Proponents of Amendment 1 claim it applies to all workers, mimics other state constitutions and would help the economy. Wrong. Wrong. And wrong.
Proponents misleadingly dubbed it the “Workers’ Rights Amendment,” so little surprise they are spreading three myths as they take the airwaves and internet to push the proposal atop the Nov. 8 ballot.
Here are the most-often repeated myths, followed by the truths Illinoisans need to know before voting on Amendment 1.
Myth: The rights created by Amendment 1 apply to all workers
Fact: The rights created by Amendment 1 cannot apply to private-sector workers
The language in Amendment 1 appears to apply to all “employees” in Illinois – both in the private and public sectors.
But the National Labor Relations Act governs private-sector collective bargaining nationwide. Anytime the federal government occupies a space, it preempts state laws that would attempt to do so.
The U.S. Supreme Court has already made it explicitly clear that the NLRA precludes states such as Illinois from providing rights or regulating unionization in the private sector: “States may not regulate activity that the NLRA protects, prohibits, or arguably protects or prohibits.”
Because the federal government already regulates collective bargaining in the private sector, Illinois cannot do so through Amendment 1.
That means the “fundamental right” it creates for “employees” is really only for government workers in Illinois, which make up just 7% of the state’s adult...
A Walgreens whistleblower who received more than $25 million from a federal fraud settlement must turn to state courts to pursue a share of the pharmacy chain’s separate $4.7 billion opioid settle...