State AFL-CIO launches central Illinois campaign for Workers Rights Amendment

Illinois AFL-CIO president Tim Drea and Secretary-Treasurer Pat Devaney appeared at the Peoria Labor Temple last nonth, when they started building area support for the Workers Rights Amendment that will be on the November ballot.

“Despite Illinois becoming a state more than 200 years ago, there’s nothing in the state constitution about workers rights,” Drea said.

State Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) prefaced Drea’s remarks with a reminder that workers bore the brunt of Republican Bruce Rauner’s efforts to break organized labor in Illinois, from supporting local “Right To Work” ordinances to holding the state budget hostage for about two years.

“That especially hurt social services and education,” Koehler said. “And you might think, well, now we have a Democratic governor and a [Democratic] supermajority in the legislature. But you never know when you will get another Rauner.

“A constitutional amendment will protect workers from that.”

Protecting workers – whether or not they’re members of labor unions – is the proposed amendment’s bottom line, Drea said.

“At the end of the day, the Workers Rights Amendment will be good for everybody,” he said, “ – everybody who goes to work. It’s protection. And with your help, we’re going to do it, together.”

To pass, the Workers Rights Amendment needs either 60% of votes cast on the ballot measure itself or a simple majority of all of those voting in the entire election.

“We’re getting ready for the inevitable attacks,” Drea said. “To blunt those attacks, we have to counter the lies we expect on TV and radio and your mailboxes.”

To succeed – and to build on existing support for labor – will take a people-to-people approach, he added.

“It means workers listening to co-workers,” he said. “Vote for yourself and job safety. Vote for your kids to have a better life.”

Companies, politicians care more about money and power than anything

 Corporate CEOs say their first responsibility is to their shareholders, which they usually equate to quarterly dividends and unending increases in stock values – not their industry, customers, communities, country, economy, ecology or, yes, workers.

Something similar often infects elected officials, who are so focused on power (their re-election) they act as if their prime responsibility is to their campaign contributors and their core “base” – not their districts as a whole, a functioning government, the nation or our democracy.

They ignore overwhelming majorities of Americans in issues as varied as the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and guns, to abortion and fuel:

* A recent poll from Data for Progress showed that 85% of likely voters support Congress passing the ERA;

* a survey by the Pew Research Center last year showed that 81% of Americans support background checks for private gun sales (92% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans);

* a May Gallup poll shows 67% of U.S. adults between 18 and 34 years old are pro-choice concerning abortion, 58% among adults ages 35 to 54, and 61% among American women overall; and

* in March a poll from Hart Research Associates showed that 87% of voters believe that lawmakers should take action against profiteering oil and gas companies and 80% favor a windfall tax on industry profits, which would discourage companies from price gouging.

 

Yet.

Congress, or the filibuster-wielding Senate, or Republicans aren’t representing such majorities They defy principles, logic and/or hide behind the too-often-effective tactic of using “wedge issues” to persuade voters to cast ballots for one issue against their own general interests.

For example, inflation is certainly bothersome, but Republican House members apparently would rather preserve inflation as a campaign talking point than help constituents. Last month, they all voted against a bill to limit price-gouging by oil companies (just as, the previous day, they opposed a measure to help resolve the infant formula shortage, another way to attack President Biden despite it having no real connection to the White House).

Whatever discomfort drivers may feel at the pump, oil companies are reporting strong profits.

“The extraordinary rise in profits which coincided with the price spike is a real and important phenomenon that should grab our attention,” said Josh Biven, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute.

The greed for profits above everything, or politicians’ jobs apart from the oaths they take are profoundly harmful.

But, they’re not new, of course.

On June 28, 1787, during the Constitutional Convention, 81-year-old Ben Franklin said, “There are two passions which have a powerful influence in the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice – the love of power and the love of money. When united in view of the same object, they have in many minds the most violent effects.”

Americans see CEO-worker pay gap as problem, more and more

 The issue about the gap between everyday workers’ wages and CEO pay may not be new.

But what IS new is that more Americans see this as a problem.

The separation is growing, too.

Overall workers’ pay has gone up 11% since 2019, but CEO pay is up 31% over the same time, according to JUST Capital, a nonprofit that judges public corporations based on management, labor and other policies.

“People, regardless of ideology, see that CEO pay is too high,” JUST capital chief strategy officer Alison Omens told Forbes magazine.

Public opinion that the gap between the corporate elite and the rest of us is a problem is almost 90%, according to some research.

The trend hasn’t slowed in the pandemic years. In 2020, the average CEO-to-worker ratio – conparing CEOs’ pay to the median (midpoint) of companies’ worker wages –was 235 to 1. That’s up from 212 to 1 in 2017, JUST Capital showed, adding that the worst disparities are in low-wage industries such as leisure and hospitality, restaurants and health care.

Meanwhile, only about one-third of regular employees at 22 companies that employ some 7 million frontline workers make a living wage, according to a Brookings Institution study out this spring

(Stockholders of those 22 companies, benefiting from the production of others, make five times more than the workers there.)

Earlier this year, the public-opinion research firm SSRS reported significant findings about how ordinary Americans view the gap.

* 87% say the growing gap between CEO pay and worker pay is a problem.

* Between 73% and 79% (depending on respondents’ familiarity with the data) believe most CEOs of the largest U.S. corporations are paid too much  

* 72% say companies should have CEO compensation caps, regardless of performance.

* 85% agree that one way America’s largest companies can meaningfully act to reduce income inequality is by raising ththeir workers’ pay to a living wage.

* 80% say popular support for labor unions and the recent wave of strikes are trying to address the fact that large corporations have undervalued workers for too long.

“Pay levels are an indicator for people of how a CEO is treated versus how workers are treated in a company,” Omens said.

The problem isn’t “out there,” as this snapshot from the AFL-CIO’s most recent “Executive Paywatch” report shows. Ten Illinois-based corporations stand out for the CEO/worker pay gap:

Company                               CEO                           CEO pay (2020)         CEO-to-worker ratio

Motorola Solutions, Inc.         Gregory Brown           $23,046,559                286 to 1

Archer-Daniels-Midland         Juan Luciano               $21,994,433                338 to 1

The Allstate Corporation        Thomas Wilson           $21,126,386                206 to 1

The Boeing Company             David Calhoun            $21,074,052                158 to 1

Walgreens Boots Alliance      Stefano Pessina           $17,483,187                524 to 1

Mondelez International           Dirk de Put                  $16,842,693                544 to 1

Deere & Company                  John May                    $15,588,384                220 to 1

Caterpillar Inc.                        Donald Umpleby III   $13,676,551                274 to 1

McDonald's Corporation        Chris Kempczinski     $10,847,032                1,189 to 1

United Airlines Holdings        J. Kirby                       $8,891,854                  163 to 1

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.”