Bill to Strip Collective Bargaining Rights Stopped

6/1/2012

SB 1556, legislation pushed by Gov. Pat Quinn to strip thousands of employees of their collective bargaining rights, surfaced anew in the final days of the legislative session.

The measure passed the House last year and was dormant throughout legislative session, but then last week, it resurfaced. Quinn pushed hard to get a vote in the Senate up until the stroke of midnight when the session ended.

The fate of SB 1556 hung in the balance throughout the last hours of the legislative session—with the Senate leadership under tremendous pressure to call the bill for a vote. Fortunately, Senator Cullerton made the right choice and decided not to call the bill for a vote. However, both Sen. Cullerton and the bill's sponsor, Sen. Don Harmon stressed that they want the unions representing state workers to attempt to address any legitimate concerns that the governor has about his ability to manage state government.