Standing With Working Families: The Values Behind My Campaign - Bill Morton Supports Labor

Why my experiences in Rogers Park, my support for organized labor, and my vision for Chicago's future go hand in hand.

Working people are the foundation of our neighborhoods. They teach our children, keep our streets and public buildings running, care for our families, serve our customers, build our infrastructure, and make our local businesses possible. They deserve fair wages, safe working conditions, affordable health care, a secure retirement, and a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their lives.

These are not abstract political principles to me. They reflect the people I have worked alongside, the causes I have supported, and the experiences that have shaped my understanding of what makes a community strong.

As a lifelong Chicagoan and a Rogers Park resident since 2006, I have spent much of my professional and volunteer life working with people from different backgrounds and industries. My experience includes postal service, hospitality, marketing, communications, election administration, small-business ownership, and community media. I founded the Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce in 2009 and have served as its president ever since, working as an unpaid volunteer to support local businesses and strengthen connections throughout our community.

Those experiences have taught me that a healthy neighborhood depends on more than economic activity alone. It depends on whether people can earn a living, raise their families, find affordable housing, feel safe, and trust that the institutions serving them will listen when something goes wrong.

Standing With Workers When It Matters

My support for working people has included showing up alongside workers and educators fighting for better treatment, fair wages, and a stronger voice on the job.

I attended a Fight for $15 rally at A Just Harvest in Rogers Park, supporting the effort to improve wages for working people. I have also participated in rallies supporting educators at Malcolm X College and Wilbur Wright College, joined actions with Northside Action for Justice at Truman College, and attended and spoken at rallies supporting AFSCME-represented workers at Northeastern Illinois University.

These experiences reinforced my belief that people should not have to choose between speaking up for themselves and keeping their jobs. Workers deserve the freedom to organize, bargain collectively, and advocate for better working conditions without intimidation or retaliation.

One case that particularly stands out is Brenda Garcia, a former Insomnia Cookies employee who faced punishment and termination after trying to help two victims of a crime. I helped rally support for Brenda and bring attention to her situation through local media coverage and my Rogers Park News Facebook group, which has approximately 49,000 members.

Her case brought together two concerns that matter deeply to me: standing up for someone who deserves fair treatment and recognizing the importance of public safety in our community. People should be able to help others in a crisis without having to fear that doing the right thing will cost them their livelihood.

I have also worked to bring workers' perspectives to a wider audience through community media. On WLUW 88.7 FM, I recently interviewed George Roumbanis, president of AFSCME Local 3506 and an educator, about labor and the experiences of public employees.

I believe community media can do more than report what is happening. It can give people whose voices are too often overlooked an opportunity to tell their stories and help the public understand the real consequences of workplace and government decisions.

Putting Our Values Into Practice

Supporting organized labor should mean more than expressing solidarity at a rally. It should also influence the choices we make in our own work.

Our campaign hires union printers to produce materials, including buttons, yard signs, T-shirts, window signs, and petitions. We have worked with union printing businesses including Breaker Press Co., associated with Local 310, and Discount Printers LLC, associated with Local 777.

These are practical decisions that allow us to support workers while producing the materials needed to run a grassroots campaign.

I also recognize the importance of collective representation in the workplace through people close to me. I encouraged Trudy Leong to become a union steward at Jewel-Osco, and we attended the meeting at UFCW Local 881's Des Plaines headquarters where she was appointed. I have also provided extensive support to Eric Basir, a union steward with ATA Local 308.

A union is not simply an organization that negotiates a contract. It is a way for working people to have a collective voice when dealing with an employer. That principle deserves respect, whether the workplace is a grocery store, a school, a construction site, a public agency, or a private business receiving taxpayer support.

Good Jobs and Responsible Economic Development

My years working in business and hospitality have given me an appreciation for the people who make organizations successful. Businesses need to operate responsibly, manage their costs, and provide valuable goods and services. Workers need fair compensation, reasonable working conditions, and opportunities to build a future.

Those goals should reinforce one another.

As Alderperson, I would support responsible bidding requirements, prevailing wages for contracted city work, and project labor agreements on appropriate public works projects. When public money or economic incentives support private development, Chicago should protect the public interest and seek meaningful benefits for the people who live and work here.

That means evaluating whether projects create quality jobs, provide fair wages and benefits, respect workers' rights, and deliver lasting value to the community. Economic development should not be measured solely by the amount of money invested or the number of buildings constructed. We should also ask who benefits, what opportunities are created for residents, and whether public resources are being used responsibly.

I would oppose privatization arrangements that sacrifice service quality, undermine working conditions, or eliminate good public-sector jobs without demonstrable public benefits. Taxpayer-funded projects should be judged by their actual results, not simply by promises of savings.

I also support working with organizations such as HIRE360 to expand access to career opportunities and help connect Chicago residents with construction and other skilled trades. Our economic future should include pathways into good jobs for people across our communities.

Honoring Public Employees and Retirees

Public employees dedicate their careers to serving others. Teachers educate our children. Sanitation workers, transportation employees, public safety personnel, and countless other city workers keep Chicago functioning.

Their contributions should be matched by a commitment to fair compensation, affordable health care, and retirement security.

I support efforts to improve inequities affecting Tier 2 and Tier 3 pension members and to ensure that public servants can retire with dignity. I also oppose efforts to cut promised pension benefits and support exploring ways to address the financial hardships experienced by city retirees who have lost health care subsidies.

These questions require serious financial planning and cooperation among the City, labor organizations, pension representatives, and state lawmakers. But financial responsibility and fairness to workers are not opposing goals. Chicago must pursue sustainable pension funding while honoring the commitments it has made to the people who serve our city.

The same principle applies to the City's budget. I would work with labor organizations, residents, and fellow alderpersons to examine revenue options, improve oversight, and fund essential services without placing a disproportionate burden on working families. We should be transparent about the choices we make, the resources available to us, and the results residents can expect.

A Safer, Healthier, More Accountable Rogers Park

My support for working families is connected to my broader priorities for the 49th Ward.

Public safety and neighborhood health depend on effective public services, stable communities, opportunities for young people, and residents who believe their concerns will be taken seriously. Affordable housing and community stability matter because people should have a realistic chance to remain in the neighborhoods where they have built their lives.

I also believe that residents deserve an alderperson's office that is accessible, responsive, and transparent. Major decisions about public spending, development, infrastructure, and neighborhood priorities should involve meaningful public input. Residents should be able to understand what their government is doing, why decisions are being made, and how public resources are being used.

My work with the Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce, the Gale Community Academy Local School Council, community organizations, and local media has given me years of experience listening to people with different interests and finding ways to bring them together.

That experience has also taught me that representation requires more than agreeing with people who already share your views. It means making room for different perspectives, being willing to have difficult conversations, and remaining accountable to the people affected by the decisions being made.

As Alderperson, I would welcome input from organized labor when considering city budgets, staffing, public contracts, and economic development. I would also work to ensure that residents, small-business owners, community organizations, and working families have meaningful opportunities to participate in those discussions.

Why I Am Running

I am running for 49th Ward Alderperson because I believe our community deserves leadership that brings people together, listens to residents, and follows through.

My path has not been limited to one industry or one organization. I have worked in different fields, supported workers and educators, helped local businesses, produced community programming, served in elected community leadership positions, and spent years volunteering to strengthen Rogers Park.

I bring those experiences to this campaign because I believe local government should be practical, accessible, and accountable. It should protect essential services, encourage responsible economic development, support good jobs, and give residents a genuine voice in their future.

I am proud to support organized labor, and I understand that building a stronger Chicago requires the contributions of working people throughout our city. Their wages, benefits, working conditions, and retirement security are connected to the health of our neighborhoods and the future of our local economy.

The decisions made at City Hall should reflect those realities. As 49th Ward Alderperson, I would work to ensure that public resources serve the public, that workers are treated fairly, and that our community has a strong voice in the decisions that shape its future.

A stronger, more connected 49th Ward starts with bringing people together, listening to residents, and getting things done. - Bill Morton for 49th Ward Alderperson