Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Could a Kentucky case spur local “right to work” in Illinois?

Posted in:

Illinois

* Americans for Prosperity Illinois’ honchos writing in the Wall St. Journal…

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month in United Auto Workers v. Hardin County that Kentucky’s local governments—not only the state legislature—can decide whether to implement right-to-work laws, which ban unions from firing workers who refuse to pay dues. This ruling should relieve reformers throughout the Midwest, but it’s particularly good news for Illinois, where unions and their political allies have made securing workers’ freedom an uphill battle.

Right to work is an important part of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “Turnaround Illinois” agenda. Under his proposal, local governments would have the option to decide for themselves whether to adopt right to work. The policy could apply to workers in the private economy, as well as government employees. Any unit of local government could make this decision—cities, towns, counties, municipal wards and even school districts.

Yet Mr. Rauner has faced hurdles at every turn. Mike Madigan, Illinois’s powerful speaker of the house, almost immediately shot down the idea of serious right-to-work legislation. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the speaker’s daughter, issued a legal opinion arguing that right-to-work laws for local governments within a state are illegal. The Sixth Circuit’s judgment may help overcome such resistance. […]

Although Illinois isn’t under the Sixth Circuit’s jurisdiction, a similar challenge is already under way. The village of Lincolnshire, about 30 miles north of Chicago, enacted a right-to-work ordinance last year. Lincolnshire immediately faced lawsuits from unions, including the AFL-CIO. […]

Lincolnshire isn’t the only municipality where right to work would be beneficial. These laws would help Winnebago County, next to Wisconsin, and many of the southern counties that border Kentucky, Missouri, and Indiana, where coal-related jobs have disappeared.

I seriously doubt coal-related job losses have been due to the lack of right to work laws, but whatever.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 12:39 pm

Comments

The court said, according to the article, as long as it didn’t conflict with state law, home rule applied and we have the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act

Comment by Liberty Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 12:54 pm
Besides the total lie that workers can be fired for not paying union dues, we have to realize that national right to work will be upon us inside of a year. Labor has the biggest challenge ahead of it. I welcome that challenge as well as the cleansing it will us. If we aren’t doing right by our people then we probably deserve to go down. That’s why I’m 100% about doing right by our people and sticking it to managent. I have religious faith in the Second Coming of Labor. I am so certain that the Trump Raunerites will destroy the economy that working folk will flock to unions as never before. As the Marines say, “it’s the hill I’m going to die on”

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 12:56 pm
We haven’t had any UMWA coal mining jobs in years.

Comment by Downstate Illinois Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 1:02 pm
If different units of local government decide the issue differently, right to work or not, then a patchwork will be created across Illinois. This will be seen as an anti-business decision by many businesses that are or might want to operate in multiple local government jurisdictions in the state.

Comment by Illinois Native Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 1:11 pm
“I seriously doubt coal-related job losses have been due to the lack of right to work laws” Of course not, it’s because we don’t have term limits. /s

Comment by Skeptic Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 1:35 pm
All districts in IL should vote if they should be right to work areas. I have a feeling this would see a lot of manufacturing jobs in the pro right to work areas.

Comment by Rocky Rosi Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 1:38 pm
=which ban unions from firing workers who refuse to pay dues=

*which force unions to represent workers who refuse to pay dues.

There, fixed it.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 1:41 pm
that was me at 1:41

Comment by chi Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 1:42 pm
It’s interesting how “free market” denizens like the WSJ editorial page are quick to try and outlaw contracts with union security clauses that have been freely entered into between businesses and unions.

Comment by chi Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 1:45 pm
You want manufacturing jobs? Get a time machine. Automation, not unions or outsourcing, is responsible for job loss in manufacturing.

Comment by Rogue Roni Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 1:49 pm
This is great news for the Four Tops as it can be removed from the list of reforms required before turning to the budget. /snark/

Comment by vibes Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 2:00 pm
Right to work ? In Illinois ? Non starter. Ok what’s up next ?

Comment by MD Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 2:38 pm
Aren’t these the people who elected Rauner and Trump?

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 2:45 pm
- Rogue Roni - Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 1:49 pm:

You want manufacturing jobs? Get a time machine. Automation, not unions or outsourcing, is responsible for job loss in manufacturing.

Comment by Uncommon Sense Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 3:00 pm
TEAMSTERS local that i belong ,do have dues objectors, always have , they pay reduced amount get same benefits , normal dues is one hours pay , new hires with reduced pay pay same as starting rate ,old guys like me that get full rate pay that

Comment by jon r Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 3:01 pm
- Rogue Roni - Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 1:49 pm:

You want manufacturing jobs? Get a time machine. Automation, not unions or outsourcing, is responsible for job loss in manufacturing.

Good point RR, I read in the paper all the time about factories shutting down or moving because of automation. All that automation is really making it hard for manufacturing to keep their doors open. Good thing it’s not because of things we can actually fix. I prefer keeping my head down here in the sand with you.

Comment by Uncommon Sense Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 3:02 pm
–I seriously doubt coal-related job losses have been due to the lack of right to work laws, but whatever. –

Since measurements began in 1958, coal mining reached peak employment in the U.S. in 1981 at 1.2 million jobs. Now it’s a little more than half of that, at 662,000.

I’m guessing there may be a few other factors at work — technology, competition from cleaner energy, foreign production — other than state right-to-work laws.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 3:06 pm
=== I read in the paper all the time about factories shutting down or moving because of automation===

Don’t argue like a child. Automation is a real thing. The Chinese factory that makes the iPhone has reduced employment by half with automation.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 3:07 pm
Rich we are going to be surrounded by right to work states and the poster who says that unions are coming back is a dreamer. Only the public sectors will hang on as long as Mike keeps running the state.

Comment by scott aster Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 3:08 pm
…speaking of automation. It certainly has made producing widgets faster and marginally cheaper.

On the bright side, producing the automation equipment is HUGE business and requires highly trained technicians. This may not fall into the old school definition of manufacturing. But the salaries these folks make is awesome.

But on the downside, causation standards in Illinois make this a less than ideal incubator site.

Now, take Oreos on the other hand…..

Comment by blue dog dem Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 3:37 pm
Blue/red states are becoming increasingly polarized. Cook County is now implementing minimum wage laws, Lincolnshire (and possible other muni’s) are trying to implement collective bargaining reforms.

I see both sides, but I also think it makes the State govt less relevant. As far as Illinois is concerned, I suspect many will be in favor of the State be less relevant.

Comment by BK Bro Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 3:52 pm
Blue Dog: Illinois is one of the top three states for start ups, and is seen by new venturers across the country as an “incubator site.” Too bad the good news in our state is not seen as politically leveragable.

We do have problems with continued growth and retention of large, mature companies.

Comment by walker Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 5:40 pm
–Blue Dog: Illinois is one of the top three states for start ups, and is seen by new venturers across the country as an “incubator site.” Too bad the good news in our state is not seen as politically leveragable.–

I’m absolutely certain it will magically become politically leveragable the moment Gov. Rauner formally kicks off his re-election campaign.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 5:43 pm
== On the bright side, producing the automation equipment is HUGE business and requires highly trained technicians. This may not fall into the old school definition of manufacturing. But the salaries these folks make is awesome. ==

Yep. Someone has the repair the machines when they break.

Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Dec 6, 16 @ 7:49 pm