This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Newly elected Illinois governor Bruce Rauner has banned public sector unions from collecting fees from non-member state employees, in a move widely seen as the first stage in an assault on labor unions in the state.

The executive order announced this week means non-unionised public sector workers will no longer be required to to pay “fair share” dues, the funds of which are used by unions during collective bargaining – thus affecting an entire workforce.

But state union officials have pledged to fight the so-called “union busting” in court, describing it as an “illegal abuse of power” aimed solely at reducing workers’ rights.

Rauner has declared “fair share” payments unconstitutional and argued it was impossible to distinguish labor union collective bargaining from political campaigning.

“Forced union dues are a critical cog in the corrupt bargain that is crushing taxpayers. Government union bargaining and government union political activity are inexorably linked,” Rauner said.

“An employee who is forced to pay unfair share dues is being forced to fund political activity with which they disagree.”

The governor’s statement added that the action had no effect on unionised state employees who wished to continue paying the fee.

Rauner, who was sworn in last month as the state’s first Republican governor in over a decade, told the Associated Press that 6,500 non-unionised state employees were currently paying the dues at an average of $577 a year.

The governor argued that the unilateral action was lawful, as a US supreme court ruling in June had found Illinois labor laws violated the first amendment by forcing home healthcare workers to pay union dues. The 2014 ruling, however, upheld that the payments were unconstitutional as such workers were not “fully fledged” public sector employees and the right to collective bargaining is enshrined in Illinois state law.

Roberta Lynch, executive director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31, was one of many union chiefs pledging to fight the order, describing it as a “paper-thin excuse” to hide Rauner’s anti-union agenda.

“Child protection workers, caregivers for veterans and the disabled, correctional officers and everyone else employed by state government has a right to a voice at work and in the democratic process through their union,” Lynch said.

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“It is crystal clear by this action that the governor’s supposed concern for balancing the state budget is a paper-thin excuse that can’t hide his real agenda: silencing working people and their unions who stand up for the middle class.”

Rauner, a wealthy former private equity manager, had campaigned on a tough stance against organised labor, arguing unions were a hindrance to economic growth and held too much political power in the state. His anti-union push follows the tactics in nearby Wisconsin of Governor Scott Walker, who survived a 2012 recall election after his hard-line push against public-employee unions.

The executive order has been seen by pro-union critics as the first stage in a move towards “right to work” zones around the state, proposed by Rauner during his first state of the state speech last week. The proposal would see the introduction of so-called “empowerment zones” allowing local voters to decide if private sector workers should be forced to pay union dues.