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MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

House committee votes against bill that would protect state workers from having their SS numbers shared with unions

Springfield capitol

Illinois Representative Jay Hoffman (D-Belleville) recently voted against a bill aimed at protecting state workers from having their social security numbers automatically shared with union reps.

Hoffman was one of 15 members of the House Labor and Commerce Committee voting against the bill on Feb. 23.

According to the Illinois Policy Institute, currently state workers represented by government-worker unions have little control over their personal information, which union officials can now demand access to even if workers have not officially signed on to be represented by the union.

House Bill 660 stood to change all that, before failing to get enough votes to pass out of committee. The bill would have officially made it illegal for the state to pass along information about workers, including their social security numbers, as part of any collective bargaining agreement.

Supporters of the bill had argued that, given the sensitive nature of such personal information as social security numbers, union reps should only be able to acquire them directly from the individuals they are seeking to represent.

Some collective bargaining agreements, such as the one between the state and SEIU, are now interspersed with literature obligating the state to provide the union with the social security numbers of the personal assistants and childcare providers it represents, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.

Joining Hoffman in casting "no" votes were Linda Chapa LaVia (D-Aurora), Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), John C. D’Amico (D-Chicago), Frances A. Hurley (D-Chicago), Thaddeus Jones (D-Calumet City), Stephanie A. Kifowit (D-Aurora), Theresa Mah (D-Chicago), Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan), Anna Moeller (D-Elgin), Silvana Tabares (D-Chicago), Lawrence Walsh, Jr. (D-Joliet), Emanuel Chris Welch (D-Westchester) and Ann M. Williams (D-Chicago).

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