Full Text of SJR0055 102nd General Assembly
SJ0055 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The 102nd General Assembly of the State of | 3 | | Illinois has submitted Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional | 4 | | Amendment 11, a proposition to amend the Illinois | 5 | | Constitution, to the voters of Illinois at the November 2022 | 6 | | general election; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act | 8 | | requires the General Assembly to prepare a brief explanation | 9 | | of the proposed amendment, a brief argument in favor of the | 10 | | amendment, a brief argument against the amendment, and the | 11 | | form in which the amendment will appear on the ballot, and also | 12 | | requires the information to be published and distributed to | 13 | | the electorate; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 15 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF | 16 | | REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that the proposed form of | 17 | | new Section 25 of Article I shall be published as follows:
| 18 | | "ARTICLE I | 19 | | BILL OF RIGHTS | 20 | | SECTION 25. WORKERS' RIGHTS | 21 | | (a) Employees shall have the fundamental right to organize |
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| 1 | | and to bargain collectively through representatives of their | 2 | | own choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours, and | 3 | | working conditions, and to protect their economic welfare and | 4 | | safety at work. No law shall be passed that interferes with, | 5 | | negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and | 6 | | bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms | 7 | | and conditions of employment and work place safety, including | 8 | | any law or ordinance that prohibits the execution or | 9 | | application of agreements between employers and labor | 10 | | organizations that represent employees requiring membership in | 11 | | an organization as a condition of employment. | 12 | | (b) The provisions of this Section are controlling over | 13 | | those of Section 6 of Article VII. "; and be it further | 14 | | RESOLVED, That a brief explanation of the proposed | 15 | | amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment, a brief | 16 | | argument against the amendment, and the form in which the | 17 | | amendment will appear on the ballot shall be published and | 18 | | distributed as follows: |
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| 1 | | PROPOSED AMENDMENT | 2 | | TO ADD SECTION 25 TO ARTICLE I | 3 | | OF THE ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION | 4 | | That will be submitted to the voters
| 5 | | November 8, 2022 | 6 | | This pamphlet includes | 7 | | EXPLANATION OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT
| 8 | | ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF THE AMENDMENT
| 9 | | ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE AMENDMENT
| 10 | | FORM OF BALLOT
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| 1 | | To the Electors of the State of Illinois: | 2 | | The Illinois Constitution establishes a structure of | 3 | | government and laws for the State of Illinois. There are three | 4 | | ways to initiate change to the Illinois Constitution: (1) a | 5 | | constitutional convention may propose changes to any part; (2) | 6 | | the General Assembly may propose changes to any part; or (3) a | 7 | | petition initiative may propose amendments limited to | 8 | | structural and procedural subjects contained in the | 9 | | Legislative Article. The people of Illinois must approve any | 10 | | changes to the Illinois Constitution before they become | 11 | | effective. The purpose of this document is to inform you of | 12 | | proposed changes to the Illinois Constitution and to provide | 13 | | you with a brief explanation and a summary of the arguments in | 14 | | favor of and in opposition to the proposed amendment. | 15 | | EXPLANATION
| 16 | | The proposed amendment, which takes effect upon approval by | 17 | | the voters, adds Section 25 to the Bill of Rights Article of | 18 | | the Illinois Constitution. The new section will guarantee | 19 | | workers the fundamental right to organize and to bargain | 20 | | collectively and to negotiate safety conditions, wages, hours, | 21 | | working conditions, and economic welfare. The amendment | 22 | | prohibits the passage of any new law within the State that | 23 | | restricts or prohibits workers from engaging in collective |
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| 1 | | bargaining with their employer over wages, hours, and other | 2 | | terms and conditions of employment, like safety protocols or | 3 | | training. | 4 | | Arguments In Favor of the Proposed Amendment | 5 | | This amendment will protect workers' and others' safety. | 6 | | That includes guaranteeing nurses' right to put patient care | 7 | | ahead of profit and making sure construction workers can speak | 8 | | up when there's a safety issue. It will protect workers from | 9 | | being silenced when they call attention to food safety | 10 | | threats, shoddy construction, and other problems that could | 11 | | harm Illinoisans. This amendment protects firefighters and | 12 | | EMTs who put their lives on the line to protect Illinoisans. It | 13 | | means they get the training and safety equipment they need to | 14 | | do their jobs, and can speak out when they see a problem | 15 | | without fear of retaliation. This amendment will help our | 16 | | economy by putting more money in workers' pockets who join | 17 | | together and get raises. That will mean more money going into | 18 | | our communities and small businesses as people join the middle | 19 | | class with good-paying jobs. | 20 | | Arguments Against the Proposed Amendment | 21 | | A fundamental right provided to all citizens under the | 22 | | First Amendment of the United States Constitution is the right |
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| 1 | | to free speech and freedom of association. This amendment | 2 | | prohibits any law or ordinance that allows union workers to | 3 | | choose whether they wish to be a member of the union or not. | 4 | | Under the 2018 United States Supreme Court decision Janus v. | 5 | | Illinois AFSCME, non-union government workers cannot be | 6 | | required to pay union dues as a condition of working in the | 7 | | public sector. Approval of this constitutional amendment will | 8 | | deny that protection to private sector workers. The amendment | 9 | | also states that lawmakers could never "interfere with, | 10 | | negate, or diminish" certain rights. These terms are broad and | 11 | | undefined and leave lawmakers without the ability to clarify | 12 | | through legislation. Our Illinois Constitution provides such | 13 | | protection to public employees. The result of that protection | 14 | | has been to squash efforts by state lawmakers and voters to | 15 | | address Illinois' pension fund deficits. | 16 | | FORM OF BALLOT | 17 | | Proposed Amendment to the 1970 Illinois Constitution
| 18 | | Explanation of Amendment
| 19 | | The proposed amendment would add a new section to the Bill of | 20 | | Rights Article of the Illinois Constitution that would | 21 | | guarantee workers the fundamental right to organize and to | 22 | | bargain collectively and to negotiate wages, hours, and | 23 | | working conditions, and to promote their economic welfare and |
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| 1 | | safety at work. The new amendment would also prohibit from | 2 | | being passed any new law that interferes with, negates, or | 3 | | diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain | 4 | | collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and | 5 | | conditions of employment and workplace safety. At the general | 6 | | election to be held on November 8, 2022, you will be called | 7 | | upon to decide whether the proposed amendment should become | 8 | | part of the Illinois Constitution. | 9 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 10 | | YES For the proposed addition
- | 11 | | ---------- of Section 25 to Article I
| 12 | | NO of the Illinois Constitution.
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