Lincolnshire, Illinois passes right-to-work ordinance

To paraphrase Hillary Clinton, “It takes a village”… to defend our freedom.

On December 14, 2015, the Village of Lincolnshire passed the first Illinois right-to-work ordinance into law, 5-1. Home to about 7,000 people (2010 census), the Village sits in a valley covering about 4.58 square miles and is approximately 34 miles from Chicago. 

After following the lead of 12 Kentucky local right-to-work ordinances, Lincolnshire is now being attacked for the very same laws in a federal court lawsuit, filed on February 18, 2016. The attackers include four contesting unions: three AFL-CIO affiliated unions, representing operating engineers and construction workers, and a Chicago carpenters’ union.

The unions are justifying their argument by using one line from state Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s formal opinion, that federal labor law “allows such policies to be enacted only on a statewide basis.”

However, the ordinance is actually inspired by Governor Bruce Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda” – an economic reform proposal that supports local right-to-work.

Quoted by the Chicago Tribune, Lincolnshire Mayor Elizabeth Brandt explains how the new law empowers workers’ freedom in the Village through right-to-work:

"Our goal is not to bust unions. Want to join? No problem. Want to pay dues? No problem. But this (right-to-work zone) says, if you don't want to, you don't have to. That empowers the worker."

Village defendants, Mayor Elizabeth Brandt, Police Chief Peter Kinsey and Village Clerk Barbara Mastandrea are defended pro bono by lawyers from the Liberty Justice Center and the Illinois Policy Institute.

Jacob Huebert, the Liberty Justice Center’s senior attorney, lays out how right-to-work will help the Village attract new business, as quoted by WTAX News Radio:

“Having a right-to-work ordinance should make businesses feel better about coming to Lincolnshire in particular in the future, because they know there won’t be that threat of unionization and the added cost and hassle that could entail.”

The Center for Worker Freedom salutes and supports Lincolnshire’s courage to take the first stance against forced unionization in their state – defending the liberty of their citizens and promoting a more free and fair labor market.

For a PDF download of the ordinance, click here.