Missouri Secretary of State has certified petition signatures placing phony RTW on 2018 ballot

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WITH 250,327 SIGNATURES certified the repeal of Missouri’s so-called “right-to-work” legislation will appear on the 2018 ballot. – Labor Tribune photo.

By TIM ROWDEN

Editor

Jefferson City – Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has certified the petitions placing repeal of the so-called “right-to-work” before voters with 250,327 signatures certified as valid in all eight of Missouri’s congressional districts – a first for an initiative petition in the state.

A total of 80.6 percent of the original 310,567 signatures were certified as valid, thanks to the careful work of working Missourians who volunteered their time going door-to-door, talking to voters at summer festivals and outside businesses and, in one instance, wading through the water on the Black River to talk to summer float trip enthusiasts as they drifted down the river.

Under the language of the petition, the measure is set to appear on the Nov. 6, 2018 ballot, but the Republican-led General Assembly could change that, placing the measure on the August ballot, depending on the political calculations of the Legislature.

A TRIBUTE TO WORKING PEOPLE

“I think it’s an absolute tribute to what working people can accomplish when they stick together and all fight for what is rightfully theirs, which is the right to choose what the rules are in their workplace,” said Mike Louis, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO.

“We look forward to carrying this fight forward to ensure that come 2018 all of Missouri’s working families are equipped with the tools and the knowledge they need to reject this heinous piece of legislation from becoming law.”

GOAL TO WEAKEN UNIONS

So-called “right-to-work” (RTW) bans union represented businesses from negotiating labor contracts that assure workers will either pay dues or a smaller “fair share” fee to cover the union’s cost of bargaining and representation. The idea is to financially starve unions, which, by federal law, must represent all workers in a union shop whether or not they are members, thereby limiting the union’s ability to negotiate and represent workers.

The legislation was set to take effect on Aug. 28 of this year, but was forestalled through the initiative petition process until voters have a chance to decide the measure next year.

EDUCATION EFFORT NOW BEGINS

Getting the measure on the ballot is only half the battle.

“Right-to-work” supporters, including the Koch Brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and other corporate-funded anti-worker groups, will be spending millions to confuse voters in an effort to make the anti-worker legislation law.

AFP already began littering Missouri mailboxes with flyers over the summer filled with blatant lies about the alleged benefits of the anti-worker legislation should it become law.

We Are Missouri, the coalition of workers’ groups behind the initiative petition campaign to turn back the legislation, has now shifted into education mode to get the message out to all Missourians that RTW is wrong for Missouri’s working families.

You can help by donating to the “$18 for ’18” campaign to defeat RTW. You can donate online by visiting wearemo.org and clicking the red “Donate” button at the top of the page.

Or, if you prefer, you can mail your donation to:

We Are Missouri
227 Jefferson St.
Jefferson City, MO 65101

2 COMMENTS

  1. Accolades to all of those part of We Are Missouri that
    obviously worked/networked in solidarity to a mass over
    300,000 signatures of which over 89% are deemed valid.
    Your work can become a model for many other regions in
    the U. S. having many of the same anti-worker actions.
    As a 50 year member of the Painters Union in Western
    New York, thank you for your commitment & hard work.
    I’m hopeful for success on 11-6-18 for you and the gaining
    control of at least one congressional house in the mid-term
    elections.

  2. Que PasaQue Pasa
    Just now ·
    – COMPANY THROWS OUT 50 years: TEAMSTERS FROM PROPERTY VIOLATED EVERY ARTICLE IN THE CONTRACT?============TEAMSTERS local 439 in Stockton CA file a GRIEVANCE on 12/17/2010 to SAFEWAY TRACY CA to put employee back to work on 12/17/2010.-SAFEWAY TRACY CA DID not comply. I have a copy of the GRIEVANCE. Discipline to be DENIED on 12/17/2010. NULL & VOID FINAL & BINDING-still not working. NEED TO HIRE An ATTORNEY TO ARBITRATE MY CASE.—SAFEWAY accused me falsified logs—see internet DOT—logs–tamper-proof. 395.15 Reg. false statement by SAFEWAY. ———-can you help please–50 years in the union, time limits were not met—(not with enclosure. We all seek it. We seek the end of things and also the beginning of new things. Those things we can not find closure on, they hunt us. They pop up in our dreams and creep into our thoughts in idle moments – like a mind-bender that is beyond our mental capacity, a mystery that just won’t be solved.e: – COMPANY THROWS OUT 50 years: TEAMSTERS FROM PROPERTY VIOLATED EVERY ARTICLE IN THE CONTRACT?======= CLOSURE=====A MYSTERY THAT JUST WON T BE SOLVED.===
    JUSTICE FOR TEAMSTERS, SO OTHERS MAY WORK:===============company will fired the employee & keep the pension & life time medical plan that the employee paided into. unfair

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