Council committee postpones vote on city furlough plan

Mayor Daley’s plan to require 3,600 non-union employees to take 14 days off without pay by Dec. 31 to pressure organized labor to do the same ran into a City Council buzz-saw on Monday.

The Finance Committee temporarily postponed a final vote amid a barrage of complaints.

Some aldermen demanded a sliding scale of unpaid days that exempts those earning less than $35,000 a year. The higher the salary, the greater the sacrifice.

Others want to declare an “emergency” that would allow the city to void all of its contracts — with unions as well as private vendors — instead of hoping that organized labor volunteers to share the pain.

Still more aldermen questioned the $250 million-to-$300 million year-end shortfall that triggered the need for more employee givebacks. It comes from the same mayoral aides who insisted that revenue estimates that have fallen woefully short were “conservative.”

“We’re asking people to make a tremendous sacrifice in very difficult economic times. And we’ve had a very painful lesson lately about what happens when we make decisions without all the relevant facts in front of us,” said Ald. Joe Moore (49th).

Ald. Richard Mell (33rd) suggested that the city stop planting so many flowers and trees and call a temporary halt to such costly programs as recycling.

Aldermen Sandi Jackson (7th) and Isaac Carothers (29th) lashed out at Daley for keeping them in the dark until the last possible moment, only to demand City Council approval in a few days.

That’s the same pattern the mayor followed when he sold off the Chicago Skyway, downtown parking garages, parking meters and Midway Airport. The $2.5 billion Midway lease subsequently fell through for lack of financing.

“That’s outrageous and egregious. We need more time,” Jackson said.

But Jackson said she has little doubt that the Finance Committee and the full Council will approve the mayor’s furlough plan on Wednesday.

“We’re pregnant. We have to have the baby,” she said.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that 1,100 city employees — but no sworn police officers or firefighters — would receive layoff notices in the next two weeks unless their unions agree to take 14 days off without pay and comp time instead of cash overtime.

On Monday, Corporation Counsel Mara Georges confirmed that layoff notices were imminent.

“We are currently accumulating layoff lists. . . . The thought is to do it as soon as possible and, if we cannot get anywhere with the unions, to be in a position to issue those notices on June 1,” Georges said.

Noting that the non-union givebacks put “tremendous pressure” on organized labor, Georges said, “When the union is confronted with either matching what the non-union workforce has done or suffering layoffs, it is up to them to decide which course they want to take.”