Missouri voters rejected the Right-to-Work measure on Tuesday, August 7, delivering a big blow to a priority of the GOP-controlled Legislature and powerful business groups.
It’s the second time in the last 40 years that Missourians defeated the policy, which bars unions and employers from requiring workers to pay dues as a condition of employment.
In the other statewide contest on Tuesday’s ballot, Saundra McDowell bested three other Republicans to take on state Auditor Nicole Galloway.
The Right-to-Work referendum, known as Proposition A, failed by a margin of more than 67 percent, with nearly a million people voting against it. That means the Right-to-Work law that was implemented last year will be repealed.
“Together, we have made history two times in 40 years — we defeated Right to Work,” Missouri AFL-CIO President Mike Louis said to a jubilant crowd.
Proponents contended the measure would draw businesses and economic opportunities to Missouri. But detractors of the policy believe it will ultimately lead to unions having less money — and therefore less power to negotiate higher wages and benefits.
Despite being passed with much fanfare in the early days of former Gov. Eric Greitens’ administration, Right to Work never actually went into effect. Unions gathered more than enough signatures to trigger a rare referendum vote. Missouri lawmakers moved the referendum from November to August, depriving Democrats of a potential turnout mechanism to help U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in her re-election bid.
Labor groups poured millions of dollars to a committee seeking to defeat Proposition A. That money paid for ads saying Right-to-Work states had lower collective wages, which was likely aimed at showing non-union voters how the issue affected them.
Louis said Tuesday’s vote sent a big message to Missouri lawmakers — and the nation.
“I think it goes back to our messaging and our belief of what this is all about,” Louis said. “This is truly about rebuilding the middle class of America.”
Despite the victory Tuesday, labor unions aren’t necessarily out of the woods. That’s because the referendum doesn’t stop the Missouri General Assembly from passing a bill to implement Right to Work — or for Gov. Mike Parson to sign such a measure. Unions were hoping that a solid “no” vote would dissuade lawmakers from bringing the issue back up.
“The numbers don’t lie. Missouri will continue to fall behind until we pass freedom to work into law,” said Missouri Chamber of Commerce President Dan Mehan in a statement. “This statement is not a concession. With the future of our state’s economy on the line, we cannot concede hope that Missouri will soon join most other states and pass freedom to work protections.”
Missouri lawmakers already passed significant union restrictions during this past legislative session. That includes weakening the prevailing wage for some construction projects and restricting automatic deduction of dues for public sector union members.
For his part, Louis said Tuesday’s vote should be a warning against Republicans revisiting right to work.
“Some legislators have already made that statement that they don’t care if it passes or not, they’ve already got a plan to take care of this themselves when they go back,” Louis said. “I don’t know if there’s a way for them to do it without us stopping it. It’s sure got to make them think about what they’re doing when their own constituents have said ‘60-40 we don’t want this.’”
Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.
