J.B. Pritzker, Public Union Boss

The best argument against collective bargaining for government workers is that no one represents taxpayers. Union chiefs and the politicians they support sit on both sides of the bargaining table. That was demonstrated again last week when Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a whopping new contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Afscme).

The contract covers the next four years and gives 35,000 public workers 19.28% raises, outpacing the growth in private wages. That’s more than the Teamsters are getting for tenured drivers in their rich new deal from United Parcel Service, and that’s merely the increase in Afscme base pay. Many workers will get more pay increases based on job tenure.

The contract also includes a $1,200 “stipend” to every worker merely for ratifying the contract. Mr. Pritzker included these bonuses in his last contract negotiation in 2019, supposedly to compensate workers for the financial “hardship” of being a state worker under previous Governor Bruce Rauner. (Remember when a Governor tried to represent taxpayers?) The unions liked the sweetener, so now it has become an expected fillip.

Mr. Pritzker tweeted Tuesday that “Illinois is a pro-worker state through and through.” He means if you work for the government. What about workers in the private economy who are now on the hook for higher union payouts that will drive up costs for public healthcare and pensions on top of their increased wages? Mr. Pritzker says the new contract will cost $625 million over four years and the raises are 61% higher than the previous contract, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.

Afscme workers already have health-insurance plans that rarely exist in the private economy, and the new four-year contract promises that workers will have zero increases in premiums in the first year, a $10 a month increase in the second year and $8 a month in the third and fourth years. That’s a mere $26 a month over four years. Guess who will pay the difference as the cost of health insurance rises far faster.

Public pensions in Illinois are already among the most underfunded in America, and the new wage increases will make them more so. Pensions are calculated based on a worker’s wages at the end of a career, so big pay increases now translate into ballooning payments later. Mark it down: Democrats will demand a federal taxpayer bailout when Illinois pensions become unaffordable.

Unions are running the table in Illinois because Mr. Pritzker and state Democrats essentially work for the unions that provide the cash for re-election campaigns. Big raises for union workers mean more union dues payments, which mean more campaign donations for the politicians who provide the raises. This is why allowing collective bargaining for government workers is so destructive to a state’s fiscal and economic health.

Mr. Pritzker hopes to have a featured role at next summer’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and he’s likely to run for President himself if President Biden decides not to run. That’s one more reason the Governor is acting more like a union boss than as a leader for all Illinois citizens.