Achievements and hopes celebrated at state building trades gathering

 

More that 110 people at the Joint Statewide Building and Construction Trades Council meeting June 8 showed cautious optimism about the future – a feeling bolstered by a series of elected officials who’ve championed worker-friendly initiatives.

The biggest news – at least, the biggest potential for union jobs – came in a presentation by GreneLily Energy & Water and the Renewable Energy Alliance, which outlined a current project, a second plant in development, and the possible need for hundreds of union workers.

“The [state’s] proposed carbon-capture [process] would sequester, which is a total waste,” said GreneLily Business Development head Debra Wold. “Instead, we will capture CO2 and turn it into diesel fuel.”

Active in Aurora, Naperville and Winnebago County, the alliance and GreneLily are building a renewable gas power plant to do that. In the planning stage is a nearby Green Waste-to-Renewable Energy plant to transform 400,000 metric tons of wastes into diesel and jet fuel.

Similar projects are active in Europe, and GreneLily wants to build throughout the western hemisphere, Wold said. In the Midwest, the alliance expects to bring hundreds of millions of dollars into the region’s economy, and will need between 900 and 1,200 workers to build the projects, which will create up to 400 permanent jobs.

A daughter of an Iron Worker, Wold said the jobs will be union.

Briefly adding to Wold’s comments was Laborers activist and retiree Tom Delsanto, who said, “This isn’t a ‘concept.’ This is a fact; this works.

“We could have 40 plants just in Illinois,” he said. “It’s a good thing, and good for our members.”

Other labor leaders and allies speaking at the day-long gathering at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 137 hall offered updates on progress and developments throughout the state affecting unions and everyday working people. Reports included:

* Remarking about the Prevailing Wage law, Mike Macellaio, from the Chicago/Cook County Building & Construction Trades and the Illlnois Prevailing Wage Council, said, “Illinois is the only state in the nation to have such a strong law.”

* Illinois Department of Labor Director Jane Flanagan reported that IDOL is refining its records to enable people to download unredacted certified payroll records through Freedom of Information requests, and noted that Illinois OSHA is now offering free on-site safety consultations separate from enforcement work.

* Climate Jobs Illinois staffers Chynna Hampton and Mia Korinke spoke, with Hampton explaining outreach efforts to community organizations to help with workforce development, especially eliminating barriers that job candidates may face to get in to long-term careers. She also announced a June 30 Zoom meeting about union jobs in clean energy. (Email Hampton at champton@afl-cio.org for access information.)

Korinke focused on clean energy in schools. Already working in pilot projects with districts in East St. Louis, Harvey and Thornton, the program addresses “outdated, inefficient school buildings,” she said, in three main ways: energy audits, assisting administrators with renewable energy credit opportunities for solar energy, and switching to electric buses – “all while promoting labor standards.”

* Illinois AFL-CIO Political Director Bill Looby reported that work on the June 28 primary election included 100,000 pieces sent to 34 [state] districts, “plus digital,” and for the November election, the federation is concentrating on voter registration (“We need to maximize our effort to get members registered and voting”); and targeting 20 counties where 85% of Illinois unionists live, including Peoria, McLean and Tazewell in central Illinois. Also, the state AFL-CIO will be offering assistance for union groups to mail area union members, paying for printing of approved content, so Locals pay only for bulk-mail rates.

* State AFL-CIO Legislative Director Magda Derisma applauded the passage of several measures in Springfield, notably House Bill 5412, which fights wage theft by ensuring that all workers are paid what’s owed them for work they do on construction projects, and commented that there will be an outreach program for “tips of violations.” Also, lobbying continues for the Offshore Wind Pilot Program and the Hazardous Materials Workforce Training Act.

* Andy Drea, an aide to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (who was isolating after a positive test for COVID), said six lawyers and two professionals now work on workers rights issues, and the AG has successful litigated antitrust violations concerning temp agencies and supported the successful claim that some Southwest Airlines workers are exempt from federal arbitration mandates.

* U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s Illinois state director Cameron Joost Stevens praised the first-term senator, who backs workers rights and is now working on attempts to address price-gouging, which contributes to inflation. Duckworth is running for her second term, Stevens added, “and we’re not taking anything for granted.”

* Democrat Nikki Budzinski, candidate for the 13th Congressional District, reminded the crowd that she was instrumental in Illinois restoring Project Labor Agreements on state projects, on raising the state;s minimum wage, and on the capital bill. She thanked the building trades for backing her so “we can finally flip this seat to union blue.”

* Samantha McClain, State Director for “Vote Yes for Workers Rights” said organizers anticipate big-money attack ads against the Workers Rights constitutional amendment on the November ballot. (Days later, Politico reported that Vote Yes for Workers Rights already is getting donations – some $4.7 million from unions and labor allies.) AFL-CIO president Tim Drea interjected, “We’re going to win this with hard work.”

Asked about opponents tying workers rights to indicted ex-Speaker Mike Madigan, the group suggests responding that “the amendment holds politicians – Democrats and Republicans – accountable, and an amendment stops them from going after workers. Politicians caused the state’s fiscal problems, not workers.”

* Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza said she was happy to “stand up to Bruce Rauner. My goal was to beat him up, kick him out and fix things. We’ve made amazing progress,” she continued. “Under Rauner, Illinois had eight consecutive credit downgrades. Now we’ve had six straight credit upgrades. We did have  $16.7 billion backlog of unpaid bills; that’s gone. Now we pay our bills on time – and that happened before we received a penny from the [federal] American Rescue Plan. We’re preparing not for surviving, but for thriving.”

* following Mendoza’s upbeat and fiery remarks, Gov. J.B. Pritzker was subdued and warm, commenting, “I came here to thank you. In the earliest moments [of the pandemic], we made it clear: You are essential.

“It hasn’t been an easy couple of years, but many Illinoisans are safe and healthy and alive, whether leaders of a household or a Local,” he contined. “And we had to reverse the damage from Rauner’s anti-worker agenda. Now, the state is up and running, even during this challenging time. Springfield is back on the side of working people – the backbone of the middle class.

“We have a $45 billion capital bill, $17 billion more coming from Washington, and we’re building 4,000 miles of roads and 400 bridges,” he added. “Illinois now has 13 million people, according to the Census – we’re growing, and we have to think of every single one of them. We have about 200 Project Labor Agreements, the first in the nation – three times all the states combined. And we need the Workers Rights Amendment. We can’t go backward. If Illinois again ends up with a governor who doesn’t care about workers, workers rights will be in the constitution.

“With me, you’ll always have an ally in the governor’s office,” he concluded. “It’s been my honor to be your partner.”

Organizational support for Illinois' Workers Rights Amendment starts to build

On June 2, the Peoria Labor Temple hosted a “Vote Yes for Workers Rights” fundraiser sponsored by West Central Building Trades, the West Central Illinois Labor Council, the Union Labor Life Insurance Company (ULLICO) and the Illinois AFL-CIO, with proceeds going toward fighting for workers rights and against an expected barrage of attacks on a proposed amendment to Illinois’ state constitution.

 

Last year, the Illinois legislature adopted Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment No. 11, which will be on the general-election ballot Nov. 8. It would prohibit “any law that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety.”

 

Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea said, “For the first time, Illinois voters will have the chance to enshrine ironclad protections for working people in the Illinois Constitution.”

 

The proposed amendment doesn’t protect only unions. It’s about EMPLOYEES, whether they’re in a union or not. It would be a CONSTITUTIONAL right.

 

Again, this state amendment wouldn’t provide union perks or worker privileges like free housing, discounted transportation, or clothing allowances. It simply guarantees rights for workers on the job.

 

The amendment has three parts:

* Employees would gain the fundamental right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to protect their economic welfare and safety at work;

* it prohibits any law from impeding employees’ right to organize and bargain collectively; and

* that includes laws prohibiting contracts requiring union membership, such as so-called “Right To Work” bans on employer/union agreements to mandate workers represented by unions to share in the costs of representation (and the amendment would apply to all levels of government, from public schools and townships to cities and counties).

“If we work in this country, we should have justice,” said Abel Muhammad at a rally for International Workers Day at Chicago’s Union Park on May 1. “If we have children and family in this country, we should have justice. And we shouldn’t have to beg for it.”

 

To pass, the proposed amendment will need 60% of those voting on the measure, or a majority of those voting in the overall election, and the political mood for change seems very good.

 

The COVID pandemic exposed inequities in health care, child care and job safety; grassroots engagement increased since Floyd George’s 2020 murder; a sense of unfairness has grown; and public support – increasingly among young Americans – is strong.

Everyday people appreciate regular working people and their efforts, from “essential workers” to the labor movement. Support for unions has never been greater, according to Gallup last year. About 68% of Americans approve of organized labor, up 20% since 2009. And support is especially strong among younger workers (GenZ and Millennials), who approve unions by 77%.

Of course, only 10.3% of the country’s workers had union representation in 2021, down from 20.1% in 1981, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January. Just 6.1% of the workers in the private sector are represented by unions.

On the federal level, the PRO Act labor-law reform is marooned by a thtreatened Republican filibuster. But Illinois is a comparable oasis in a desert of anti-labor states, and now the General Assembly has empowered voters to establish workers rights.

Further, there’s positive, if modest momentum, too, with organizing or new contracts at colleges and museums, retailers such as Amazon and Starbucks, and tech, game and digital companies.

Meanwhile, the world’s 10 richest men more than doubled their fortunes, from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion during the first two years of a pandemic that has seen the incomes of 99% of humanity fall and over 160 million more people forced into poverty, according to an Oxfam report out this winter. Nine out of the top ten richest men in the world are Americans.

They include Elon Musk, whose wealth increased from $24.6 billion to $234 billion (851%), from March 2020 to March 2022, according to Forbes. During that same time, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ wealth grew from $113 billion to $161.5 billion (46%), and Bill Gates’ wealth jumped from $98 billion to $129.5 billion (32%).

College graduates’ support for labor has increased from 55% in the late 1990s to around 70% in recent years, and is higher among younger college graduates, according to Gallup. College-educated workers are translating support to action. They’re skeptical of employers’ “union-avoidance” consultants, identify as workers after surviving more than a decade of lousy job prospects, and feel confident.

 

But a juggernaut of anti-worker ads, mailers, billboards and commercials loom, so pro-amendment messaging that’s accurate (though expensive) is needed.

 

“Advertising on various platforms will start” soon, said Clint Drury, Executive Director of the West Central Building & Construction Trades Council,

 

“The money can come from [unions’] general funds, PAC funds and labor-management funds,” he continued. “There’s no limit on the contribution amount.”

 

The workers rights amendment will need financial backing from unions, community allies, and individuals,and the months-long campaign is expected to cost millions of dollars to combat anticipated attacks and misinformation.

 

That’s in spite of the proposed amendment – co-spomsored by Peoria lawmakers Sen. Dave Koehler and Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth – having had huge, bipartisan support in the legislature, with the Senate passing it 49-7 (with 2 not voting) and the House 80-30 (with 3 voting Present).

 

In west-central Illinois, the only No votes among lawmakers came from Reps. Thomas Bennett (R-106), Dan Brady (R-105), Tim Butler (R-87), Keith Sommer (R-88) Ryan Spain (R-73) and Dan Swanson (R-74), and Sens. Jil Tracy (R-47) and Sally Turner (R-44). But in the House, Republicans Norine Hammond (93) and Mark Luft (91) voted Yes, as did Senate Republicans Sue Rezin (38) and Win Stoller (37).

 

“Everybody needs to pitch in,” said Chicago Federation of Labor president Bob Reiter. “The enemy’s at the gate.”

Donations and offers of other assistance may be sent to Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights, 180 N. Stetson Ave., Suite 1529, Chicago, IL 60601.

The ‘Joy Silk’ doctrine was labor law for 20 decades before it died at the hands of conservatives. Now it could be revived.

 Joy Silk might sound like an experimental fabric or a punk band, but the name actually refers to a U.S. labor law tenet that functioned well for decades until a conservative takeover of the National Labor Relations Board in the 1960s killed it.

In effect for 20 years, Joy Silk was another casualty of a long war on workers.

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA: the Wagner Act) was enacted in 1935, and opponents have chipped away at it ever since. It gave workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively, and for a decade, it worked. The labor movement grew to about one-third of the nation’s workforce and over the next several years, despite a Republican Congress limiting the law’s scope with the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, unions remained healthy.

But starting in the 1960s,  membership started eroding due to the Landrum-Griffin Act (1959), President Reagan breaking the air-traffic controllers strike (1981, signaling an OK to “permanenly replace” lawful strikers), and court rulings ranging from “Beck” to “Janus” – all strengthening U.S. business’ relentless opposition to worker rights.

Although the NLRA is still the law, penalties employers face for lawbreaking are so weak that violations became common and organizing relatively rare. In fact, 21^st century employers are charged with violating federal law 41.5% of the time in union lection campaigns, according to data compiled by tbe Economic Policy Institute.

Now, however, the National Labor Relations Board’s Jennifer Abruzzo is trying to actually enforce existing labor laws and revive past practices that were overturned throughout years of fierce attacks on unions.

Confirmed as General Counsel last summer on a party-line vote, Abruzzo became the agency’s chief prosecutor and in recent weeks initiated a series of actions.

First, she said that mandatory, anti-union “captive audience” meetings should be Unfair Labor Practices since they’re coercive behavior – a violation of the NLRA. In her three-page message to NLRB field offices, Abruzzo said these meetings — where employers condemn unions  — “inherently involve an unlawful threat that employees will be disciplined or suffer other reprisals if they exercise their protected right not to listen to such speech.”

Limiting such one-sided meetings wouldn’t violate companies’ free-speech rights, she added.

“Imposing that long-overdue protection of employees’ right to refrain will not impair employers’ statutory or constitutional freedom of expression,” she wrote

Next, Abruzzo followed up with memos suggesting requiring employers to reimburse unions for costs incurred in fighting Unfair Labor Practices, increasing “back pay” awards to workers after they are illegally fired, and stepping up use of NLRB injunctions stopping employers’ illegal activities.

But Abruzzo – raised in a union household in Queens and an NLRB attorney for decades – proposed an even more significant idea: calling for the Joy Silk doctrine to be reinstated.

The doctrine grew out of the Joy Silk Mills case in 1949, when the NLRB decided that “if a union provides evidence that a majority of workers want to unionize,” employers should voluntarily recognize the union by default unless they have “good-faith doubt” regarding that evidence. Further, “if there’s an Unfair Labor Practice, meaning the employer broke the law, then it is presumed that the workers wanted to join a union.”

Under Joy Silk, employers who refused to recognize a union’s legitimate majority status had been compelled to recognize the union and to enter into bargaining with it, except in rare instances.

“Currently, a bargaining order may only issue in cases where an ‘employer’s misdeeds are so widespread they make a fair election impossible,’ a standard which the brief argues has ‘failed to deter employers’ from interfering with elections,” writes Fran Swanson from Harvard Law. “Under a return to Joy Silk, an employer would be ordered to recognize and bargain with a union if the union is supported by a majority of workers in the bargaining unit, even absent an election, unless the employer can show that its refusal to bargain is based on its good faith doubt about the union’s majority status.”

Joy Silk, which was established in 1949 by an NLRB dominated by Democrat Harry Truman’s appointees, was essentially dismantled in 1969 when the Board, dominated by Republican Richard Nixon’s appointees, during oral arguments in the Gissell Packing Co. case, said it was abandoning the doctrine.

Although a U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the decision, eventually the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, agreed with the NLRB’s 1969 decision.

Under Gissel, employers who refused to recognize a union’s legitimate majority status were compelled merely to run or rerun an election among their employees to determine union status. That let employers delay recognition and bargaining, in some cases for years, and to intimidate workers from voting in a union.

Before Joy Silk was struck down, charges of employer intimidation totaled about 1,000 cases a year.

“There were many more elections that were untainted” [by employer intimidation], Abruzzo told The American Prospect magazine.

Once the softball remedies of Gissel became the standard, Unfair Labor Practice charges exploded to a peak of 6,493 in 1981,

Abruzzo’s recommendation has been overlooked for decades,

“Even labor lawyers had forgotten about Joy Silk,” University of California - Berkeley labor law professor Catherine Fisk told The American Prospect.

Abruzzo’s proposal must be considered by the current NLRB. If the full Board agrees with Abruzzo and most of the 500-some lawyers she supervises, the doctrine  probably would have to be considered and applied in a specific case where the situation is applicable – such as the Iron Workers’ dispute with G&S Integrated in Morton.

“Because Joy Silk has been suspended for generations, it’s so much harder than it needs to be or should be to exercise your basic rights as a worker,” said Ben Scroggins, an Iron Workers District Council organizer. “We should have been able to walk in and say, ‘OK, let’s negotiate,’ and not have to continue fighting for months to gain what the workers had already proven — that they are a union.”