Illinois' AFSCME is voting on whether or not to authorize a strike later this year in order to protest the stalling of new labor contracts. John Terranova, deputy director for the Office of Labor Relations under Gov. Bruce Rauner, released a statement outlining the financial repercussions of such a strike on employees. He totaled the average cost of striking at $8000 a month per worker, adding the possibility that temporary replacements for strikers could be hired permanently. Although Terranova claims that Rauner's administration will respect whatever decision the union votes for, he nonetheless condemned a possible strike as 'reckless'.
See "Morning Spin: Rauner administration tells workers 'a strike against the taxpayers is reckless'", The Chicago Tribune, January 31, 2017