Hundreds of union members in Illinois chant in unison, hoping to see a step toward a new contract.
"The last contract, there seemed to be some headway and there were always little steps. On this contract, it's very slow with a lot of tedious little work going on," union member Kyle Spencer said.
Workers say negotiations with Governor Bruce Rauner's administration have stalled because of what they say are unfair requests.
"A pay freeze, huge increases in healthcare costs. He wants to privatize at-will," union member Steve Howerter said.
The lack of a new deal has workers concerned about the future. For Spencer, the last union contract allowed his wife to stay home and take care of their children. That could soon change.
"It could be dramatic. A lack of a contract would mean that she would have to go back to work, we'd have to find someone to watch the kids and we'd be running around more," Spencer said.
Workers say it's been a distraction from the jobs they do day in and day out.
"Everybody's worried about, 'Are we going to get paid? What's our insurance going to look like? Am I still going to be able to retire when I was supposed to?' They're focused on all this external stuff instead of what we're supposed to, and it's hard to blame them," Howerter said.
The chants and rallies will continue around the state, until the union workers say they are making some headway toward a new deal they consider fair.
"We're just normal people trying to make a living. We're just like everybody else out there," Howerter said.
In response to the union rallies, Governor Rauner's Office tells News 8:
"Families in the Quad Cities and across Illinois are hurting under the 12 years of one-party rule, which has led to a $5 billion structural deficit and the worst credit rating of any state in the country. The status quo cannot continue, and Governor Rauner has proposed a number of reforms to help the next generation, which will free up resources to help balance the budget and protect our most vulnerable. However, the super majority in the legislature continues to block our reforms at the expense of middle-class families."