Illinois shows how protecting workers’ rights is good policy

Seven years ago, Illinois became ground zero in a generations-long fight over workers’ rights.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Janus vs. AFSCME Council 31 imposed so-called “right-to-work” conditions on every public sector worker in the nation.

This meant the most heavily unionized occupations in our economy — police officers, firefighters, teachers, nurses, and other public servants — could suddenly receive union services and benefits for free, without paying any dues or fees. The decision led to more “free-riding” and fewer resources available for unions to use toward bargaining for higher wages, better working conditions, and organizing new members.

Currently, 26 states apply similar rules to private sector workers. The data reveal that they are the reason why the United States lost 170,000 union members last year.

Illinois, on the other hand, is one of the 24 states that protects collective bargaining rights. In 2022, voters enshrined the Workers’ Rights Amendment into the state constitution to guarantee collective bargaining rights and permanently ban “right-to-work” laws. In part due to this Amendment, Illinois added 27,000 union members last year and has organized more new union members in the last two years — 18,300 — than in the prior seven years combined.

Seven in 10 Americans approve of unions. Record numbers want unions to have more influence, and many nonunion workers say they would join unions if they could. Public policy choices can either make that prospect easier or harder.

New research from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign shows states choosing to make it easier are not only aligning with the majority opinions of voters, but they are delivering better economic outcomes as well.

For example, Illinois workers across every age, race, gender, geography, and industry are more likely to be union members than the national average. One in five Illinois military veterans and one in five Black workers are union members. These workers earn 12% more than their nonunion peers and their wages are growing faster. They also are 8% more likely to own their homes, 5% more likely to have health insurance coverage, and significantly less likely to rely on Medicaid, food stamps, or other government assistance programs.

This matters for working families, businesses, and public budgets across Illinois. By raising wages, unions help families keep pace with inflation and stimulate consumer demand, creating jobs across the economy. Research has long shown that unions help employers reduce turnover, improve safety outcomes, and boost labor productivity. And taxpayers benefit from a workforce that relies less on public assistance and contributes more through income, sales, and property taxes.

To be sure, Illinois’ support for collective bargaining offers a lesson for the nation. States that have weakened labor rights by enacting so-called “right-to-work” laws shed 179,000 union members last year and their workers now earn about 7% less than their peers in states such as Illinois — even after adjusting for cost of living.

Sadly, the persistent headwinds that have plagued the labor movement for decades have not abated. The Trump administration has revoked bargaining rights from more than a million workers and undermined key labor institutions, such as the National Labor Relations Board. Utah recently stripped bargaining rights from police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other state and local government employees.

At a time when Americans seem divided, labor rights are very clearly a point of unity. Unions historically are popular with voters. And nearly all policymakers say they want higher incomes for working families, less dependence on government, and stronger economies.

Unions deliver on each one of these metrics.

What sounds good politically doesn’t always work practically from a policy perspective. On labor rights, the data shows that policymakers can keep faith with voters and advance their stated economic and fiscal goals in the bargain.

• Frank Manzo is an economist at the nonpartisan Illinois Economic Policy Institute.