Will Illinois Ratify the Workers’ Rights Amendment?
University of Illinois students Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, walk past a mail-in ballot drop box that sits on the northwest corner of the university's Quad in Urbana. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
When Illinois voters head to the polls on Nov. 8, they will be deciding on more than representation. Also on the ballot this year is what's been dubbed as the Workers’ Rights Amendment. If Amendment 1 is ratified, it would make organizing and collective bargaining a constitutional right for Illinois workers — making Illinois the fourth state in the U.S. to lock similar labor protections into its constitution.
To discuss what that would mean for Illinois and why support is mixed, we spoke to associate professor at Loyola University Chicago Dr. Elizabeth Tandy Shermer and the director of labor policy and a staff attorney at the Illinois Policy Institute, Mailee Smith.
Guests:
Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of History, Loyola University Chicago
Mailee Smith, J.D.
Director of Labor Policy and Staff Attorney, Illinois Policy Institute