Dear friends:

Labor Day is approaching, and it is important to remember that this is more than a holiday. It’s a reminder that every workplace protection, every step toward fair wages, and every safety standard we enjoy today was fought for by generations of working people. And it’s a time to remember that those gains are never permanent unless we defend them.

Though this year brought many new challenges to worker safety at the federal level, the labor movement here in Illinois fought to ensure workers in our state would remain protected. 

Earlier this month, Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1976 and House Bill 1189 into law — measures our labor movement fought hard to pass — creating a legislative shield against the anti-worker agenda coming out of Washington. 

The Illinois Workers’ Rights and Worker Safety Act (SB 1976) ensures that in the face of federal rollbacks to workers’ rights, Illinois workers will still be afforded the hard-fought, long-established workplace protections they’ve relied on for decades. 

Put simply, SB 1976 locks in the hard-won rights we have today, guarantees we won’t fall below them, and leaves the door open for Illinois to keep leading the nation in worker protections.

The current administration in Washington has made it clear that they do not stand with American workers. Donald Trump and his cronies are lining their pockets at the expense of working families. The administration has fired thousands of workers that enforce OSHA standards, weakening the programs and laws that ensure we can return home safely to our loved ones. Laws like SB 1976 are Illinois’ answer to federal attacks: you may try to lower the floor, but in the land of Lincoln, we’re building the ceiling higher.

Labor Day is about honoring the dignity of work, reminding us that life really is better in a union. These two laws make that dignity real — in every paycheck, every safe job site, and every workplace where rights are protected no matter who lives in the White House. 

As leaders of the Illinois AFL-CIO, we are proud of what we accomplished together as a labor movement. But we also recognize that our opponents aren’t going away. The rights we’ve secured are only as strong as our commitment to defend them.

This Labor Day, let’s celebrate — and organize. Let’s keep building Illinois into the safest, fairest, most worker-friendly state in the country.

The fight continues. But thanks to the hard work and fighting spirit of our labor movement, Illinois workers are not just on defense. We’re leading the way forward. 

We hope you had a chance to celebrate Labor Day with a CLC over the weekend or later today to remember why it's better in a union.

In solidarity,

Tim Drea and Pat Devaney

SB 1976, HB 1189, and HB 2488 Signed into Law at the Illinois AFL-CIO 

On Thursday, August 15, the Illinois AFL-CIO hosted Governor Pritzker, state legislators, and union members for a bill signing for a package of labor led legislation: SB 1976, HB 1189, and HB 2488.  

SB 1976 (Peters/Evans)- The Illinois Workers’ Rights and Safety Act will preserve workers' protections under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act as of April 28, 2025, regardless of any federal rollbacks.  

HB 1189 (Belt/Hoffman)- Ensures federal construction projects that are under state or local government administrations, workers will be paid the Illinois prevailing wage rate, if it is higher than the federal rate. 

HB 2488 (Peters/Johnson)- Ensures that no federal changes can undermine the state requirement that private employers with 100 or more employees report on employee wages by gender, race, or ethnicity. Additionally, apprentices are not subject to a lower fringe benefit rate than journeymen. 

Thank you to Governor Pritzker and our state legislators for working hard to ensure workers’ safety and rights in the workplace. As the Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea stated, “Every day, we see President Trump roll back the protections and rights that working people in the labor movement have spent decades fighting for. In 2022, Illinois voters enshrined the Workers' Rights Amendment into the Illinois Constitution. Today, we continue these efforts by putting workers first and telling the White House that all workers deserve a safe and fair workplace.” 

A highlight video made by the Governor can be viewed here. 

We had the honor of hosting Congressional Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at our Labor BBQ earlier this month. Raised in a union household, Leader Jeffries visited with union members and shared why he believes unions are the path to a middle class.

IL AFL-CIO Resource Director Amy Rueff and Central Labor Council Coordinator Carolyn Franke ran the Labor Pavilion at the Illinois State Fair. They made sure that labor had a strong presence and we had union members represented from every sector and across the state.

Across more than 10 cities, including Chicago, union members and veterans gathered to fight back against the Trump administration’s aggressive attacks on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staffing and collective bargaining agreements. 

IL AFL-CIO President Tim Drea was in NYC last week to deliver a message of labor solidarity at the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) 61st Constitutional Convention. Transit workers are the backbone of our communities, and we made it clear that we are by their side as we address the future of transit in Illinois.

IUOE Local 150 workers at QSL are still on strike. The AFL-CIO "It's Better in a Union" bus tour brought out hundreds of workers, community members and allies out to make it clear that QSL needs to provide safe working conditions, fair pay, and bargain in good faith.

The A. Philip Randolph Institute hosted their 54th Annual APRI National Education Conference in Chicago this month. 

A. Philip Randolph helped build our state's labor movement when he led the Pullman Porters strike in 1894 -- his legacy continues as these leaders gathered to discuss the future of the labor movement and how we can tackle the unprecedented inequality and erosion of workers' rights we are seeing across the nation.

Pictured together our IL AFL-CIO President Tim Drea and IAM Assistant Communications Director DeLane Adams.

Our railroad unions were out in full force at the IDCCA brunch.

Jake Berent, Chicago Federation of Labor Communications Director, was on his way to work when he recognized John Brockway, an ATU Local 308 member, operating his train. Like many union members, we met John on one of his many Springfield trips to fight for transit last session

Hannah Hill, Painters District Council 58, Local 90 Treasurer, introduced Governor Pritzker at the SB1976 bill signing ceremony earlier this month. The youngest elected officer in the local's history, Hill made history when she became the first person to take advantage of the union's parental leave policy.

Illinois AFL-CIO | 217-544-4014 | contact@ilaflcio.org | www.ilaflcio.org