SPRINGFIELD – Efforts to form a union by staff in House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office could provide an early and unexpected test of the new Workers’ Rights Amendment to the Illinois Constitution.
Brady Burden, a staffer in the speaker’s office who is part of the organizing committee of the Illinois Legislative Staff Association, said efforts to unionize have thus far been stymied by a provision in state law that specifically exempts the General Assembly from the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act.
But there is no such exemption in the Workers’ Rights Amendment, approved by voters less than a year ago. That addition to the state’s constitution provides, in part, that all employees have a “fundamental right” to organize and engage in collective bargaining over wages, hours and working conditions.
But at least one expert in Illinois labor law says relying on that amendment may be more difficult legally for the workers than it might first appear.
“Anytime this (constitutional amendment) is going to be litigated, if ever, it’s going to require some degree of interpretation. It just will because it’s just not clear,” said Michael LeRoy, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law and the School of Labor and Employment Relations. “It’s not exactly clear what this means.”
According to Burden, efforts to form a union began last year but they did not go public with their campaign until May. He said well over half of the 38 employees who would be part of the...
Continue without agreeing We value your privacy With your agreement, we and our 386 partners use cookies or similar technologies to store, access, and process personal data like your visit on this...