CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
Months after formally endorsing Gov. Bruce Rauner’s controversial turnaround agenda for Illinois, Lincolnshire officials are going further by moving to establish the town as a right-to-work zone.
Trustees are considering an ordinance that would prevent local employers from automatically deducting union dues from workers’ paychecks. Eliminating that mandatory deduction means workers couldn’t be fired if they choose not to pay union dues or fees.
It’s a key tenet of Rauner’s economic plan, which critics have bashed as anti-union or anti-worker.
Rauner and his allies have said the proposals in the turnaround agenda, including the one that calls for what the governor termed “employee empowerment zones,” give people more local control over their lives.
But labor unions, including the Illinois Federation of Teachers, say the governor’s plan would result in lower wages, increased unemployment and decreased union membership.
Lincolnshire’s trustees discussed the proposal this week and could formally adopt the plan at their Dec. 14 meeting, Village Manager Brad Burke said.
Mayor Elizabeth Brandt is championing the proposal. Brandt enthusiastically backed Rauner’s overall turnaround plan in May, too. “I want to give [this] 100 percent support,” she said at the time.
