Proposed Workers' Rights Amendment To Go Before Illinois Voters

ILLINOIS — Whether the Illinois state constitution gets a new amendment allowing workers the right to organize and bargain collectively will be in voters' hands in next month’s general election.

Voters will decide whether the “Workers’ Rights Amendment” is added to the constitution in a measure designed to allow employees to have a say in how much money they make when they work and to protect themselves while on the job.

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.”

In order for the measure to pass, 60 percent of Illinois voters will need to vote in favor of the amendment for it to be added to the constitution.

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, if passed, would amend Article 1 of the Illinois state constitution, which is known as the state’s Bill of Rights, and would also amend Article 7, which establishes guidelines for governing local municipalities under the “home rule” provisions of the constitution.

The measure has 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.

WBEZ reported last month that researchers at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana have found that if passed, the new amendment would provide better pay and working conditions for a large number of workers as well as help drive the state’s economy.

The report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute found that workers, including first responders, police officers, construction workers, nurses, and others could see a boost in pay between 5 percent and 35 percent and could also see better benefits as well.

“The data shows that the Workers’ Rights Amendment would protect Illinois’ competitive advantage for essential workers,” Frank Manzo IV, executive director for the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and one of the report’s authors, said, according to WBEZ.

The measure will go to voters, who rejected the Graduated Tax Amendment in 2020.

While Pritzker and union officials are pushing for the measure, opponents of the amendment believe that if passed, the new addition to the state could increase property taxes by an estimated $2,100 over the next four years, NBC Chicago reported last week.

A special interest group, The Illinois Policy Institute, determined that by giving more political power to union leaders to improve wages for workers, Illinois residents could be affected by how much they pay in their taxes to support pay increases for union employees.