While Missourians are headed to the polls today, working people are mobilizing across the Show-Me State in a massive final push to defeat Prop. A.
Both major newspapers in Missouri have come out in opposition to Prop. A. From The Kansas City Star's editorial:
A no vote on Tuesday would repeal the "right to work" law. A yes vote would make Missouri a "right to work" state, which would be a costly mistake....
Workplace policies that protect employees and boost middle-class incomes are what Missouri needs most.
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Missouri voters should vote no and reject this blatant attempt to weaken labor bargaining rights.
Support for Prop A can only weaken workers’ bargaining rights for higher pay.
Prop A asks workers to give up too many collective bargaining rights in a Hail Mary attempt to improve Missouri’s business climate. Don’t buy proponents’ assertions. Vote no.
Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger explained further:
It suggests that Proposition A, which Missourians will vote on Aug. 7, will protect workers from out-of-control union bosses. The mailer is an attempt to confuse voters, and when it comes to Proposition A, it’s easy to get confused, because the initiative’s route to the ballot was circuitous.
It started in 2017 when the Missouri Legislature passed a law that would make Missouri a “right-to-work” state like most southern states and some Republican-leaning states in the Midwest—like Indiana and Oklahoma. Such laws make it illegal for companies to collect fair-share fees from nonunion members in companies in which a union has negotiated a contract through collective bargaining.
In other words, the law, if passed, would make it easier for Missourians to be free riders. Accept all the benefits of working for a union shop—such as higher pay and rules protecting seniority—without any of the cost.
These prominent newspapers join other voices speaking out against Prop. A. From SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris and Missouri native John Goodman to union members from every community and sector, the labor movement is flexing its full organizing power.
We have previously covered Prop. A and all the problems with pursuing this particular law. Most notably, Prop. A. is not what it seems, it will drive down wages for Missouri families, it won't create jobs and it will weaken unions. You also can learn more about "right to work" in general.