The Teamsters Union is criticizing Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for vetoing a bill aimed at increasing transparency and safety in warehouse workplaces, saying the move undermines efforts to protect employees from unsafe production quotas at companies such as Amazon.
House Bill 2547, known as the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, would have required employers to disclose quota expectations to workers and ensure those quotas do not interfere with safety or break times. The bipartisan measure passed with wide support in the Illinois legislature before being rejected by the governor.
Union calls veto a blow to worker safety
Thomas W. Stiede, president of Teamsters Joint Council 25, said the governor’s veto amounts to abandoning frontline workers in a high-risk sector.
“We are deeply disappointed that the governor has vetoed the Warehouse Worker Protection Act,” Stiede said. “In doing so, he has abandoned the very people who give their all every day, working under inhumane production quotas that are not only unacceptable but also dangerous.”
Stiede, a former warehouse worker himself, said the industry’s conditions are harsh and that regulation is long overdue.
“Warehouse workers, including those at Amazon, are simply trying to provide for their families honestly and safely, and the Illinois governor has turned his back on them,” he said.
Other states have passed similar legislation
Versions of the warehouse worker protection law have already been enacted in California, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and Washington. A similar proposal has also gained bipartisan traction at the federal level.
Sean M. O’Brien, general president of the Teamsters, said the union will continue to push for stronger protections, both in Illinois and nationwide.
“The Warehouse Worker Protection Act is the most commonsense, effective solution to the rampant abuse of warehouse workers by greedy and dangerous companies like Amazon,” O’Brien said. “The Teamsters will never stop fighting for it, both federally and in state houses across the country.”
Teamsters Joint Council 25 represents more than 125,000 workers in Illinois and northwest Indiana.
