CHICAGO (AP) — With U.S. union ranks swelling as everyone from coffee shop baristas to warehouse workers seeks to organize, Illinois voters will decide next month whether to amend their state constitution to guarantee the right to bargain collectively.
The fate of the ballot measure is being closely watched in Illinois and beyond, as it will gauge public support for the labor movement that has lost ground for years in conservative-led states. Unions and pro-industry groups say it could signal a new chapter in the struggle over workers’ rights.
“If the union wins here, this could be the future of the labor movement,” said Mailee Smith, labor policy director at the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative think tank that opposes the proposed amendment and tried to get it removed from the ballot.
Tim Drea, president of Illinois AFL-CIO, which is pushing for passage, said union counterparts from around the country have been calling him about the ballot measure.
“They are watching this very, very closely,” he said.
Unions and others who support the proposed amendment view it as a way to ensure that workers will always be able to use their collective clout to secure better pay, hours and working conditions. They also say it would prevent the Legislature, should it undergo a shift to the right, from passing a so-called right-to-work law that would allow workers covered by union contracts to not pay dues.
Business groups and conservatives oppose the measure, saying they think it...
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