12/23/2023 0 Comments Npr hourly news updateIf it were adopted, he said, it would apply uniformly statewide to all workers in both the public and private sectors. “So if lawmakers decide down the line, ‘Oh, wow, we didn't mean economic welfare to mean all of these broad subjects,’ they could never go back and define what economic welfare actually is because they'd be prohibited in the amendment itself from doing that.”īowen countered that the amendment has nothing to do with taxes but, instead, protects only the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively in the workplace. “It prohibits lawmakers, as the people's representatives, from ever enacting reforms or fixes,” she said. She also said the provision preempting right-to-work laws could have unintended consequences. “That could mean things like the expansion of affordable housing or positions on rent abatement could be demanded by government unions.” “And it's not defined in other similar laws like the National Labor Relations Act,” she said. Smith, on the other hand, asserted that the amendment would apply only to public-sector workers because private-sector workers are already covered by the National Labor Relations Act, which would supersede any state law or state constitutional provision.Īs a result, she argued that it would drive up local property taxes by giving public employee unions power to negotiate a broader range of issues, including “economic welfare,” which isn’t defined in the amendment or other state law. “It will be a tremendous win for our workers as well as our entire economy and local communities.” “It will enshrine protections that most of us are already enjoying while extending protection to workers who don't currently have it,” Bowen said. He said it gives Illinois workers an opportunity “to vote for themselves on Nov. “The workers’ rights amendment will guarantee your fundamental rights in the workplace to organize and bargain collectively with your coworkers to negotiate for things like better pay, safer working conditions, and crucially, it will also protect Illinois voters from politicians who try to take away their rights in the future,” Bowen said. The video is available here or linked below.īowen and Smith were asked at the outset what they believe the amendment would mean and the implications of adopting it. The questions came from representatives of the Daily Herald and Shaw Media. They also spoke with Mailee Smith, director of labor policy and a staff attorney with the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative think tank that opposes the measure. To gather a sense of the arguments for and against the measure, the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors convened an online forum with Joe Bowen, communications director for a Vote Yes for Workers Rights, the only organized political committee campaigning on the issue. The proposal is supported by several large labor unions, but it has drawn opposition from groups such as the Illinois Association of School Boards, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. Like any constitutional issue, however, there is considerable disagreement over what those words mean and what effects they would have if the amendment is adopted. The resolution passed both chambers with bipartisan support: 49-7 in the Senate and 80-30 in the House. Lawmakers approved putting the measure on the ballot during the 2021 spring session. The second clause states that the amendment would be controlling over another part of the constitution that spells out the powers of home rule units of local government, meaning those units of government would still be subject to the amendment. The provision is intended to prevent passage of any state or local “right to work” laws, which prohibit employers from requiring workers to be union members to keep their jobs. The second would prohibit the state or any local unit of government from enacting “any law that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety.” The first would establish a “fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively and to negotiate wages, hours, and working conditions, and to promote their economic welfare and safety at work.” The first clause of the amendment contains two sentences. Illinois voters will be asked in November to decide whether the right of workers to form unions and engage in collective bargaining should be enshrined in the state constitution.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |