Illinois workers’ rights amendment propels politics and food service worker unionization
Aspen Schucker sprung out of bed on Jan. 23rd, eager to head to work at La Colombe Coffee Roasters on Elm Street. After handing out lattes to customers, Schucker, along with all his colleagues, declared his intention to form a La Colombe worker’s union.
“The vote was a symbol of the community that we have in this cafe,” said Schucker. “We know what we want. When we are all together, we can do anything.”
Schucker joined the cafe in 2021. He was struck by the fact that his wage only increased by 50 cents per hour even as La Colombe raised food and drink prices to accommodate inflation,.
“I feel like a lot of customers assumed that we also got a wage increase, but that just didn’t happen,” said Schucker. “People are tipping less, and especially at this cafe, we’ve relied on tips for a lot of our income.”
Schucker said tips typically account for half of his paycheck.
In July 2022, Schucker and his colleagues across Chicago partnered with the United Food and Commercial Workers International (UFCW), which represents 1.3 million workers in North America, to push for unionization.
By January, four of the five La Colombe Chicago cafes successfully filed for union elections. The Gold Coast location is the first to hold an official vote.
Unionization drives have been spreading through the state. In 2022, Illinois and Chicago union membership grew for the first time since 2017, while national levels decreased. Workers under 35 had one of the highest unionization rates statewide, experiencing up to 23% growth compared to 2018.
“People are realizing that their work matters and they need to do something to get what they deserve. For the longest time, food service hasn’t really been included in that,” said Payton Carlson, an Elm Street barista and civil engineering student at Harold Washington College. “We feel like we’re just catching up as an industry in terms of advocating for our rights.”
The La Colombe unionization occurred in the wake of the Illinois Workers’ Rights Amendment passing in November with nearly 60% support. The bill bans private-sector right-to-work laws and constitutionally enshrines pre-existing rights for workers to organize and collectively bargain for wages and other employment issues.
Adam Gana, a complex commercial and business litigator at Gana Weinstein LLP, said the Illinois Workers’ Rights Amendment is a win for employees in the state.
“Your average worker is generally exploited in America today, and without the right to unionize, or at a minimum the right to threaten to unionize, their negotiating power, as a group, is materially negative,” said Gana.
The amendment, however, could pose challenges to Illinois businesses, said Gana.
[“Being in any one general location is much less important to your average business,” said Gana. “They are going to be looking at whether or not a state is pro-industry or pro-employee, and most businesses are going to want to set up in places that are pro-industry.”
Another concern about the legislation is its vague terminology. Gana said the amendment’s undefined terms, such as what connotes “economic welfare,” will likely be litigated in court moving forward.
“The issue will probably work its way through the court and get to the Supreme Court of Illinois,” said Gana. “Any ambiguity in the law, including the intent, will be determined.”
Politicians will need to maneuver around the constitutionally-enshrined amendment when contemplating and implementing legislation, said Chris Jackowiak, a member of Cor Strategies, a center-right Midwestern political consulting firm.
“Lawmakers are going to have to take very careful consideration into how a certain bill or act is going to affect organized labor,” said Jackowiak.
The amendment will also build upon pre-existing union strengths, such as the ability to endorse and donate to candidates. In the 2023 mayoral election, the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7 backed Paul Vallas, and the Chicago Teachers Union endorsed former school teacher Brandon Johnson. Meanwhile, Jesus “Chuy '' Garcia received over $1 million from the Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, more than doubling his pre-existing campaign fund.
“(Unions) and their concerns are a more pressing matter because they are tied to the constitutionality of law,” Jackowiak said.
As nationwide support of unions reaches 71%, the highest recorded level since 1965, La Colombe Barista Aspen Schucker said he believes the Workers’ Rights Amendment could provide a powerful precedent for other states.
“I feel like I was raised to think a union was old,” Schucker concluded. “It’s just a community of people who have more strength when you all come together.”
Reported while in a college journalism class about Chicago politics