Senator Roy Blunt is NOT our friend; Jason Kander will be

Blunt consistently fights workers’ issues; Kander will support us

With the impending election of a United States Senator for Missouri in November, the question arises as to whether incumbent Republican Roy Blunt cares for the working families of Missouri or the special interest groups that fund his campaigns.

A review of some of his votes on worker issues tells the blunt story (pardon the pun) on where his interests lay:

• AGAINST the Employee Free Choice Act,
• AGAINST overtime by backing a plan to undermine overtime laws.
• AGAINST keeping jobs in America with his support for fast tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) legislation and his support of other trade agreements that ship Missouri jobs overseas such as his fight in 2005 to pass the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), an expansion of NAFTA to five Central American nations.

And what’s Senator Blunt for when it comes to workers?

• FOR castrating the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) when earlier this year, he used his subcommittee chairmanship to try and stop a NLRB decision to change the standard for how it determines joint employment. He threatened to withhold funding from the NLRB because it wants to allow more Americans to have the opportunity to collectively bargain.
• FOR a measure that could cut retired Teamsters’ pensions between 50-70 percent in July.
• FOR withholding a Senate hearing on President Obama’s Supreme Court justice hoping that if a Republican is elected next year, he’ll appoint another anti-worker, pro-business conservative judge, a decision that will have an incredibly negative impact on workers’ issues for decades.

KANDER: A STARK CONTRAST

In stark contrast, Blunt’s opponent, Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, has made it clear he will continue his fight for workers in Congress as he’s done his entire career in Missouri politics.

States Kander clearly:

• “If someone comes to testify in a committee hearing on the merits of the National Right-to-Work Act, I’ll forcefully argue that right-to-work is wrong for Missouri and the country.
• “If Republicans try to de-fund the NLRB because they don’t agree with a policy, I’ll be the first one there to block it.
• “If Democrats say it’s too politically difficult to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, I’ll challenge them on it.
• “And if someone in either party tries to convince the country that TPP or similar trade deals are good for American workers, I’ll dispel that lie.”

With is trademark candor (again, pardon the pun), Kander makes it clear: “I’m not going to back down on any fight. I’ll be right there on the front lines with you every step of the way.

“As you can see, the stakes in this election are high. There would be a major difference between Senator Blunt getting six more years and me going to the Senate. It’s why Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers and the NRSC are preparing to spend millions in Missouri to try and stop me.”

With the working people on Kander’s side, he notes, “We can make Missouri and the country a better place for working families.”

The choice is quite clear!