Illinois lawmakers are closer to sending Gov. J.B. Pritzker legislation that would allow for more college students at public universities to unionize.

Former Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed similar legislation last year.

State Rep. Will Guzzardi’s legislation would classify research assistants working in Illinois’ public universities as formal employees.

“All we’re doing is changing the definition of employee to include these people as employees,” the Chicago Democrat said. “These people are, by all accounts, and by your colleague’s admission, employees.”

State Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, said Guzzardi’s bill would push the cost of college tuition higher for Illinois’ public schools.

“My concern is with the undergraduate students who have to pay a whole heck of a lot of money to go to school in this state,” he said.

Research assistants are often paid in tuition waivers.

The University of Illinois system has had two graduate student strikes in the last year. This legislation would allow research assistants to unionize and, potentially, strike if they cannot come to terms with the school on issues related to their working conditions.

Graduate students at the University of Illinois Chicago have been on strike since March 19. Graduate students at University of Illinois’ Champaign-Urbana campus ended a two-week strike in March 2018.

The bill is backed by the Illinois Federation of Teachers/American Federation of Teachers, which represents graduate student workers at UIUC and elsewhere.

In former Rauner’s veto message, he said the effort to give collective bargaining rights to research assistants and pre-professional graduate students would “change the relationship between graduate students and professors … from cooperative and mentoring to transactional.”

Lawmakers tried but failed to overturn Rauner’s veto in November.

House Bill 253 now awaits consideration in the state Senate.