Another Illinois Governor Scandal
(thanks to Jeff B for the item)
New Illinois Governor, New Scandal
David Loses Against Goliath
EFFINGHAM
It’s politics as usual in the
But it’s not to be.
Quinn is trying to force the hand of the
In the process, a small counseling service in down state
And they’re going to lose.
What’s happening? Here’s a time line of events:
2005: Employees of Heartland Human Services, a 39-year old, successful, non-profit counseling service in
2006: Heartland Human Services’ management and board of directors are forced to the bargaining table with powerful and bullying AFSCME representatives. The HHS board is a small group made up of a cross section of clergy, businesspeople, school district superintendents, and hospital managers. They hold the line and refuse to capitulate to the extreme demands of the AFSCME reps. The small board believes to give in to the union demands would create a model that could not survive the disastrous financial climate in the State of
2007: AFSCME forces the Heartland employees to go on strike in an effort to cripple the agency’s ability to service clients. HHS board and management respond by hiring temporary workers and carrying on business. Union reps incite violent retaliation on the picket line in front of the agency, including hitting passing cars with signs and eggs and verbally abusing working employees with a bull horn and vulgar language.
2008: After one year on strike, the union offers to come back to work without a contract. Recognizing a common strategy to inflict internal damage, HHS’ management locks out the union workers.
January 2009: The State of Illinois goes through a national scandal when Governor Rod Blagojevich tries to sell Barack Obama’s senate seat. Blagojevich is removed from office and replaced by Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn in February. It is common knowledge that Quinn owes his political career to unions and is very sympathetic to their efforts.
June 2009: Heartland Human Services is advised that their state contracts will not be renewed on July 1st, the start of the new state fiscal year. No reason is given, even after multiple requests by the agency executive director, Cheryl Compton, and several state legislators representing the Effingham area. It is very clear the unwillingness of Heartland Human Services’ board to capitulate to AFSCME demands is the reason.
So, after 39 years of successfully offering services to the economically disadvantaged in this rural community , and passing a recent major audit by the Illinois Auditor General, Heartland will have to shut down its operations.
Because it wouldn't play ball with the union and Governor Pat Quinn.
The union had something to do with it for sure, but don't forget the GOP in Springfield aren't budging on Quinn's budget. Who's been a very outspoken critic of Blago and Quinn? Sen. John O. Jones. It just happens that Sen. Jones is also part of the GOP minority leadership holding up Quinn's budget...
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This article is a completely biased piece of trash. So let me get this straight, this business is able to do whatever they want and they are only doing it in the name of what's right. When the employees stand up for themselves they are selfish and being manipulated by the big bad union? Give me a break.
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Interstingly, the employees were effective in gaining community support, until it was revealed their current contract has nearly a dozen paid holidays, in addition to sick days, personal days and vacation days.
Once those numbers hit the street, the public wasn't so enamoured of the protest. Of course, the union no longer wants to talk about EXACTLY what benefits they want to keep. Because the benefits were UNBELIEVABLE.
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You should be ashamed of yourself. Have you ever talked to a single one of these workers? They, who happen to be pretty much all middle-age women, have been out of a job for TWO YEARS because of their belief they should be TREATED FAIR. This is America, THEY ARE HEROES. You should apologize to each and every one of them and their families for this ignorant piece of garbage you call an article. For shame!
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In fact, I have talked with the women who were employed there. Here's what they told me: "The union sold them a bill of goods. Frankly most would have happily gone back to work, but were too intimidated to cross the line."
More to the point, I gave employment to one of the union members after they lost their job because of the strike. She loved her job at Heartland, and she loved working there. She thought the union was overreaching, while overpromising.
She was ashamed of what they (the union) did to a dedicated work force.
I printed the article as it was presented to me. If you'd like to share specifics, from the union perspective, I'll happily consider posting those as well. I'd love to know if my impression of the vacation, sick, holiday and personal days is incorrect.
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Just so you know, a "reporter" would publish the name of anyone he interviewed and what that person directly had to say. Maybe you should go talk to the workers yourself and come back and publish their comments fairly instead of this ignorant trash. "I printed the article as it was presented to me" - some "reporter," sounds more like a parrot.
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Joseph,
Thanks for your response. Your first comment suggested that I hadn't talked to any of the "ladies". Again, I have talked with employees, who requested that I protect their identity. Reporters do that all the time.
For the most part, the item submitted correlated to what I heard from the former union member. Again, this was a union member that I proudly gave employment to.
The piece was submitted by someone I trust. Hence, I published it as presented.
Although I've already gotten a union-members private input on the matter, I would be happy to consider publishing what you might submit.
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I'm not a union member, go talk to them yourself if you really are a "reporter"!! I have wasted enough time on you
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Joseph,
Again, I've talked with both sides. My conversations didn't take place in the "heated environment" which is the front gage of Heartland. Rather I spoke with the one woman, in particular, over the course of several months. (And have had the same facts confirmed by other "friends of workers" during the past many months.)
Similarly, I've spoken with people from management and the board. Hopefully, you've done the same. I think you'll find it to be very enlightening, as did I.
I appreciate your passion for the topic. And the loss of jobs (union and non-union) is a serious issue. I'm very disappointed that anyone is taking joy from the fact that more jobs will be lost as a result of the Governor's decision making.
While some might like to believe it is the case, there is no victory in the loss of jobs at Heartland.
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I AM one of the locked out workers.... I have numerous stories I could tell about the lack of caring by the Board of Directors at HHS. Wanna hear them, have the guts to open this up for discussion. I would talk anytime anywhere. The rich people of Effingham is what we are fighting... No one wants to cross the rich, so things go unsaid. Effingham would do better for ALL citizens if the "little people" weren't threatened daily with losing their jobs if they support people who stand up for thier rights and speak out against the powers that be. We went out on strike to bring change to Heartland. Quality services could not be provided the last few years before we even contacted AFSCME. It's impossible to provide quality services when the staff is fired and/or leaves due to the board and the Director's relentless bullying and threats. The President of the Board didn't even care enough about clients or employees to help when help was needed. He saw the incident that took place and returned to the board room to feed his face instead of offering help.... Roger Marshall knows the complete story as do the board members. The one and only member who responded was removed from the board because he wanted to know the complete story and actually reached out to the employees to try and fix the problem. Hundreds of well educated and experienced employees have left Heartland over the years, they all can tell the same stories, this dispute didn't begin when workers went out on strike, it has been ongoing with massive turnover for 10 plus years. No one should talk about the past three years unless they have actually been through it, and that means board members should remain silent as they haven't attended any negotiations and wouldn't know what the real issues are even if they did as they only care about the bottom line, keeping Effingham "Union Free". that is the ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. Talk about that fact!
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Thanks for your response. From the community perspective, one thing that is increasingly frustrating is the strike was originally launched because of benefits and compensation. This is certainly something that is an objective critiera=something easy to measure.
It's when you start talking about "working conditions" that you enter a subjective area, as it's difficult to measure.
Again, as I recall, when the strike first started, the strikers were demanding "better benefits". However, once the community started asking what benefits were being sought, then the strikers began talking about the more subjective "working conditions".
So, would you mind providing a list of the benefits that the strikers were seeking?
Thanks!
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After seeing the seniority staff fired and leaving because they believed to be next, listening to the client's voice concern over losing their counselor on a moments notice, the tragedy of clients being assigned and re-assigned to different counselors over and over. The fact that I myself was doing the jobs of 4 people and it wasn't nearly as difficult as counselors taking on full caseloads in the absence of their co-workers. These are PEOPLE we are dealing with, this is not a factory. Human conditions are fragile, maybe you have never been in a situation of depression, PTSD, suicide, or have anyone close to you suffering from any mental health problem, if so God has blessed you, or maybe He has cursed you as trials make people stronger. But, when trying to emerge from a trial a stronger, more productive person you NEED the comfort of one solid counselor in your life. The upheaval I witnessed in the short years I worked at Heartland should never have happened. The agency should have been more aware of day to day happenings. The agency should have been able to see that over 30 offices were empty (before anyone ever called to organize). This was tried in 1995 as many counselors recall. The time was right for the group we had to stand up and ask for changes. How dare we? Change is good, our input to the board "would" have helped grow Heartland for the better. Roger Marshall himself admitted to us at bargaining that things should have been handled differently and for that "He" was sorry. At that point things should and could have been settled. We were at his home, listening and feeling heard. BUT, what changes a minister's mind, what takes a soft heart and hardens it? Guess we will never know. I am secure in the fact that we did the good and decent thing for the clients of this community, My heart is content and I have peace with myself and all the clients I have helped and continue to be friends with to this day. They are alive, they are able to convey their friendships, they will forever be a part of what has changed me and for that I am grateful. I have learned a lot about myself and the community I live in. Faith never leads you around a problem it leads you through it. Hold tight to our faith, we are better for it. As for your sources for this story, you have been taken advantage of. ALOT of people tell you their story to "get" something in return and you, sir have been taken (for a "good" job, or an uppercrust place in the "society" called Effingham.) Too bad some regard a place among the "in-crowd" as more important than their convictions and the lives of others less fortunate. I think we should have moved past High School Games a long time ago! We simply wanted a few problems changed/improved and instead the board allowed it to come to this current situation, money that could have went into building up Heartland has been wasted on lawyers to fight a few days off and a chance to represent onself in a grievance. WOW!
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Thanks for your response.....I think. I'm happy if this blog can offer an outlet for your opinions. I regret that a few continue to "dictate" what my insight and experiences have been. Again, I've employed a former union worker from Heartland. And please don't make assumptions as to my connection with mental illness. For more than 40 years, my aunt suffered from a range of mental diseases. You could say that I grew up with a full knowledge of mental illness. Before the age of 10, I knew what manic depression was, and witnessed, first hand, the frustrating symptoms and myriad of possible "cures". For more than 40 years I witnessed the "ups" and "downs" of her illness.
I appreciate your insight and perspective. But to keep this moving forward, would you be kind enough to provide insight on the objective measures that have been debated in the past? Would you provide a synopsis of the existing benefits and what was being requested that ultimately led to the strike. This info would help us be better informed on the topic.
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You said that Heartland Human Services would have to close its doors. Your description of the board sounds like they are upstanding citizens in the community. Why would they want the local mental health facility to close? The local newspaper said that the state offered a 2 month contract to transfer services elsewhere. I guess what I am trying to say is the board of Heartland Human Services just going to close the place down or try to do something to save the situation and the people of the community?
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I was an intern at this establishment over 10 years ago, and in the few months I was there, it was obvious that client welfare and employees were not held in high regard; generating revenue was the name of the game. Turnover was maintained purposely and systematically in an effort to keep from paying into retirement plans, granting PTO, etc. Pressure was put onto staff to generate revenue through billings, even if the services were repetitive and weren't worth billing, which is fraudulent. Management style was such so that anything that went against the grain of this, you were eliminated or they would attempt to build a case against you to dissolve your credibility. My immediate manager at the time, who has now been there almost as long as the director, was a master at this, which is largely why the director has kept her on, since that manager is the director's puppet, to carry out this ideology. An HR generalist was employed there, but this seemed to be more for show given what went on there. People were miserable there, and the clients could sense this. I feel bad for the employees, but I am happy that a lot of what I saw is now visible. Given the lack of respect these "upstanding" community board members and managers have toward their employees, they are getting what they deserve.
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Your story matches soooo many others stories. Too bad that the Board won't listen and that good people such as yourself go unheard, unseen and ignored. Heartland will close and the Board will blame the union (this has been their plan all along) Many people want to see change in Effingham, and they are HAPPY to let us do the dirty work that it will take to bring about that kind of change, then their hands are clean, we get the blame and all goes away quietly. I am proud of those who refuse to give up. When you have a passion, a vision, and feel strongly about it, don't let those who judge stand in your way. Keep going and keep standing up for those who can't or won't speak up.
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Good for you. You folks can be my representation as well as the many others - clients and employees - they have hurt over the years, although I decided to leave that profession as a result of my experience there. Any word on why Compton is no longer in the ED?
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Oh By the way Bob; why don't you spell out Jeff's entire name when giving him credit for the falsehood's of this story. Bloemker; Jeff Bloemker. the public should Reach out to him and see what you get!
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