{"id":2257381,"date":"2024-06-01T11:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-01T15:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/staffers-allege-climate-of-fear-is-lawsuit-against-illinois-house-speaker\/"},"modified":"2024-06-01T11:10:49","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T15:10:49","slug":"staffers-allege-climate-of-fear-is-lawsuit-against-illinois-house-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/staffers-allege-climate-of-fear-is-lawsuit-against-illinois-house-speaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Employees claim a &#8220;culture of intimidation&#8221; in lawsuit against Illinois House Speaker"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstaffers-allege-climate-of-fear-is-lawsuit-against-illinois-house-speaker%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2257381&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Staff members from the Illinois House Speaker&#8217;s Office are suing for immediate union\u2063 recognition and the commencement of collective \u2064bargaining due \u200bto alleged fear \u200band anxiety within the office. The lawsuit, filed by the Illinois Legislative Staff Association in\u200c Cook County,\u200c accuses House Speaker Emanuel &#8220;Chris&#8221; Welch of failing to uphold his constitutional duty. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congressional-group-to-host-event-celebrating-renowned-activist-angela-davis\/\" title=\"Congressional Group To Host Event Celebrating \u2018Renowned Activist\u2019 Angela Davis\">staff association<\/a> claims Welch has hindered\u2064 their\u2062 bargaining rights despite campaigning for such rights in the past. The group seeks relief for the Speaker&#8217;s refusal to discuss wages and working conditions as required by law. Despite the amendment\u2063 guaranteeing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-broken-promises-and-flip-flops-from-joe-bidens-first-month-in-office\/\" title=\"5 Broken Promises And Flip-Flops From Joe Biden\u2019s First Month In Office\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-biden-blasted-for-huge-funds-reopening-schools\/\" title=\"WATCH: Biden Blasted For Huge Funds Reopening Schools\">collective bargaining<\/a> rights<\/a>, the association states that Welch has not honored these rights for staff \u2063members. The \u2063lawsuit highlights the formation of an \u2063independent labor organization following the labor rights amendment. Speaker Welch&#8217;s office has yet to be served with the lawsuit, \u2062but states readiness to\u2063 review it once received.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013\u00a0Alleging a \u201cclimate of fear or anxiety,\u201d staffers with the Illinois House Speaker\u2019s Office are suing to get immediate recognition as a union and for the office to start collective bargaining.  <\/p>\n<p>The Illinois Legislative Staff Association says it filed in Cook County a motion seeking judgment that House Speaker Emanuel \u201cChris\u201d Welch, D-Hillside, is violating his constitutional duty to perform and carry out the lawful business of the state. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are done waiting for Speaker Welch to take responsibility for the lack of action on the part of himself and his aides,\u201d the group said in a statement. \u201cWe are done waiting for him to take the initiative to do what is best for his caucus and the people of Illinois. We are done waiting for something more than reluctant half-measures and poorly written messaging bills. Enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A legal filing, shared with The Center Square, says the plaintiffs are seeking relief \u201cwith respect to the Defendant Speaker\u2019s refusal to discuss wages, hours, and working conditions with the ILSA, as required by law.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The staff association said Welch campaigned for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-legislature-introduces-first-in-nation-resolution-to-protect-against-democrat-court-packing\/\" title=\"Arizona Legislature Introduces First-In-Nation Resolution To Protect Against Democrat 'Court Packing'\">constitutional amendment<\/a> to ensure the collective bargaining rights of every Illinois citizen, but that he hasn\u2019t followed through in regards to the staffers\u2019 situation. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWelch has refused to acknowledge and sought to deprive Plaintiff Brady Burden and the Speaker\u2019s own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-state-university-faculty-set-to-strike-in-january\/\" title=\"CSU faculty to strike in January\">staff employees<\/a>, who are members of the Plaintiff Illinois Legislative Staff Association (\u2018ILSA\u2019), of the very bargaining rights that the now-amended Illinois Constitution guarantees,\u201d the suit said. <\/p>\n<p>Illinois voters narrowly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/illinois\/article_e0112a58-7cca-11ed-b46b-a3c0187b74a9.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>approved<\/strong><\/a> the labor rights amendment in the 2022 election which guarantees the right to collective bargaining in the Illinois Constitution.  <\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the Speaker\u2019s office said \u201cAt this time, the Speaker nor the Speaker\u2019s office has been served with a lawsuit, but we will thoroughly review once that has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The staff association\u2019s legal filing discusses how after the enactment of the labor rights amendment, they formed an independent, unaffiliated labor organization and had other employees sign cards stating they are joining. With a majority of eligible employees signing on, they took steps toward beginning collective bargaining November 2022. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the first meeting and subsequent meetings, the Defendant Speaker\u2019s legal counsel and chief of staff refused to engage in collective bargaining, and instead only discussed their doubt that such bargaining could proceed at all, insisting that the \u2018proper process\u2019 be followed, which they implied was the certification of the ILSA by the Illinois State Labor Relations Board,\u201d the filing says. <\/p>\n<p>Plaintiffs said that \u201cwas a futility\u201d as the executive director of the labor relations board dismissed the petition \u201con the grounds that its organic law \u2026 did not give jurisdiction to the Board.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The filing also highlights <a href=\"https:\/\/ilga.gov\/legislation\/billstatus.asp?DocNum=4148&#038;GAID=17&#038;GA=103&#038;DocTypeID=HB&#038;LegID=150574&#038;SessionID=112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>House Bill 4148<\/strong><\/a>, which plaintiffs said still violates their rights by not being retroactive and including staff that are not part of the Speaker\u2019s office. While HB4148 passed the House in October 2023, it never moved in the Senate before they adjourned this week for the summer. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefendant continues to take the position that they will not collectively bargain with Plaintiffs absent legislation in force that dictates what structure that bargaining will take,\u201d the plaintiffs say.<\/p>\n<p>Plaintiffs further explain that the situation has \u201ccreated a climate of fear or anxiety within the staff and a sense of vulnerability to discharge or removal because of the belief fostered by the Defendant Speaker that the Plaintiff ILSA is powerless to protect them and the Defendant Speaker can deal with staff as he pleases, with no concern for their rights under the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The association is demanding a judge declare that Welch has deprived them of their rights to engage in collective bargaining, order Welch to appoint a mediator to confer with the association and order the office to post or mail to employees recognition and assurance that their rights to collective bargaining come without reprisal.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Staff members from the Illinois House Speaker&#8217;s Office are suing for union recognition and collective bargaining rights due to a purported &#8220;climate of fear.&#8221; The Illinois Legislative Staff Association filed a motion in Cook County seeking judgment against House Speaker Emanuel &#8220;Chris&#8221; Welch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2257382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23293582244211-1-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2257381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23293582244211-1-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2257381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2257382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2257381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2257381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2257381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}