Posts tagged budget crisis
Faculty at University of Illinois Springfield reach tentative agreement to end strike
April 22, 2026 // UIS said in an email to students last month that it was running a $19 million deficit in the current fiscal year. UIS accounts for 2% of all of the university system’s spending in the current fiscal year, according to the system’s budget documents. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign receives 44% and the University of Illinois Chicago 31% while the rest goes to the system’s administration and university’s hospital. UIS also receives only 3% of state funds allocated to the system. State lawmakers have been debating a new higher education funding formula that would allocate a greater share of annual funding to lesser-funded schools like UIS.
Editorial: Striking PCC faculty should drop push for back pay and let classes begin
March 31, 2026 // Cushing’s insistence that the college make faculty “whole” seems to be a misunderstanding of what it means to go on strike and to accept the risk that comes with it. Demanding that the college provide back pay — which PCC estimates would cost roughly $5 million so far for the union’s 1,600 members — would be fiscally irresponsible as the college already struggles to cover escalating expenses. It would also signal to other unions that there are no risks to walking out. But Cushing’s statement is notable for another reason. It’s a reminder that there’s one key constituency who will not be made whole from this strike: PCC students. Classes have been canceled, grades have been delayed and PCC is pushing back the start of spring classes by one week, without any extension on the back end. International students also face the potential of having to leave the country, if this strike continues much longer,
Op-ed: Local control in jeopardy if Virginia mandates collective bargaining
March 29, 2026 // Virginia used to prohibit collective bargaining for state and local employees. In 2021, Democrats changed the law to allow local governments to engage in collective bargaining. Fewer than 20 jurisdictions have chosen to do so, and it hasn’t gone well where it’s been tried. That’s why unions made this bill their top priority during the legislative session. It requires collective bargaining for wages, benefits and working conditions for state and local government employees.
Thousands of LAUSD workers could get layoff notices. What to know
February 17, 2026 // LAUSD employs more than 83,000 people, including teachers, administrators, certificated support personnel and substitutes, according to June 2025 data. The prospect of layoffs isn't the only moving part in the overall picture: Labor unions have been in negotiations with the district related to wage increases to class sizes, and members of the United Teachers Los Angeles authorized the union to strike in late January.
‘Fracture’ in Chicago’s labor world complicates Mayor Brandon Johnson’s third budget fight
November 25, 2025 // That’s the signature hue of the Service Employees International Union, whose local affiliates were Johnson’s second-biggest labor backer in his 2023 election. Instead, the self-styled “most pro-worker mayor” in Chicago’s history has only seen one union vociferously cheer his $16.6 billion proposal, despite his hard line against layoffs: the red-shirted Chicago Teachers Union. It’s a sign of the times after a “fissure” between the once-close SEIU and CTU has grown into a full-blown “fracture,” said Ald. Desmon Yancy, a freshman progressive who previously served in SEIU leadership.
Editorial: Unions share blame for layoff fallout
November 1, 2025 // "To date, the Stamford law firm of Silver Golub & Teitell has been paid $50.8 million for representing the unions and the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, according to the state comptroller's office," Mr. Hughes wrote. "The settlement set attorney fees at 17.5% of the total damages each class member receives," extrapolating "to roughly $290 million in compensatory and economic damages." Union attorney Jonathan M. Levine figured the actual payouts amounted to between $190 million and $215 million.
Denver library staff fight to unionize amid budget cuts
September 29, 2025 // Many library workers on Wednesday said library staffers are burning out from huge workloads, including caring for homeless or immigrant patrons. “A lot of people know that a lot of library staff are not fairly compensated,” said Jeremey Bongers, an activities coordinator at the library. “There's a lot of the work that people are doing in the vein of social work that is not recognized.”
Mayor Bass signs agreement to avert layoffs of LA municipal employees
September 25, 2025 // In April, the mayor had proposed more than 1,600 layoffs as part of an effort to eliminate a nearly $1 billion budget deficit caused by overspending, skyrocketing liability payouts, lower-than-expected tax revenues, and a weakening economy, among other challenges. The number of layoffs was later reduced to 600 after budget maneuvering by the City Council. The heads of city departments were able to fill vacancies with current employees. The city got creative in shuffling city employees around .
Novato city workers plan to strike for 2nd day Wednesday over sales tax funds
August 7, 2025 // According to the city's website, the measure's rise in sales tax from 8.5% to 9.25% should generate $10 million annually and help the city mend its $4 million budget deficit through the 2025/2026 fiscal year. Novato has cut city staffing by over 30 positions to manage a growing budget deficit, the city's site said, and one-time COVID-19 federal recovery funding that helped protect essential services has been depleted.
Dems have been bleeding working-class support. Now possible 2028 contenders are fighting with unions.
July 24, 2025 // High-profile Democratic governors fighting the Trump administration are also mired in bruising conflicts at home — with allies they’ll likely need to advance their presidential ambitions.