In November 2022, Illinois voters approved the Workers’ Rights Amendment, guaranteeing the fundamental right of workers to unionize and bargain collectively. The Amendment passed with 2.2 million votes, receiving 59 percent approval on the question and 53 percent yes votes among all ballots cast.In the summer of 2023, the Project for Middle Class Renewal at […]
The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and other automating technologies generates concerns among scholars, policymakers, and workers’ representatives. AI is expected to bring profound transformations to the workplace, and preparing for these changes will facilitate a smoother transition into the future. In 2022, the Illinois Task Force on the Future of Work produced a […]
Reports of Illinois’ population decline have been greatly exaggerated due to a reliance on faulty Census estimates instead of actual counts of people. An analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement survey data from 2013 through 2022 and Illinois Department of Revenue data from 2010 through 2020 can provide clarity and context, […]
This report consists of two chapters addressing potential reforms for tipped minimum wage in the City of Chicago. The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection sought the assistance of the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago in conducting a study required by the Chicago City Council that examines the economic impact […]
Workers at Illinois’ public universities are earning between 14% and 20% less than their counterparts employed directly by state government agencies, according to a first-of-its-kind study released by the Project for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI).Read full report here.
So-called “right-to-work” laws are government regulations that prohibit employers and unions from voluntarily ensuring that each member who accrues a return from collective bargaining also contributes a fair share. They allow workers to forgo union membership but require unions to continue providing services and benefits to those who do not pay. This reduces the resources […]
Public approval of labor unions remains at a six-decade high, with bipartisan support from across the political spectrum. Data shows that union workers earn higher wages, are more likely to have health insurance coverage, and have greater access to paid leave. Though the unionization rate fell nationally for the second consecutive year, the United States […]
Registered apprenticeships are training programs in which participants “earn while they learn” with tuition costs covered by employers or joint labor-management organizations, who gain access to a stable pool of skilled workers. Apprenticeship training is particularly important to combating skilled labor shortages in construction. Read full report here.
Registered apprenticeships are training programs in which participants “earn while they learn” with tuition costs covered by employers or joint labor-management organizations, who gain access to a stable pool of skilled workers. Apprenticeship training is particularly important to combating skilled labor shortages in construction. Joint labor-management apprenticeship programs account for the vast majority of registered […]
For most unions in the United States, ‘no strike’ collective bargaining clauses are the most visible manifestation of the twentieth-century industrial relations commitment to maintaining ‘labor peace.’ Unions and employers agree to a detailed contractual grievance and arbitration process in exchange for workers waiving a right to strike and assurances from management to address worker […]