Staffers for Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch are pushing back on the speaker’s arguments that a judge should dismiss a lawsuit filed against him to force recognition of their union.
In a new filing this week, the would-be union dubbed the Illinois Legislative Staff Association once again asked a Cook County judge to rule that Welch is depriving his staff of the right to organize and collectively bargain, thus violating a voter-approved 2022 addition to the state constitution that guarantees Illinois workers that right.
Read more: Members of House speaker’s staff sue over ongoing unionization conflict | Speaker Welch rebuffs lawsuit from would-be staff union as ‘forum shopping’
Welch has maintained the Workers Rights Amendment doesn’t change a state law that specifically bars legislative employees from being able to form a union and has pointed to his sponsorship and passage of legislation through the House that would change the law.
But the bill has not made any progress in the Senate, which ILSA alleges is evidence of Welch privately colluding with Senate President Don Harmon to stop their unionization effort.
Read more: House approves framework allowing legislative staff to unionize
ILSA sued Welch in May and in June, the speaker claimed the lawsuit was “forum shopping” after the Illinois Labor Relations Board refused to certify the union in 2023. He also pointed to the fact that ILSA failed to appeal the ILRB’s decision as evidence the would-be union’s lawsuit was merely posturing.
But the ILSA this week said the state board’s decision told them to instead resolve the issue in the courts, and called Welch’s argument to the contrary “bizarre.”