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AMENDMENT
1 WOULD TAKE AWAY TAXPAYERS’ VOICE IN STATE GOVERNMENT
Illinois Policy Institute/
Joe Tabor
Illinois residents suffer under some of the
most burdensome taxes in the nation when considering property taxes,
income taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, and all the other taxes that state
and local governments pile on. And now, Illinois lawmakers backed by
money from labor unions have passed an amendment that would effectively
place a muzzle on taxpayers who want a say in how the state is run. If
Illinois voters approve the amendment in the 2022 general election,
Amendment 1 would enshrine collective bargaining as a fundamental right
in Illinois and give provisions in union contracts precedence over any
other laws passed.
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 What does that mean? It means that collective bargaining
agreements negotiated between state and local politicians and union leaders
would trump state law when it comes to anything related to conditions of
employment, wages or workplace safety. For example, lawmakers could pass a law
that pegs the annual cost-of-living adjustment for newly hired state workers’
pensions to the rate of inflation. But if the union negotiated a provision in
its collective bargaining agreement that contradicted the law, it could negate
the statute passed by the democratically elected legislature and signed into law
by the democratically elected governor.
Amendment 1 was billed as an amendment that would protect Illinois from becoming
a “right-to-work” state, where a private company cannot require employees to pay
fees to a union as a condition of employment. The bill does, in fact, prohibit
“any law or ordinance that prohibits the execution or application of agreements
between employers and labor organizations that represent employees requiring
membership in an organization as a condition of employment.” But the claim that
this amendment is merely a right-to-work ban is misleading. For one thing,
Illinois is nowhere near becoming a right-to-work state. Illinois has already
banned local right-to-work ordinances in state law, and Gov. Bruce Rauner’s
efforts to pass right-to-work in Illinois were roundly rejected in the General
Assembly. That is even less likely to happen now with supermajorities of
Democrats in both chambers of the General Assembly and a Democrat in the
governor’s mansion who has criticized right-to-work. Second, Amendment 1 does
much more than ban right-to-work laws. It makes it impossible to reform any
aspect of public employment – including taxpayer-funded salaries and benefits –
through state law, including ill-considered pension sweeteners.
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Taxpayers are effectively shut out of the
conversation about how their money is spent. Taxpayers could elect
lawmakers to look out for their interests, and those lawmakers could
do everything in their power to pass laws that safeguard those
interests. But if a public labor union negotiated a contract that
contradicts those laws, then under Amendment 1, those laws will have
no effect, and generous contracts that supersede state law will have
to be paid for through higher taxes on Illinois families.
Taxpayers were given a voice in 2020 when they were asked to approve
the progressive tax constitutional amendment. Voters responded with
a resounding “no.” Now the General Assembly is ignoring the voters’
rejection of tax hikes by ensuring that generous union contracts can
never be reformed through state law, guaranteeing more tax hikes for
Illinois families in the future.
 Illinois taxpayers deserve to have a say in how their money is spent
in Springfield. They deserve to have the chance to democratically
elect representatives who will implement policies that protect
taxpayers’ interests. They deserve better than Amendment 1.
The good news is that taxpayers have the final say on this
amendment. The question of whether to amend the state constitution
will be placed on the November 2022 ballot. Taxpayers can reject the
amendment before it becomes part of the constitution. |
