does your union improve your work?
5. How has your union job impacted your family?
Submit Your Photos!
Do you have any photos from your union workplace, union meetings and gatherings or other union-related events that can help tell a story about Local 448? If so, we'd like you to submit them to afscmecouncil31.local448@gmail.com for our review and possible use here on this website, and/or other AFSCME-related materials. When submitting images, please submit images in .jpg format and images should not exceed 2MB in file size. Also, please provide some brief information/caption regarding each submitted image. Thank you!
Membership meetings are
held at least quarterly and generally on the first Thursday of the month. Food will be served (when allowed) beginning at 5:30 pm with
the meeting beginning promptly at 6:30 pm.
The next Membership Meeting is September 7th
in Dixon at the DOT office
If you want to participate in the meeting please send an email to Alice Sutherland at presidentafscmelocal448@gmail.com
Attend Your
Union Meetings!
Sign Up For Emailed
Membership News Alerts
Bad Addresses
If you move, don't forget to let your steward know your new address or send an email to Alice Sutherland. Each month, we get several newsletters back because members have moved and we don't have an updated address. If you know of someone who has moved, make sure to reach out to them and let them know they need to update their address with us. We want everyone to stay informed.
Your Right To
Union Representation:
WEINGARTEN RIGHTS
"If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated or have any effect on
my personal working conditions, I respectfully request my union representative, officer or steward to be present at this meeting. Without union representation, I choose not to participate in this discussion."
