Rauner vetoes SB1905, pertaining
to union membership
Send a link to a friend
[September 30, 2017]
SPRINGFIELD
On Friday Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed SB1905, saying
the bill would force local communities to follow a one-size-fits-all
model of government.
The Governor issued the following statement:
Today I veto Senate Bill 1905 from
the 100th General Assembly, which prohibits local communities from
allowing individual workers a choice in whether or not they want to
pay a union as a condition of employment. This legislation would
damage the economic health of Illinois’ communities by removing
their freedom to determine the best interests of their workforces
and employers.
Illinois lags behind its neighbors’ economic and job growth despite
our many advantages. Our State’s workforce is fleeing and aging,
losing 250,000 people and having the worst personal income growth in
the country over the last decade. Individuals, families, and
businesses who should be eager to come to Illinois stay away.
Manufacturers too often leave across our borders or never even
consider investing in new job creation here. Many businesses will
only expand in communities that offer employee freedom of choice.
Part of our struggle is that every state that shares a border with
Illinois has already enacted true worker freedom, allowing
individuals in those states to determine whether they want to
contribute to a labor union.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Aug/26/images/ads/current/directory_buttons.png)
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png)
Many states around us are growing union jobs as
well as non-union jobs faster than Illinois because more of their communities
give workers choice while not preventing employees from joining unions if they
choose.
By contrast, Senate Bill 1905 would move Illinois
in the opposite direction by destroying the freedom of Illinois’ local
communities to choose reforms that can make their economies more competitive,
help their businesses grow, and give the freedom to individual workers to
support a union at their own discretion.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Sep/30/images/ads/current/lincolntheatre_sda_031016.png)
This legislation forces local communities to follow a one-size-fits-all model of
government, no matter how detrimental they believe it is to them. Our goal
should not be to limit workers’ ability to join a union but rather to give
communities the freedom to embrace new tools to compete economically and to
recruit businesses and talent rather than have their choices dictated by
Springfield.
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution
of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 1905, entitled “AN ACT concerning
government”, with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
[Office of the Governor Bruce Rauner] |