Q&A: AFSCME starts vote on authorizing state employee strike

SPRINGFIELD (Doug Finke- Springfield Journal Register – Click to read the entire story – here is an excerpt) Members of the largest state employee union began voting Monday on whether to authorize a strike against the state that would be the first in the union’s history. & The vote — which will continue for at least the next three weeks — does not mean a strike will occur, but if it is approved, it would authorize the union’s bargaining committee to call a strike in the future. & Here are some questions and answers about the vote, which runs through Feb. 19. & Who can vote? “Every union member who is eligible to strike is eligible to vote,” said Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31. “We want everyone to vote.”