Posts tagged JB Pritzker
Pritzker signs union protection bills amid Trump war on federal unions
August 19, 2025 // The signing comes after the Federal Emergency Management Agency joined at least three other federal agencies in canceling contracts with unions to comply with President Trump’s March executive order that stripped many federal workers of union protections.
Commentary: Union power in Illinois: Shrinking membership and surging political clout
October 18, 2024 // On their face, the slow decline of the unionization rate in the Illinois workforce and the obstacles to public sector unionization created by the Janus decision could raise questions about the long-term viability of the labor movement in Illinois. But a closer look shows labor unions in Illinois are politically stronger than ever.
Illinois AFL-CIO stands behind state’s updated child labor regulations
August 13, 2024 // Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 3646 with additional working conditions for children 15 or younger, among them outlawing minors from working more than 18 hours per school week and over 40 hours during weeks when school is out. The new guidelines also add such industries as cannabis dispensaries, live adult entertainment businesses, gambling establishments and gun ranges to the list of workplaces off limits to them. Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea insists the timing for all the changes couldn’t be better.
Illinois bans companies from forcing workers to listen to their anti-union talk
August 2, 2024 // U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business are challenging similar laws in other states. The groups say the laws are a violation of the First Amendment, denying employers their right to free speech, and are also in conflict with the National Labor Relations Act, which protects an employer's communications with employees as long as they do not contain threats of reprisals or promises of benefits.
Illinois House Speaker pushes bill to allow the statehouse to unionize
September 28, 2023 // What they want: The Illinois workers say union representation would protect them when they want to speak up and allow them to bargain for better wages. With Welch behind the legislation, passage is all but assured in the Democratic-controlled House. Pritzker, who a few months backed the contract for AFSCME Council 31 state employees, has signaled he supports the legislative employees’ union efforts. That’s a far cry from California, which took five tries before it was able to pass legislation earlier this month to allow staffers to unionize.
OPINION: Pritzker risks bankrupting Illinois to curry favor with Big Labor
August 14, 2023 // Members of AFSCME Council 31 eagerly voted in local union meetings over the past two weeks to ratify the contract, which negotiators had tentatively agreed to on July 1. And who could blame them? The contract also includes a $1,200 “stipend” paid to every worker merely for ratifying the contract. Pritzker, a Democrat, included these bonuses in his last contract negotiation in 2019, ostensibly to compensate workers for the financial “hardship” of being state employees under his Republican predecessor, Bruce Rauner. Predictably, such payoffs have now become standard operating procedure. The governor celebrated his and AFSCME’s windfall by tweeting out, “Illinois is a pro-worker state through and through.” The pronouncement was eerily reminiscent of Biden’s one-time campaign promise to become the “most pro-union president you ever saw.”
Unions’ 2024 maneuvering leaves some feeling conflicted
June 27, 2023 // Organized labor is dear to the president’s political heart and is set to play a major role in next August’s Democratic National Convention, particularly as union considerations were one of the decisive reasons why party leaders chose Chicago to host the event over Atlanta, another finalist. But that rosy depiction, somewhat by design, glosses over the full picture. Not every union — despite what Biden told reporters last Saturday — is behind him. The United Mine Workers of America and United Auto Workers are among the notable holdouts. Their leaders have expressed harsh words about some of the administration’s policy decisions (more on that lower down.) Additionally, the selection of Chicago for the convention reopened old wounds for some union hands, given the heavy involvement of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a billionaire heir of the family that controls the Hyatt hotel chain.
Op-Ed: The Chicago Teachers Union now runs the mayor’s office
April 13, 2023 // CTU leadership’s brand of union politics has little to do with students and teacher representation and more to do with an expansive political agenda that includes defunding the police, hiking taxes (on “the rich,” broadly), and pumping more city resources into the Chicago Public Schools system, where classroom spending is way up and student outcomes way down since the Caucus of Rank and File Educators rose to power. Since 2010, CTU has drawn the blueprint for how to seize control over America’s largest cities. The union runs the schools, holding as hostage Chicago kids and families whenever union bosses are unhappy with management. They also donate to the bulk of the Chicago City Council, having contributed financially to 34 of Chicago’s 50 current aldermen. But their reach expands beyond the city to politicians in the Illinois statehouse. In total, CTU since 2010 has spent at least $19 million on politics in Illinois, including over $2.5 million to Illinois Senate and House candidates.
New Illinois law mandates paid leave ‘for any reason’
March 14, 2023 // Starting Jan. 1, Illinois employers must offer workers paid time off based on hours worked, with no need to explain the reason for their absence as long as they provide notice in accordance with reasonable employer standards. Just Maine and Nevada mandate earned paid time off and allot employees the freedom to decide how to use it, but Illinois’ law is further reaching, unencumbered by limits based on business size. Similarly structured regulations that require employers to offer paid sick leave exist in 14 states and Washington, D.C., but workers can only use that for health-related reasons.
PRITZKER SIGNS BILL ALLOWING CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS PRINCIPALS TO UNIONIZE
February 13, 2023 // Chicago Public Schools principals already make nearly 30% more than their peers in the rest of the state. A newly signed law allows them to unionize and push for even more. Gov. J.B. Pritzker just signed a bill allowing principals within Chicago Public Schools to unionize and bargain. While supervisory employees have not traditionally had a right to unionize, House Bill 5107 redefines who constitutes a “managerial employee” within CPS. Under the new language, only those who negotiate with unions or formulate district-wide policies are prohibited from unionizing.