AFSCME Council 31

AFSCME Council 31 is the Illinois state chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a union of public service workers in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

[3] In 1973, Illinois Governor Daniel Walker signed an executive order recognizing the collective bargaining rights of public sector workers.

[3] On its website, AFSCME Council 31 encourages its members to politically organize: "Unions can never hope to match the hundreds of millions of dollars big business pours into every election.

The state and the nation's largest union of public employees will head to court over an arbitrator's decision that Illinois Gov.

[10] The state filed a suit before a Sangamon County, Illinois judge to uphold the arbitrator's ruling.

The arbitrator said the administration had the right to exercise broad powers to deal with the state budget crisis.

In 2008, AFSCME Council 31 and the state of Illinois agreed on a multi-year contract that covered members' wages, hours, and employment conditions.

[2] During the Illinois budget crisis, the state could not afford the increase scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2011.