(The Center Square) – The outcome of Amendment One in Illinois is going to be close, but a nonpartisan organization is waving a red flag on the possible repercussions if it passes.
Amendment One would amend the Illinois Constitution to add the right to collective bargaining for employees to negotiate such things as wages, hours, and working conditions.
The union-backed amendment found 58.1% approval in Tuesday’s election, short of the 60% needed for passage. However, it still can be approved if more than 50% of all votes cast in the election were in favor, a track some say already has been achieved.
Illinois accepts mail-in ballots for up to two weeks after Election Day, so it could be sometime before it is known whether Amendment One passed with the official canvas to be announced by the Illinois State Board of Elections Dec. 9.
Opponents of the measure point out that private-sector workers would be required to fund added benefits for government union employees.
Government workers in Illinois enjoy some of the strongest labor rights in the nation. Gretchen Baldau, American Legislative Exchange Council Commerce Insurance and Economic Development Task Force director, said passage of the amendment would give unions even more power.
“They are certainly very powerful in Illinois and Amendment One would give them an extra leg up,” Baldau said.
Baldau notes the amendment does not expressly use the phrase “right-to-work,” but it addresses it by banning future laws that prohibit employers from making union membership or union dues a “condition of employment.” By allowing companies to make union membership a job requisite, the amendment would potentially force workers to fund a union they may not support.
Conversely, right-to-work laws ensure workers cannot be made to join an association or union or pay dues to it as a requirement for employment. ALEC said states with this policy tend to be more prosperous and have faster wage growth than non-right-to-work states.
