Members of the state's largest public employee union are voting Monday on whether to strike.
About 30,000 state employees belong to AFSCME, and are eligible to vote on whether they should strike. The vote comes as the union and Governor Bruce Rauner have been locked in a contract fight.
Rauner argues AFSCME workers should put in more hours and be open to merit pay. He also characterizes negotiations with AFSCME are at an impasse.
AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall says the governor should come back to the bargaining table.
"We want to find a compromise," he said. "We don’t want to be forced out on strike but that’s where state employees are being pushed by his demands."
State workers can cast their ballots over the next 3 weeks.
But it's not a guarantee workers will actually strike. It simply makes the action an option.