(ST. CHARLES, Ill.) – The following is a statement from Teamsters Local 330 in response to a statement issued today by the office of Chief Judge Susan Clancy Boles.

“It is unfortunate that the Chief Judge continues to describe her offer as “fair and reasonable,” even after her employees overwhelmingly rejected the offer on two (2) separate occasions and have been on strike for over a month now. 

“The Chief Judge’s offer was not fair and reasonable, because not only did it substantially reduce yearly wage increases that were established by the prior contract, but it eliminated a guaranteed path to top pay, which even then took 15 years to achieve.

“The Chief Judge’s statement conveniently ignores the fact that the striking workers start at approximately $40,000 per year and reach the maximum pay of approximately $60,000 only after 15 years. The yearly 3.7 percent step increases were only provided for employees in this progression, not for those at the top.   

“The Chief Judge’s description of pay as related to other counties is also misleading. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that the striking workers are paid less than many workers in Illinois in the same profession. The Chief Judge’s statement focuses on misleading accounts of aggregate wage increases over long periods of time, without discussing how long it takes the workers to reach top pay or much less how they compare to similar professionals in Illinois.

“The union did in fact reject the first two original offers made by the Chief Judge which led to the strike; however, the Chief Judge has not made one single new and/or modified offer since the strike began on April 30th, which is unacceptable.

“The union met only on May 21st for only one hour, because that is all the Chief Judge’s team allowed. There was no meeting on May 22nd as the letter erroneously states.  The Chief Judge was not present at the May 21st meeting and was never present at any of the negotiation sessions, even though she was requested to participate by the union.

“On May 30, 208, the union, in an effort to resolve the lengthy dispute, made major and substantial movement from its original proposal. The union accepted the Chief Judge’s proposal on annual salary percentage increases and only requested modest increases regarding additional lump sum payments. The movement made by the union and its membership certainly was not unrealistic and the change was a significant concession as compared to its original proposal. Since May 21, 2018, court management has effectively ignored the union.

“The union cannot allow any more inaccurate information to be released to the public without rebuttal.  The union’s members have gone door to door to educate the residents of Kane County. Residents will be given the true facts related to this strike, and the public will know what has been allowed to occur. The union welcomes the press to review the facts which are all well documented.

“The union continues to urge management of the 16th Judicial Circuit Court to meet with the union and its full rank and file committee to work in an effort to find a resolution to the strike. Until then we will continue to inform the public of the unfair treatment demonstrated by management of the court.”

Teamsters Local 330, based in Elgin, Ill., is an affiliate of Teamsters Joint Council 25.

 

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