Missourians deliver more than 6,850 letters calling on Speaker to drop ALEC’s RTW legislation

Average household incomes are $4,613 less a year in states with RTW laws

Jefferson City – Concerned Missourians delivered more than 6,850 letters to House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) last week demanding he reject so-called right-to-work (RTW) legislation that does nothing to create good jobs or an economy that works for all Missourians.

The letters were collected by Progress Missouri (progressmissouri.org), the Committee to Protect MO Families (www.protectmofamilies.com), Preserve Middle Class Missouri (middleclassmo.org) and concerned citizens after Speaker Jones made the anti-worker legislation his No. 1 priority for the 2014 session.

“We need to be building an economy that works for everyone, not political attacks and favors to special interest donors,” said Sean Soendker Nicholson, executive director of Progress Missouri.

“The Speaker may be focused on political games,” Soendker Nicholson said, “but working Missourians are having none of it.”

WORKERS MAKE LESS

The average worker in a RTW state makes $1,540 a year less than workers in other states when all other factors are removed. Additionally, total household incomes are $4,613 less in RTW states.

Imposing RTW in Missouri would contribute to the state losing between $4.8 billion and $6.28 billion annually in wages and tax revenue if it became a RTW state.

ALEC BACKED BILL

Legislation supported by Speaker Jones to lower Missouri wages directly matches American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model legislation.

So-called RTW proposals –– also know in Missouri this year as “Freedom to Work” and “Workplace Freedom” –– aren’t about jobs –– they’re all about politics, and undermining the basic rights of workers.

Concerned Missourians are standing together to demand Speaker Jones stop these legislative attacks.