-By Warner Todd Huston
Illinois Review has some great news on the Gov. Quinn/ACORN/SEIU front. As we’ve discussed many times here, Gov. Quinn authored Executive Order 9-15 that tried to unionize in-home healthcare workers that get a stipend from the state to care for their own family members. I’ve been working with Americans for Tax Reform to sponsor an investigation into the millions of state dollars that end up with the unions and ACORN. Our effort can be seen at SayNoToACORN.com.
It looks like several state pols have finally taken notice of Gov. Quinn’s stealth sop to unions and ACORN and are sponsoring a resolution to begin the process to stop it. Illinois Review takes it from here….
State Representatives Jim Durkin and Mike Connelly agree with home care parents who fought off union bullies last week that Governor Pat Quinn’s Executive Order 09-15 should be rescinded.
Unless EO 09-15 is rescinded families who care for their seriously disabled family members in their own homes will be forced to ward off purple-t-shirted SEIU visitors and AFSCME phone calls every year. Despite the fact parents overwhelmingly voted against joining either union last Monday, Quinn’s EO 09-15 oipens the way for a vote to be taken annually. The parents want this whole controversy to go away. The unions want those 3500 home health workers to be on their due-paying union rolls.
Today Durkin and Connelly introduced House Resolution 720 which calls on the Governor to withdraw the order. The resolution will need to be called in the House, something only Speaker Mike Madigan decides. Calls to Speaker Madigan’s office (217-782-2000) to vote on HR 720 is in order.
And calls to your state rep to sign on as co-sponsors would also be helpful to these families. Remember — you could be next.
House Resolution 720 reads:
WHEREAS, In June of 2009, the Governor issued Executive Order 15, which allows collective bargaining by individual providers of home-based support services; and
WHEREAS, The Home-Based Services Program provides services to individuals with severe disabilities who need help with daily living activities in order to remain in their communities and live as independently as possible; and
WHEREAS, Many of the individual providers of home-based support services are parents who are providing services to their children; and
WHEREAS, Continuity of care is important for profoundly disabled children who are served in the program; even a minor change in the care provided can have a significant negative impact on the disabled child; and
WHEREAS, The payments given to parents who provide services to their disabled children do not meet the cost of providing care; and
WHEREAS, The unionization of providers of home-based support services would decrease the resources that are available to parents to provide necessary care to their disabled children and could lead to the separation of disabled children from their families and the placement of those children in higher-cost State facilities; and
WHEREAS, Collective bargaining is allowed under many State and federal laws, and many members of the Illinois House of Representatives are strong supporters of America’s tradition of collective labor bargaining; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order 15 does not have a regulatory sunset date, and it could allow for repeat and continuous elections; and
WHEREAS, On October 19, 2009, individual providers of home-based support services voted against collective bargaining representation with an overwhelming 66% of the vote; and
WHEREAS, Neither of the two unions seeking collective bargaining status received more than 20% of the vote; and
WHEREAS, It is time to listen to the will of the individual providers of home-based support services; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Governor to reconsider Executive Order 15; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we express our opinion that an objective reconsideration of Executive Order 15 would lead to the withdrawal of the gubernatorial order, as it does not reflect the attitudes and desires of the individual providers of home-based support services that the order sought to help; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Governor of the State of Illinois.
Illinois Review is a great site if you want Illinois political news.