As Illinois voters head to the polls for the general election, they'll be asked to vote on a potential amendment to the state's constitution known as the "Workers' Rights Amendment." But what exactly is it and what would it change?
The amendment will ask voters whether they wish to establish a constitutional right for employees to organize and bargain collectively, specifically to negotiate “wages, hours and working conditions and to protect their economic welfare and safety at work.”
The amendment follows the defeat of the Graduated Income Tax amendment in the 2020 election.
The synopsis of the bill, as crafted by the General Assembly, reads:
"(The bill) Proposes to amend the Bill of Rights Article of the Illinois Constitution. Provides that employees shall have the fundamental right to organize and 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. Provides that no law shall be passed 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 work place safety, including any law or ordinance that prohibits the execution or application of agreements between employers and labor organizations that represent employees requiring membership in an organization as a condition of employment. Provides that these provisions are controlling over home rule powers.”
The amendment would specifically amend Article 1 of the state’s constitution, referred to in the synposis as the state's "Bill of Rights." That article essentially mirrors the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution, while also providing protections in other areas as well, including prohibiting discrimination based on sex and discrimination based on physical or mental handicaps.