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House Bill 1480 allows people involved in labor disputes to
picket, post temporary signs, park vehicles, and set up tents or
other temporary shelter areas for the picketers on public rights of
way without having to require a permit. Currently cities, which are
often employers with whom unions might have labor disputes,
sometimes use public safety issues to suppress a union's right to
picket during a dispute. "If hardworking men and women need to
march on the street to let the public know about a labor dispute,
they should be able to do so without interference," Blagojevich
said. "Our nation is built on democracy and liberties, and one of
the greatest liberties we have is the freedom of speech. That's why
I'm proud to sign legislation that secures our workers' fundamental
right to picket." The governor signed the bill during the AFL-CIO's
25th Constitutional Convention, at Chicago's Navy Pier.
Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg, and Sen. Debbie DeFrancesco
Halvorson, D-Chicago Heights, sponsored House Bill 1480, which
allows for picketing in public rights of way. A public right of way
is defined as a portion of a highway or street next to a roadway for
accommodating stopped vehicles or for emergency use, that portion of
a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway
and the adjacent property lines.
"This law will prevent cities from suppressing a union or group's
opportunity to picket during labor disputes by setting uniform
standards in place," Phelps said. "We are heartened that Governor
Blagojevich signed this much-needed law today."
"This is about having the freedom and the right to make
disagreements with employers public knowledge," Halvorson said. "By
signing this law today, the governor recognizes the importance of
this freedom."
Activities specifically authorized under this legislation are
picketing by workers, posting of temporary signs, parking vehicles
on the right of way, and setting up tents or temporary shelter areas
for the picketers.
"HB 1480 is a major victory for all Illinois workers," said
Margaret Blackshere, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO. "This will
help any party, union or nonunion, to inform their community about
disputes with employers. It is a matter of free speech."
In addition to the AFL-CIO, supporters of this legislation
include Teamsters, Teachers, Laborers, Steelworkers, Operating
Engineers, United Auto Workers, SEIU and AFSCME unions.
House Bill 1480 becomes effective Jan. 1, 2006.
Since the beginning of his administration, Blagojevich has made
protecting workers' rights one of his top priorities. Through
executive or legislative action, the governor has:
- Signed legislation that dramatically changes the workers'
compensation system to increase benefits for workers, reduce
costs for businesses and fight fraud. After the governor made
workers' compensation reform a top priority in his 2005 State of
the State address, he convened negotiations over several months
with business and labor leaders and members of the General
Assembly, resulting in the first major overhaul of Illinois'
workers' compensation system in nearly 20 years.
- Expanded health care benefits to working families. Since
Blagojevich took office, 313,000 more men, women and children
have received health care through the KidCare and FamilyCare
programs -- at a time when most states are not only not
providing more coverage for the working poor, but also kicking
people off of Medicaid or significantly reducing their benefits.
This year's budget included funding to add another 56,000 men,
women and children. The Kaiser Foundation has ranked Illinois
the best state in the nation for providing health care to people
who need it.
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- Raised the minimum wage to $6.50 an hour, benefiting an
estimated 450,000 Illinois workers. The raise made Illinois one
of several states in the nation to increase the minimum wage
above the federal level of $5.15 an hour, which hasn't changed
since 1997.
- Signed legislation protecting hundreds of thousands of
workers from being stripped of their right to overtime pay by
new federal regulations.
- Signed legislation to protect workers from employer
indoctrination and confinement, making Illinois only the third
state in the nation to enact card check recognition of public
employees. The law provides that if 50 percent or more of
workers sign union authorization cards, union recognition is
automatic.
- Signed legislation to help ensure that women receive equal
pay for equal work. Under the law, if a man and a woman do the
same job, they must be paid the same.
- Signed legislation to protect U.S. jobs by requiring
companies bidding for state business to certify whether the
terms of the contract will be performed in the United States and
by encouraging state agencies to buy products that are
manufactured in the United States.
- Strengthened the Prevailing Wage Act by giving the
Department of Labor better enforcement mechanisms, requiring
postings of rates on job sites, and increasing penalties on
contractors or subcontractors that fail to comply.
- Expanded rights of Illinois workers to join a union. This
directly benefited 50,000 home child care workers, 20,000
personal care assistants, and thousands of graduate students and
court reporters.
- Signed legislation to improve the structure and funding of
the Unemployment Trust Fund.
- Signed legislation that requires every contractor providing
equipment, materials or supplies to the state of Illinois to
specify that no foreign-made equipment, materials or supplies be
produced by children under the age of 12. Provides for penalties
for a contractor who knowingly furnishes goods produced by
foreign child labor to the state.
In addition to these accomplishments, the governor will further
protect some of the state's most vulnerable workers by:
- Signing into law a bill that will reinforce the Day and
Temporary Labor Services Act and protect nearly 300,000 day
laborers across Illinois. The law will make Illinois the most
aggressive state in the nation when it comes to protecting the
working conditions of day laborers, by giving the Illinois
Department of Labor effective enforcement tools, including the
ability to impose stiff penalties on unlawful day and temporary
labor agencies.
- Implementing recommendations drafted by the Latino Workers
Safety Panel to drastically reduce the number of at-work
fatalities and injuries suffered by the state's Hispanic
workers.
[News release from
the governor's office]
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