The Illinois Workers’ Rights Amendment, adopted in November 2022 as Section 25 of Article I of the state constitution, gives employees a constitutional right to organize and bargain collectively and permanently bars Illinois from becoming a right-to-work state. Because it sits in the constitution rather than in statute, the General Assembly cannot repeal it with an ordinary majority vote. But its reach has real limits: federal law governs most private-sector labor disputes, a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision blocks mandatory union fees for public employees, and independent contractors fall largely outside its protection.
What Section 25 Guarantees
Subsection (a) of Section 25 declares that employees have a fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. The subjects open to bargaining are listed in the text itself: wages, hours, working conditions, economic welfare, and safety at work.150 Constitutions. Illinois Constitution Article I – Bill of Rights
The first three are standard. The last two expand the field. “Economic welfare” reaches items beyond base pay, including retirement benefits, healthcare contributions, severance, and layoff protections. “Safety at work” makes physical hazards and health protections legitimate bargaining topics that employers cannot refuse to discuss. Federal OSHA standards set a floor, and OSHA does not preempt state-level safety negotiations.2Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Clarification of OSHA’s Position on Preemption Precluding State Court Findings With Regard to Defective NIOSH-Certified Respirators
The rights the amendment describes largely existed already under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. What changed is where they live. A future legislature can amend those statutes, but it cannot pass a law that fundamentally strips away the right to organize or bargain. The amendment also bars any law that interferes with, negates, or diminishes those rights.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Constitution – Article I
The Ban on Right-to-Work Laws
This is the provision with the most concrete impact. Section 25 explicitly prohibits any law or local ordinance that would ban agreements requiring union membership as a condition of employment.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Constitution – Article I Illinois can no longer become a right-to-work state without amending its constitution first.
Section 14(b) of the federal Taft-Hartley Act allows individual states to pass right-to-work laws that prohibit union security clauses. About half the states have done so. In those states, employees covered by a union contract can opt out of paying dues while still receiving the benefits the union negotiates. Illinois never passed such a law, but nothing in state statute prevented a future legislature from doing so. The amendment closes that door.
Why Public Workers Still Cannot Be Required to Pay Union Fees
The largest gap between what Section 25 says and what workers actually experience comes from federal constitutional law. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Janus v. AFSCME, a case originating in Illinois. The Court held that requiring public-sector employees to pay agency fees to a union they chose not to join violates the First Amendment.4Justia US Supreme Court. Janus v. AFSCME, 585 US ___ (2018)
The Workers’ Rights Amendment cannot override a U.S. Supreme Court decision interpreting the federal Constitution. So while Section 25 protects union security agreements on paper, Janus functions as a right-to-work rule for every public-sector worker in Illinois. Public employees can join and pay dues voluntarily, but the union cannot require payment, and employers cannot deduct fees without the worker’s clear, affirmative consent.5Supreme Court of the United States. Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al.
Private-sector unions sit in a different position. Janus applies only to public employees, so private-sector union security agreements in Illinois remain enforceable. A private employer and a union can still agree that employees must join the union or pay fees as a condition of employment, and Section 25 constitutionally protects that arrangement from legislative repeal.
What It Means for Private-Sector Workers
The National Labor Relations Act governs most private-sector labor relations, and federal preemption in this area is among the broadest in American law. Courts have consistently held that states generally cannot regulate conduct the NLRA either protects or prohibits, and the National Labor Relations Board has exclusive authority over unfair labor practice claims involving private employers.
Because of that preemption, a private-sector employee’s right to organize and bargain comes from federal law, and disputes about those rights get resolved through the NLRB rather than Illinois courts. Where the amendment matters most for private-sector workers is the right-to-work ban. Taft-Hartley specifically lets states restrict union security clauses, and Section 25 ensures Illinois will never take that option. If federal protections ever weaken, the state-level guarantee remains.
Who the Amendment Covers
Section 25 uses the word “employees” without defining it, which means its scope tracks how existing state labor statutes and courts interpret the term. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act covers most state and local government workers, and expressly includes some categories that might not be obvious, such as interns and residents at public hospitals, personal care attendants in the Home Services Program, and child care providers in the state assistance program.6Justia Law. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 315 – Illinois Public Labor Relations Act The statute excludes:
- Independent contractors
- Supervisors and managers whose primary duties involve directing others or setting policy
- Confidential employees who regularly handle sensitive labor-relations information for management
- Elected officials and political appointees
- Short-term and emergency workers
The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act covers teachers, support staff, and other employees of public school districts, community colleges, and state universities, and applies similar exclusions. Part-time community college instructors teaching fewer than six credit hours per semester are also outside its scope.7Justia Law. Illinois Code 115 ILCS 5 – Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act
The largest coverage gap is probably independent contractors and gig workers. Because the constitutional text protects “employees” and not “workers” more broadly, people classified as independent contractors likely fall outside its reach. Whether a worker is properly classified as an employee or a contractor remains a frequent source of litigation.
What the Amendment Does Not Do
Section 25 does not explicitly create a right to strike. Illinois public employees already face strike restrictions under the Public Labor Relations Act, and the amendment’s language about bargaining collectively does not clearly override those limits. The text focuses on organizing, choosing representatives, and negotiating, not on the tactics unions can use during a dispute.
The amendment also does not set any minimum standards for wages, benefits, or working conditions. It guarantees the right to negotiate over those subjects; it does not mandate outcomes. An employer and a union could agree to terms that some workers find inadequate. The protection is procedural. It ensures the negotiation happens and cannot be legislated away.
Section 25 does not create a private right of action either. If an employer violates a worker’s bargaining rights, the remedy runs through existing administrative channels: the Illinois Labor Relations Board for public-sector disputes, or the NLRB for private-sector ones.
Local Ordinances and Home Rule
Subsection (b) is short and easy to overlook, but it closes a real loophole. Illinois has strong home-rule traditions, and Article VII, Section 6 grants broad authority to home-rule municipalities. Without subsection (b), a home-rule city could arguably pass local labor ordinances that conflict with Section 25. The amendment forecloses that possibility by declaring its provisions control over the home-rule section.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Constitution – Article I No local government in Illinois can pass an ordinance that diminishes collective bargaining rights, regardless of its home-rule status.