[ad_1]
Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) hold a rally in support of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union at the Richard J. Daley Center plaza in Chicago.
Photo:
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Illinois unions are feeling bullish at the prospect that a ballot amendment this November could codify their political power in the state constitution. They are also hoping that this could be a blueprint for Big Labor across the country.
In a recent radio interview with WMAY, Illinois AFL-CIO President
Tim Drea
was asked why Amendment 1 is necessary when Illinois is one of the most pro-union states and labor unions already have unprecedented political sway. “I gotta tell you,” Mr. Drea said, “we’re getting a lot of interest on this amendment from other states.”
That should be an Aha! moment for Illinois voters who must have been puzzled at the push to protect unions when they already dominate government in Springfield and Chicago. Mr. Drea said it is important to enshrine workers rights into the state constitution “so they can’t be taken away by the constantly shifting political winds and politicians.”
Shifting political winds? If only. Democrats hold supermajorities in both houses of the state Legislature, and they don’t decide what to eat for breakfast without an assent from the leaders of government unions like the teachers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Unions want Amendment 1 because its language would expand collective-bargaining subjects beyond wages and benefits to the broad catchall of anything that affects workers’ “economic welfare and safety at work.” The Illinois Policy Institute says more than 350 state labor laws would be in jeopardy, and the measure includes an outright ban on a right-to-work law that lets workers decide whether to join a union.
In 2019 the Chicago Teachers Union tried to include housing in its contract negotiations, tweeting that “[o]ur proposals demand more staff to support families in danger of losing housing, and advocate for a program that financially helps (support staff members) and new teachers purchase a home.” Mayor
Lori Lightfoot
objected, but Amendment 1 would give the union constitutional backing that it could use for more leverage in negotiations and for legal backup in court.
Per the Illinois Board of Elections records, among the contributors to the ballot measure have been several unions far from Springfield. The International Union of Operating Engineers gave $1 million (Washington, D.C.), the UA of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry gave $1 million (Annapolis, Md.) and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America gave $1 million (Washington, D.C.).
Unions tried this gambit in Michigan in 2012 and lost 57% to 42%. But if Amendment 1 succeeds in Illinois, expect to see it on the ballot in many states—especially California, Washington, Oregon and New York.
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the October 17, 2022, print edition.
[ad_2]
Source link
(This article is generated through the syndicated feeds, Financetin doesn’t own any part of this article)
