Our friends at AFSCME Council 31 put together the chart below which shows where the two IL Gubernatorial candidates stand on key labor issues.
| ISSUE | Darren Bailey | JB Pritzker |
|---|---|---|
| PENSIONS | Chief sponsor of an amendment to repeal the Constitution’s pension protection clause and grant politicians “the power to reduce or change pension benefits regardless of whether those benefits have been earned.” Says he would look at ending pensions for new hires, and cut COLAs and health coverage for current employees and retirees. | Fully funded the state’s share of pension payments in every budget, including an extra $500 million more than the minimum required this year. Says “For longer than I can remember, the pension naysayers have told us we should ignore the constitution, and instead break our promises to retirees. I won’t do that.” |
| UNIONS | Says “[The unions] need to get their act together and stop demanding so much…. [Unions are] just a bullying tactic, and you’ve always got to stand up to the bully. … With them, sometimes it’s like we’re being held hostage at every turn.” | Says “Illinois is union strong. Organized labor has always been the backbone of our state. We’ll never stop standing up for workers’ rights.” |
| PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS | Voted NO on capping monthly costs for insulin | Signed into law legislation capping the monthly cost of insulin. |
| RIGHT TO STRIKE | Voted NO on making it an unfair labor practice for an employer to retaliate against employees who participate in a strike. | Signed legislation to protect the right to strike. |
| COLLECTIVE BARGAINING | Voted NO on several bills to strengthen or expand collective bargaining rights for workers. | Signed into law bills to strength collective bargaining rights. |
| STEP INCREASES | Voted NO on a bill to effectively overturn a court ruling that would have blocked implementation of state employee step increases. | Supported and signed legislation to provide for payment of scheduled step increases. |
| WORKERS’ RIGHTS AMENDMENT | Voted NO on the constitutional amendment to protect our collective bargaining rights. | Supports the Workers Rights Amendment. Says that workers’ rights to union representation and collective bargaining should be written into the state constitution so they cannot be taken away. |
| WAGE THEFT | Voted NO on stronger penalties for employers who try to cheat their employees. | Signed stronger wage-theft penalties into law. |
