(Reuters) - Voters in Illinois have approved a ballot proposal creating a constitutional right to join a union, while Tennessee voters amended their own constitution to enshrine an existing law that prohibits forcing workers to become union members in order to keep their jobs.
Nearly 59% of Illinois voters on Tuesday approved the proposal to establish a constitutional right to collectively bargain over wages, hours and working conditions, with 90% of precincts reporting, according to unofficial results from the Associated Press.
A union-backed group led by the presidents of the Illinois AFL-CIO and Chicago Federation of Labor, which represent a combined 1.4 million workers, spent more than $11 million lobbying for the proposal's passage, according to reports filed with the state.
A group formed to oppose the amendment received a single $1 million contribution from Richard Uihlein, the chief executive of shipping company Uline and a major Republican donor.
At least three other states - New York, Missouri and Hawaii - have amended their constitutions to guarantee a right to organize and collectively bargain. But the Illinois proposal is the first of its kind to be approved by voters.
Meanwhile, nearly 70% of voters in Tennessee on Tuesday voted to enshrine the state's 75-year-old "right to work" law in the state constitution, according to the AP.
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