Illinois leaders who pushed pro-union amendment thwart their own staffers

Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon are taking heat from staffers for killing legislation allowing the workers to unionize. Statehouse leaders are big on union rights, as long as it’s not in their offices.

Staffers in the Illinois General Assembly say legislative leaders intentionally killed legislation allowing them to form a union.

The Illinois Legislative Staff Association issued a statement saying Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon sat on legislation giving staff the power to unionize, running out the clock so the bill never advanced.

“The people of Illinois deserve a government that embodies the principles it advocates, that conducts itself with integrity and that can effectively serve its constituents. Speaker Welch and President Harmon are not living up to that standard,” the statement read.

Welch and Harmon were staunch advocates of Amendment 1, which cemented government union power in the Illinois Constitution.

The Statehouse workers’ group said it’s hypocritical to take a different tone on unionizing when it comes to your own workplace.

“We hope businesses and chambers of commerce see how Speaker Welch is comfortable telling them to work with unions while he does the opposite. We hope they see how his stance on unions suddenly changes the moment it is he who would be potentially inconvenienced, not just the ‘little people.’ ‘Unions for thee but not for me.’”

The Illinois House is scheduled to adjourn for the summer on May 24 but the legislature can take until May 31 to pass a state budget.