House passes collective bargaining amendment after hot debate

Suburban lawmakers in the Illinois House hotly debated a constitutional amendment that would give workers in the state a "fundamental right" to collectively bargain.

Democrats say the amendment, which passed 80-30 Wednesday, protects workers' rights. Republicans expressed concerns about the nature of the amendment and its language, which Elmhurst Republican Deanne Mazzochi said was "not clear."

The proposed amendment would add a section to the Illinois Constitution's Bill of Rights stating, "Employees shall have the fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours, and working conditions, and to protect their economic welfare and safety at work."

It would go on to say that no laws could be passed that "diminish" workers' rights to organize, including any that prohibit "the execution or application of agreements between employers and labor organizations that represent employees requiring membership in an organization as a condition of employment."

That is a reference to so-called right-to-work laws that prohibit any agreements requiring union membership as a condition of employment, such as one passed in 2015 in Lincolnshire that was struck down in federal court.

Mazzochi took issue with the use of the word "diminishes," a word that had been at issue in an unrelated 2015 Illinois Supreme Court ruling overturning a law aimed at scaling back public workers' constitutionally established retirement benefits.

Addison Democrat Kathleen Willis pointed out on the floor that the collective bargaining amendment would be placed on a ballot for Illinois voters to ultimately decide whether it becomes law.

"We are not saying this is necessarily going to be the law of the land," Willis said. "We're bringing this forward to the people we represent to say, 'This is something we want your opinion on, this is something we think is worthy of putting into our constitution and we want your support to do it.'"

Plainfield Republican Mark Batinick criticized Democrats, saying the House was "debating the wrong constitutional amendment." Batinick said the House should have been debating a constitutional amendment that addressed redistricting, property taxes or ethics.

"We are trying to cover up our issues," Batinick said.

The final vote fell mostly along party lines, with Oswego Republican Keith Wheeler voting "present." The amendment will appear on the November 2022 ballot for voters to decide its fate. Sixty percent of voters must approve the amendment for it to pass.