“Illinois is a pro-worker state, and when it comes to workers’ rights, my administration is committed to ensuring that all Illinoisans have access to high-paying opportunities,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. , said after signing a new agreement with the state’s largest state. civil service union.

The problem is that this definition of worker friend is rather narrow. The workers he is interested in are government trade union officials. He is not very friendly towards other workers who are paid for his luxuries.

A new contract signed with the Federation of U.S. State, County and Municipal Employees will give state employees a 19.28% pay raise and $1,200 in benefits, with additional costs totaling $625 million over four years. .read Mr. Pritzker’s statement For this contract, he claims the salary increase is only 17.95%.Read the trade union content statement It advertises this deal to its members and has a figure of 19.28% on it. (Related: Jonathan Williams and Nick Stark: Tax Cuts for Millions of Red State Residents)

Mr. Pritzker does not take into account the compounding effect of salary increases over four years, but only adds annual percentages, which is clearly misleading. Small amounts have grown so large over time, and that’s exactly why Illinois’ public pension debt ballooned to the highest in the nation in his 2015. $140 billion Thanks to the underpayment and the fact that pensioners’ 3% annual salary increases are compounded, not only the initial amount but also the annual salary increase is on top of it.

Here is an example: Jane Doe said that at the start of her AFSCME contract she was earning $100,000, but just adding the annual rate would bring her to $117,950. Increasing her increment each year, she could actually get her $119,280, plus an additional $1,330 thanks to her compound interest.

But math just doesn’t work with press releases. It is important to keep the pay raises as small as possible.

Pritzker also fails to point out the $1,200 allowance that all workers will receive or why they receive it. So why are they getting them? Are all state contracts expected to hand over free money? “Yes,” said Pritzker. 35,000 So these benefits will cost the rest of us workers $42 million.

Mr. Pritzker handed $2,500 stipend When he contracted AFSCME workers shortly after taking office in 2019, the contract cost a lot of money. $3.6 billion There were more than needed, according to an analysis by the Illinois Policy Institute. The benefits were for the “hardships” they suffered while working for the state under former Governor Bruce Rauner. Mr. Rauner has been battling them on the cost side, but mostly state workers get platinum health insurance, which most people don’t get, at a small cost to workers.

By the way, under this new contract, there will be no increase in employee health insurance premiums in the first year, and little increase thereafter. Perhaps it’s because costs aren’t rising? Hmm.

There is also no estimate of the cost of increased parental leave or additional employment as specified in the contract.

So, adding this new Pritzker Accord to the 2019 Pritzker Accord, he handed state employees a 33.6% pay raise. Costs other than salary increases are unknown. he puts out his hand we will pay (Related: William O’Reilly: How to ruin a thriving city within 10 years)

The problem here is that in Illinois, civil service unions have too much money and too much influence. AFSCME will spend only 21% of its funds on workers’ representation in 2022, with the rest for political and other union priorities and expenses. Pritzker was chosen not as a friend of the state union, but as an advocate for taxpayers. We taxpayers expect him to control what the government pays us.

A true friend of a working man doesn’t toss a $1,200 check like Oprah does a car.

Brad Weisenstein is editor-in-chief of the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan public policy research organization that promotes free market solutions.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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