Rauner vetoes union end run on contract talks amid 2-month extension

Source: Chicago Tribune

By Kim Geiger and Monique Garcia

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the largest state employee union agreed Wednesday to keep workers on the job for another two months, even as the governor vetoed a union-led effort to go around him in their ongoing contract dispute.

The short-term contract extension, which prevents both sides from initiating a strike or lockout before Sept. 30, comes as a previous one-month contract extension was set to run out Friday. The Rauner administration and the union have been haggling over wages, benefits and other employment terms.

Unions, led by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, want pay raises and better health benefits. Rauner wants to keep wages flat while reducing overtime and slashing the state's contribution to employee health care plans.

If no deal is reached by October — and another extension isn't signed — Rauner could try to impose his own terms for a contract. That could force unions to choose between going along with the governor's demands or going on strike.

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Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rauner-state-workers-contract-extension-met-0730-20150729-story.html