UPDATES

July  28, 2025

What You Need to Know About SPIT Training and Your Rights

City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) has begun issuing written warnings and scheduling pre-disciplinary hearings for some Adult Educators who have not completed the Standards Proficient Instructor Training (SPIT). As your union, AFSCME 3506 is actively defending your rights and demanding that CCC pause all discipline until fair bargaining has taken place.

What is SPIT?

SPIT stands for "Standards Proficient Instructor Training." It is a certification program required by CCC for most Adult Educators, developed in alignment with standards from the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). Completion includes:

• An online iLearn course

• Two live webinars 

• A final assignment 

Why This Matters

While CCC may be required to ensure all instructors are certified, the way they implement and enforce that requirement must be negotiated with the union. Discipline tied to SPIT — especially if training sessions were canceled or support was inadequate — raises serious concerns about fairness, workload, and just cause.

What  the Union is Doing

• We have formally demanded to bargain over the SPIT enforcement process.

• We have asked CCC to pause all disciplinary actions until that process is complete.

• We are prepared to file an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge if CCC proceeds without bargaining.

• We are collecting statements and records from affected members to defend each case individually and collectively.

Your Rights

• You have the right to union representation in any disciplinary meeting.

• You have the right to due process and advance notice of any requirement that affects your job.

• You have the right to workplace training expectations that are clearly communicated, accessible, and fairly enforced.

What You Should Do

• If you have not completed SPIT, reach out to a union steward  or to our chief steward to discuss your options and current support available.

• If you are called into a meeting about SPIT, do not attend alone — invoke your Weingarten Rights and request a union rep.

• Stay informed — updates will be shared via email and posted at afscme3506.org

We are committed to defending your rights, ensuring you are treated with respect, and holding CCC accountable to fair labor practices.

~ George Roumbanis

July 21, 2025

Important Updates for ALL Local Leaders

UNION RIGHTS ON THE LINE

Donald Trump has acted unilaterally to strip millions of government employees of their right to collective bargaining.  He’s issued Executive Orders (EO’s) alleging that the ability of workers to have a voice on the job through their union is a danger to national security.    

That assertion harms not just federal government workers—TSA officers, national parks rangers, Social Security staff, civil engineers and so many more—but every single public employee.  Allowing the employer to unilaterally abolish the union representation that workers have democratically chosen flies in the face of existing public sector labor law and seeks to nullify nearly a century of hard-won rights.

Needless to say, our national union—along with other unions representing federal workers—is challenging this action in court.  These legal challenges have prevailed in several lower courts—providing for temporary relief.  But there has not yet been a legal ruling on the substance of this highly consequential matter.

Our best response to this all-out assault on the very existence of union rights is to build an ever stronger union—to make sure that every represented employee is a member in order to make clear how important it is for workers to have union representation.

BIG BAD BUDGET BILL IS NOW LAW

The budget bill that was rushed through Congress by the Republican majority has now been signed into law by President Trump—and we are still finding out just how much really bad news is buried in its pages.

The new budget would drastically cut funding for Medicaid and SNAP (Food Stamps) benefits, as well as a number of other important public services, such as infrastructure improvements and disease prevention. Most of the programs targeted are administered by states and localities, so that what is actually being cut are the federal funds to Illinois state government as well as our cities and counties.  Many of the worst cuts are delayed until after the 2026 Congressional elections in order to give Republican legislators cover for voting for such phenomenally devastating budget cuts.   

Here in Illinois federal funds in the billions of dollars will be lost, leaving the state to make up the difference—and posing a risk to the jobs of every state and local government employee.  Illinois, like most other states, will likely look for ways to balance the cuts across state government as will impacted local governments, so that no one program (e.g. aid to nursing homes) will be completely devastated.  That means even agencies that are not directly affected by the federal cuts could end up seeing their budgets cut.  

Governor Pritzker’s original FY 26 budget plan as introduced did not include any employee layoffs.  And, after months of closed-door meetings, legislators adopted a final budget that held the line on layoffs.   Given that it will take a little time for the full impact of the federal cuts to be felt, we are hopeful that we can forestall any attempts to lay off employees until next year.  But the threat is very real and there’s no telling when the battles will begin.

THERE’S MORE BAD NEWS IN THIS BILL

Cuts in funding to universities to make it harder for working people to afford to send their kids to college--those will jeopardize the jobs of AFSCME members at state universities too.  Cuts in funding to libraries and museums, community resources which could also result in layoffs or reduced access.  Stacking the National Labor Relations Board with anti-union officials.  Eliminating the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service which seeks to constructively resolve labor disputes.  Cutting the staff at OSHA, MSHA and NIOSH to weaken workplace safety.  Unfortunately, the list could go on and on.

WHY???

It’s all about tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.  The already wealthy will get even wealthier.  Most of us will still just be getting by. Even the much-touted tax exemptions for tips and overtime pay will expire after 2028—while the tax breaks for the super-rich will keep right on going. 

WE’RE FIGHTING FORWARD

The demands on our union continue to grow.  As employers’ budgets tighten, their positions at the bargaining table get tougher.  Even though prices continue to go up, housing becomes more expensive, and health care costs are rising even for the insured, employers are going to expect us to settle for less.  But we are determined to keep up the fight for more.   We continue to negotiate groundbreaking contracts from one end of this state to the other, improving our members’ economic security and the quality of their work lives.  We organize informational picketing when we need to up the pressure and do outreach to our communities when we need to build support.  And we stand up against any efforts to privatize or downsize the services we provide. 

TOGETHER WE RISE

The AFSCME Council 31 Biennial Convention is scheduled for October 16-18 in Springfield.  You’ll soon be getting more information.  And when you do, start planning to send a full delegation so your local can be part of the fight for our future at this moment of great peril.  There will be other opportunities over the coming months to grow and strengthen your local to meet the challenges of these times:  steward training, executive board training, new employee orientation exchanges, new president orientation, and much more. 

In addition, we will once again be holding our ‘regional roundtables’ so that the two of us can travel around the state and talk directly with local union leaders like you.  You’ll soon be getting a schedule for those gatherings.

The challenges before us are great, but our determination is even greater.

~Roberta Lynch

July 11, 2025

CCC Payroll Discrepancies: Please Audit Your Pay Stubs for Accurate Pay!

My Name is Grace, and I have multiple roles within CCC (an AE, steward, committee chair, etc.), but the most recent one is CCC payroll: I’m not paid for this work, but I do it to ensure I’m paid correctly for the job I was actually hired to do. There is a serious, ongoing issue that is harming our educators and coordinators: we are not being paid accurately.

For the past 2 years, I’ve been missing pay almost every pay period. Most recently, 17 hours of pay was missing from my paycheck. 17 hours is 1/3 of my pay. 

And I’m not the only one. Every single pay period, Our members dealing with the same issues:

· Missing worked hours, prep time, and professional development time.

· Incorrect vacation, sick, or personal time records.

· Misapplied years of service.

· Wrong step increases and hourly rates.

· Missing healthcare reimbursement, etc.

These are not small clerical errors. These are mistakes that directly affect how we pay our bills, feed our families, care for our loved ones, and get to work.

When I contact payroll, the answer is often: “You’ll be reimbursed next pay period.” Which is 2 weeks later. But two weeks later is too late.

Our rent doesn’t wait.

Our childcare doesn’t wait.

Our medications don’t wait.

Our lives don’t wait.

I'm asking you—I am urging you- to audit your own pay stubs and to keep CCC accountable.

~Grace Maldutyte