Amendment 1
What Would This Ballot Measure Add to the Illinois Constitution?
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Amendment 1 would create a state constitutional right for employees to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their choosing to negotiate "wages, hours, and working conditions and to protect their economic welfare and safety at work." It would also prohibit laws that interfere with, negate, or diminish collective bargaining agreements, including agreements that require union membership as a condition of employment.
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The measure, which will be the first item on the November 8 ballot, reads as follows:
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a) 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. 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 workplace 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.
(b) The provisions of this Section are controlling over those of Section 6 of Article VII.[3]
To learn more, read the following:
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Ballotpedia – a comprehensive summary of the proposed amendment including arguments for and against it.
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Workers Rights Amendment fact sheet (published by Illinois Federation of Teachers, a union) link to attached .pdf
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Illinois Policy – this conservative organization lists several articles on its website laying out arguments against the proposed amendment. One thing to note about Illinois Policy is that it often makes statements without providing supporting evidence and that are hard to verify. For example, what is the basis for the argument that the passage of the amendment will increase property taxes by an average of $2100 over four years?
Watch this:
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Daily Herald Debate Over Workers’ Rights Amendment
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