According to the Belleville News-Democrat, Blagojevich's administration has recently settled a dispute with several unions, paying out over $1 million.
As I understand it, and correct me if I misread the article, the state was paying independent contractors to do certain jobs. I can only assume this was because they were cheaper or more efficient than the unions or state employees. For some reason, the state signed an agreement in 1993 with these unions to limit the number of independent contractors they would use. Citing the grievance, the administration agreed to a payout for lost wages and fees.
Of course, all I read was that we just paid twice for work done once.
Forget the unions; Illinois is deep enough in the financial hole as it is. I want the state to be paying for the lowest bidder whenever it can. If that means using independent contractors, then do it. Sweetheart deals like that have no place in the state with the highest financial debt in the country.
I can't blame all of this on Rod. This was a problem he inherited, and he probably didn't have much recourse. Still, this shouldn't have ever happened in the first place.
1 comment:
Being in the St. Louis region, I'm a resident of IL while still affected by MO politics (to some extent).
I'll spend more time griping about IL's governor because he has more of an effect on what happens to me.
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