Illinois Voters Approve Workers Right Amendment Measure, AP Projects

ILLINOIS — Illinois voters have approved a change in the state constitution that guarantees the rights of workers to organize for collective bargaining to negotiate salary, working conditions, and other issues after the Associated Press projected the results a week after voters went to the polls.

The Workers' Right Amendment, which was identified as Amendment 1 on ballots, will go into effect on Jan. 1. The AP projected the results on Tuesday, projecting that with 100 percent of precincts reporting, 58 percent of voters had voted in favor of the measure.

In order for the amendment to be changed in the Illinois state constitution, 60 percent of Illinois voters had to vote ‘yes’ for Amendment 1 or more than 50 percent of voters had to cast ballots in favor of the measure.

Election results won’t be certified until Dec. 5, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. The AP projected that more than 2.1 million voters voted in favor of the measure.

“The voters of Illinois sent a clear message by passing the Workers’ Rights Amendment: Illinois is and always will be a workers’ rights state,” Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights chair Tim Drea said in a statement. “This victory is a historic moment for our workers and our entire state."

The bill, which was drafted by the Illinois General Assembly in 2021, provides that “employees shall have the fundamental right to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours and working conditions and to “protect their economic welfare and safety at work.”

The bill will also keep lawmakers from interfering with, negating, or diminishing the rights of workers to organize to protect themselves and negotiate hourly wages, hours, and other factors having to do with their work environment.

The measure garnered support from a number of large unions, including the Chicago Teachers Union, the AFL-CIO, and SEIU along with state leaders including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who was re-elected last week when the AP projected that he had defeated Republican challenger Darren Bailey within minutes after polls had closed around the state.