Guest columnist Mailee Smith: Illinois workers don't need a fake 'Workers' Rights Amendment'

You have probably seen TV commercials for the so-called "Workers' Rights Amendment," the proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution that appears at the top of the Nov. 8 ballot. The ads feature nurses and construction workers who encourage viewers to vote for the amendment, which they claim would protect workers' rights to unionize and bargain.

But behind the instrumental music and emotional appeals lies a nasty twist: the amendment would hurt far more union and non-union workers than it would help. It isn't about workers' rights at all. And it wouldn't change a thing for those nurses and construction workers - except their property tax bills.

That's because the rights outlined in the amendment, better known as Amendment 1, can only apply to government workers, who make up about 7% of the adult workforce in Illinois. And the expanded bargaining powers provided to government union bosses under Amendment 1 would drive up the cost of government - and that would be passed on to all Illinois workers in the form of tax hikes.

Voters should take note: The ads are misleading. Private-sector workers are already protected under the National Labor Relations Act, so most workers would see no new protections and no new rights. Any state trying to usurp federal authority would run afoul of the U.S. Constitution.

While the language in Amendment 1 is complex, long and vague, one thing is clear: it expands bargaining for government unions beyond the subjects typically negotiated into contracts. It contains a provision that promises government unions the right to bargain over "economic welfare."

Those two little words unveil the broad intentions behind Amendment 1, intentions the commercials fail to disclose. "Economic welfare" moves the amendment away from typical subjects of bargaining - such as wages and benefits - and gives government union bosses a tool to demand special, unprecedented and expensive privileges, all on Illinois taxpayers' dime.

Case in point: The Chicago Teachers Union tried demanding affordable housing assistance in its 2019 contract. That sort of nontraditional provision plus those that handcuff potential taxpayer reforms - items that have nothing to do with traditional bargaining or elevating workers' wages -

could find their way into government union contracts were Amendment 1 to pass. Then taxpayers would pick up the tab, as they did with CTU's $2.6 billion contract.

Rather than helping workers, this amendment is a ploy to allow government union leaders the ability to advance their agendas.

That would make life harder and more expensive for all workers in Illinois, who would be forced to foot the bill for the union bosses' new privileges in the form of increased taxes, most likely property taxes.

What would the cost be? That's the million-dollar question, or rather, the $2,149-per-family question.

An Illinois Policy Institute model found if property tax rates continue to increase at their long-run average, the typical Illinois homeowner would pay around $2,149 more in property taxes during the next four years. For the typical Cook County homeowner, that would rise to $2,933.

But Amendment 1 would likely accelerate the growth - making property taxes rise faster and higher. More demands - supported by government union leaders' permanent right to strike to get those demands met - mean even costlier contracts. And the more subjects for union bosses to bargain over and the longer it takes to negotiate them, the more the cost of government would increase. The total amount is difficult to estimate because the amendment is so broadly worded and unprecedented that it might be many years and many lawsuits before its full impact is understood.

Illinois workers have enough troubles and hardships as it is, including the additional $2,200 in property taxes since Gov. J.B. Pritzker took office.

The last thing nurses, construction workers or any Illinois workers need is a fake "Workers' Rights Amendment" that uses their taxes to expand government union boss power.

• Mailee Smith is the director of labor policy and staff attorney at the Illinois Policy Institute.