2 weeks Ago
2024 has been another big year for organized labor in Illinois. We saw the implementation of Paid Leave for All, updates to our Child Labor statute, the passage of the Illinois Worker Freedom of Speech Act preventing employers from retaliating when workers decline to participate in anti-union meetings, and we just wrapped up an electrifying Democratic National Convention made by and for Illinois' working families. This Labor Day, we take time to remember the sacrifices made over many decades by the thousands of working men and women across Illinois.
We thank our policymakers in Springfield and Chicago for consistently stepping up to support working families. We must acknowledge that our gains have come with continued challenges. Two years ago this November, voters made it clear that they wanted all Illinoisans to have the right to collectively bargain.
What did they do? They voted to pass the Workers Rights Amendment to enshrine worker protections in our Constitution. Illinois' labor movement fights every day to improve wages and working conditions for temporary workers, we created legal protections for freelancers, increased transparency in wage rates, and ensured the emerging clean energy industry has an equally strong, diverse workforce. We are even seeing new contracts across sectors that prioritize fair compensation, time to rest, play and enjoy the fruits of one's labor.
We never take these advancements for granted. We see neighboring states attacking working families through misguided policies such as right-to-work or loosening child labor protections. We remain diligent and resilient, even in our victories.
We see some of these struggles right here. Just this year, labor has found itself at the center of a number of worker strikes and actions to demand better. Nurses have hit the picket line at Chicago-area hospitals.
Firefighters in Chicago are still fighting for a contract — and they have been bargaining for almost three years. Even Hollywood is facing a new storyline. The workers who provide the backbone for the television, movie and streaming productions we cannot get enough of have stood up to say paltry salaries and 3-cent residuals must improve.
They persuaded the mega-bucks producers, but we still have work to do to ensure adequate AI protections for our SAG-AFTRA video game actors. This Labor Day, we encourage you to take a moment to think about the teachers, tradespeople, nurses, plumbers, set riggers, drillers, entertainment professionals and so many more who sacrifice every day to make our lives better. Please come out and join us to send the message that Illinois is union strong, and growing stronger every day.
Tim Drea is president and Pat Devaney is secretary-treasurer of the Illinois AFL-CIO-Springfield..
