During his campaign, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner continually blamed "union bosses" for contributing to the state's financial woes.
Now he's making direct appeals to workers.
It wasn't just the campaign; during his inaugural address, Rauner touched again on what labor leaders consider an anti-union theme. He said Illinois has an ethical crisis because taxpayers “see government union bosses negotiating sweetheart deals across the table from governors they've spent tens of millions of dollars to help elect."
It's the sort of talk that's raised fears of what Rauner will try to do as he and the state's largest public workers' union, AFSCME, try to hash out a new contract this year.
But in a video to state employees on Friday, Rauner said he wants to make Illinois a “wonderful place to work” with "good, fair compensation with appropriate, good, attractive benefits."
Rauner also talked about giving workers' bonuses in exchange for productivity.
