Illinois AFL-CIO seeking help passing the Fair Tax Amendment

By CARL GREEN
Illinois Correspondent

Springfield, IL – The Illinois AFL-CIO is asking local unions and leaders to sign on as endorsers of the Fair Tax Amendment, a top priority of Labor 2020 on the November ballot.

The Fair Tax Amendment is a proposal by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to end the state’s flat income tax, in which the top earners pay the same percentage rate as the lowest wage-earners, and replace it with a graduated rate. For 97 percent of taxpayers, it would bring at least a small tax break. Only the state’s highest earners would pay more.

The measure needs 60 percent of the vote to pass. The Illinois AFL-CIO is urging union locals and individual members to endorse the Fair Tax, as the support of union members and union households will be essential to get it passed.

• Union locals and other organizations can endorse the Fair Tax at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/fairtaxorgendorse.
• Individual members can register their endorsement at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/fairtaxendorse.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Volunteers also are needed to contact union members to encourage their support. Keeping safety a top priority, the Labor 2020 program is coordinating virtual phone banking that union members can do from their home or office.

For those who are comfortable doing so, a group of regional phone banks also will run at half-capacity to allow for social distancing.

To volunteer or for more information, contact Illinois AFL-CIO Political Director Bill Looby at 217-494-4014 or email BillL@ilafl-cio.org.