Illinois BackgroundIllinois was the first state to unionize family child care providers when now disgraced Governor Rod Blagovich signed an Executive Order in 2005 ordering an election of those who were serving families on the child care assistance program. Those eligible to vote included grandparents caring for their grandchildren and Family, Friend or Neighbor caregivers that were not running a licensed family child care business. Because the vote only included those caring for children on the subsidy program, many licensed, professional family child care providers were excluded from the vote. Many providers in Illinois didn't even know an election was happening as this election was not highly publicized.
Ballots were mailed out on March 16th, 2005 shortly after the Executive Order was written. Out of the 49,000 eligible voters, only 16,700 returned ballots. Out of that 16,700, about 80% voted for SEIU. which means about 14,000 chose unionization for nearly 50,000. With less than 10,000 licensed family child care providers eligible to vote, even if they had all voted no, they still didn't stand a chance at winning against the union. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-04-08/business/0504080380_1_child-care-workers-child-care-providers-child-care Many of those who voted for SEIU did so believing they would get health insurance as this was one of the benefits touted by union organizers. After the first contract was negotiated it was clear that benefits would be limited to a small percent (5,000 according to the last report) and providers must meet strict guidelines to qualify such as caring for a child on the subsidy program for at least a year and for a minimum number of hours. One of the benefits of the contract was an increase in child care assistance rates. Those who saw the biggest raise were the unlicensed family, friend, neighbor providers. The contract locked subsidy rates in at a higher rate. While this seems like a great thing, one of the unintended consequences is that fewer families can now qualify for assistance. When there is a budget shortfall and cuts must be made, they can no longer cut rates, instead, they must cut families from the program. The first contract reached by the union was estimated to cost the state $250 million dollars for the first 3 years. http://w.redleafinstitute.org/index.cfm?page=unionsil |
Basic FactsHealth Insurance: Yes, only a small percent of providers can participate and providers must meet requirements.
Dues: 2.1% of the subsidy check with a minimum of $15 per month up to $900 per year. Fair Share Fees: Yes Contract: Active http://www.state.il.us/cms/download/pdfs/emp_seiuchild.pdf |
Child care in Illinois, before unionization and after.
Since unionizing in 2005, the snapshot of family child care looks very different. Despite having more than double the population than union free Minnesota, Illinois now has fewer licensed family child care providers than Minnesota. The number of legally unlicensed caregivers has also dropped dramatically by over 10,000 since the union was recognized!
In between 2005 and 2011, the number of children served through the Federal CCDF child care assistance fund has dropped by 20,000 even though funding has gone up. In 2005, there was over $40 million dollars less in total CCDF child care assistance expenditures than in 2011 yet they were able to serve 20,000 more children with the program in 2005 with less money.
Since the union won an election in 2005 with only 29% of the proposed bargaining unit voting in their favor, SEIU has siphoned over $60 million dollars from the child care assistance program. That's around $10 million dollars per year taken from child care providers, most of whom did not choose SEIU as their exclusive representative.
While the union has been able to negotiate minimal increases to the child care assistance reimbursement rates, these increases have barely managed to keep up with the rising cost of child care. Union free Minnesota child care providers get higher reimbursement rates than their unionized counterparts in Illinois.
Illinois - High dues, more tax dollars, fewer children served, fewer child care providers, insignificant increases and few benefits.
In between 2005 and 2011, the number of children served through the Federal CCDF child care assistance fund has dropped by 20,000 even though funding has gone up. In 2005, there was over $40 million dollars less in total CCDF child care assistance expenditures than in 2011 yet they were able to serve 20,000 more children with the program in 2005 with less money.
Since the union won an election in 2005 with only 29% of the proposed bargaining unit voting in their favor, SEIU has siphoned over $60 million dollars from the child care assistance program. That's around $10 million dollars per year taken from child care providers, most of whom did not choose SEIU as their exclusive representative.
While the union has been able to negotiate minimal increases to the child care assistance reimbursement rates, these increases have barely managed to keep up with the rising cost of child care. Union free Minnesota child care providers get higher reimbursement rates than their unionized counterparts in Illinois.
Illinois - High dues, more tax dollars, fewer children served, fewer child care providers, insignificant increases and few benefits.