Illinois
Rideshare drivers could unionize in Illinois under bill passed by General Assembly
Article Summary
- The General Assembly passed a bill early Monday that would give rideshare drivers the right to form a union.
- Drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft could elect union representatives and perform union activities, like collective bargaining.
- Drivers say a union is necessary because of low wages, and limited opportunities to appeal deactivations, or to have a say in setting rules.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
Over the past five months, a sea of rideshare drivers in yellow T-shirts flooded the Illinois state Capitol almost weekly, lobbying for the right to form a union. They may be able to do so soon, after Illinois lawmakers passed a bill giving them that ability in the final hours of the spring session.
House Bill 5090 would regulate how rideshare drivers can form a union, elect union representatives and engage in union activities such as collective bargaining.
The bill passed the House 83-28 early Monday morning and now heads to the governor. It passed the Senate 42-12-1 earlier on Sunday afternoon.
Rideshare drivers say a union is necessary because under federal law, they’re defined as independent contractors, despite having little control over work practices while working for companies like Uber and Lyft. That makes a statewide union their only option to collectively bargain and form a labor agreement, they say.
“This goes back to a fundamental belief that when workers are able to organize and have a collective voice, that does lead to better wages, benefits and working conditions,” bill sponsor Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, said. Rep. Yolonda Morris, D-Chicago, carried the bill in the House.
“This legislation is urgently needed as drivers face declining wages, rising vehicle costs and unsafe working conditions without basic protection or a real voice on the job,” Morris said.
Forming a union
Drivers who are interested in forming a union would need to follow specific guidelines to do so: They would have to obtain signatures in support from 10% of active drivers to show interest, then 30% to become a certified union. From there, the union can petition the Illinois Labor Relations Board to conduct an election for individual union representatives.
Those thresholds are lower than in other labor sectors, but they were chosen because this industry is so new, Villivalam said. Union membership would be voluntary.
Every four months, transportation network companies — defined as entities providing rides through a digital platform, not including taxi associations — that provide the top 95% of rides would need to give the ILRB contact information for all drivers who, in the past six months, completed 10 or more rides in Illinois.
The board would determine the median number of rides completed by that population, and any driver who completed that number or more would be considered an active driver and would be eligible to join the union.
Like any other organization with unionized employees, these companies would be required to adhere to fair work practices, negotiate in good faith, provide timely and accurate information to the union and follow other standard labor regulations. They could be fined by the ILRB for violations.
This bill also includes a 4-cent-per-ride charge to the companies, to cover the implementation costs under the bill and for a grant program, a charge that companies are prohibited from passing on to the consumer. The grant program, Rideshare Workers Support Fund, would be managed by the secretary of state and paid to the union representative.
The bill also regulates how the ILRB and the Department of Labor would handle bargaining mediation, arbitration, labor agreements and unfair work practices.
The path to unionization
Rideshare drivers in Illinois have pushed for unionization rights since early 2019, initially beginning in the city of Chicago. In rallies and committees, drivers have told stories of dwindling wages and a lack of access to appeals for deactivations.
“Let’s be honest, we don’t operate independently at all. We don’t set our own wages. We don’t control the rules. We don’t decide who is deactivated and how they’re punished. The algorithm, the corporations do,” Brett Currin, a rideshare driver, said at a January rally at the state Capitol.
The bill does not address those issues specifically, but through a union, drivers would be able to negotiate with their company on those issues.
“Hearing these (constituent) stories and then working with organized labor to craft a product that they had already been working on to move forward, really is what this is stemming from,” Villivalam said.
Villivalam, who represents parts of the northwest side of Chicago and its suburbs, said his district has the largest number of rideshare drivers in Illinois.
The Illinois Drivers Alliance led the effort throughout this spring, backed by the local International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the Service Employees International Union Local 1, two unions representing thousands of workers across the Midwest.
California and Massachusetts have also passed similar measures, with Massachusetts certifying their statewide union just last week, on May 26.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Illinois
Tornado watches, warnings across Illinois on Father’s Day
ST. LOUIS – Sunday marked Father’s Day and the Summer Solstice; it’s been a tornado day, too.
Multiple storms across the region have had rotation that produced tornado touchdowns. As we wait for a cold front to pass through, more strong storms could be working through the region. Eventually, some dry time and some calm are in the works in for a few days this week. Rain and thunder are possible late week.
Meanwhile, a tornado watch was issued for most Illinois counties in the FOX 2 viewing area and nearly all of southern Illinois into Indiana until 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Tornado warnings were issued in Fayette and Marion counties until 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively.
Just after 5 p.m., new tornado warnings were issued for Madison, St. Clair, and Clinton counties in the Metro East. An area of rotation was spotted on the FOX 2 Power Doppler just south of Collinsville around 5:10 p.m.
At least two tornadoes were spotted in Marion County, Illinois.
Beginning at 3 p.m., tornado warnings were issued for Madison, Bond, and Fayette counties in Illinois. Those warnings are expected to end by 4:45 p.m. A tornado warning was issued for Jefferson County, Illinois, until 5:30 p.m.
On the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, a severe thunderstorm watch was issued for Crawford, Dent, Iron, Jefferson, Madison, Phelps, Reynolds, St. Francois, and Washington counties until 1 a.m. Monday.
A flood advisory for St. Louis City, St. Charles and St. Louis counties ended at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Illinois
Lake County detectives rescue girl from man they say drove to Illinois from Georgia to meet her
Detectives from Lake County, Illinois, Sheriff’s office rescued a girl under 14 from a grown man who had traveled from Georgia to meet her this weekend, authorities said Sunday.
At 4:40 a.m. Saturday, Lake County sheriff’s deputies were called to unincorporated Gurnee for a report of a missing girl under the age of 14. Deputies learned the girl had never run away before, and it was especially concerning that she did so in the middle of the night, authorities said.
Sheriff’s detectives learned the girl’s cellphone was not functioning, and she could not be found through any of her electronic devices. Detectives also found that a 24-year-old man from Norcross, Georgia, named Jordy Alexis Fuerte Perez had been communicating with her, authorities said.
Detectives learned that Fuerte Perez had made plans to drive to Illinois from Georgia and pick up the girl, and evidence indicates he told the girl he wanted a “romantic relationship” with her, authorities said.
Detectives homed in on a vehicle that Fuerte Perez may have been driving, and found the vehicle at the Independence Grove Forest Preserve near Libertyville, authorities said. Both Fuerte Perez and the girl were in the car in a parking lot when detectives arrived at 6 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.
The girl did not appear to be injured, but was taken to the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center for specialized advocacy and attention, authorities said.
Fuerte Perez was charged with two counts of solicitation of child pornography, and one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, namely cocaine. More charges ar likely, authorities said.
“This type of case is a parent’s worst nightmare. Our Criminal Investigations Division took this case seriously and worked tirelessly from the moment the girl was reported missing until she was safely located,” Lake County Sherif John Idleburg said in a news release. “While there will undoubtedly be a long road to recovery and healing, I am grateful the victim was found safe and is physically okay. I am proud of everyone who played a role in rescuing this young girl and bringing the offender to the first steps of justice.”
Fuerte Perez was due in court on Sunday morning. The Lake County State’s Attorney’s office is asking to have him held while awaiting trial.
Illinois
Illinois Prison Closure Deepens Small Town’s Fears
In Lincoln, Ill., another pillar just fell. The New York Times’ Julie Bosman reports that the state plans to close Logan Correctional Center, a women’s prison that employs more than 500 people, stripping the Route 66 town of about 13,000 of one of its last major, stable job sources. State officials say the nearly century-old complex is too deteriorated to fix and will be replaced by a new, modern facility in Crest Hill, outside Chicago. Capitol News Illinois reports the Illinois Department of Corrections estimates it’ll take five years to build the new prison.
In Lincoln, where factories, a glass plant, and even a 157-year-old college have already called it quits, that decision feels like one more hit—and one that favors the Chicago area over downstate. Residents and local leaders, who spent years lobbying to keep the prison, now worry about a fresh wave of departures as families follow jobs elsewhere, further straining schools and small businesses already on the edge. For a look at what the loss of a single prison means for one Midwestern town—which takes particular pride in the fact it was uniquely named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president—read the full piece.
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