State House panel adopts right-to-work (for less) bill

Jefferson City – Last week a House committee combined three right-to-work (for less) bills (HBs 77, 91 and 95) and passed it out of the House Workforce Development and Workplace Safety Committee. The measure includes a referendum clause, which would put the right-to-work (for less) question before voters in August 2014.

Missourians rejected right-to-work (for less) once before in 1978.

“Our legislative leaders should be coming together to balance the budget, improve our schools, and create jobs,” Hugh McVey, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO said.  “Instead, extremists are pushing this unnecessary and irresponsible right-to-work bill that would hurt Missouri’s middle class families.”

  DESIGNED TO WEAKEN LABOR UNIONS

Although proponents deceptively call the current measure “freedom to work,” right-to-work (for less) is designed to weaken labor unions by forcing them to bargain for workers who would no longer be required to pay representation fees. Unions are required by federal law to represent all workers in a bargaining unit even if they are not members but are currently allowed to charge fees for collective bargaining.

‘A WORKPLACE OF FREELOADERS’

House Minority Leader Jacob Hummel (D-St. Louis), a member of IBEW Local 1, vowed to fight the measure if it comes to the House floor.

“This bill is designed to do one thing, and that’s to take the power and strength of collective bargaining away form the working men and women in our state and put it solely in the hands of business, and lower our standard of living,” Hummel said.

“It will create a workplace of freeloaders that will get the benefits of union membership without having to pay their fair share. It will put the burden on other union members, who will have to pay for those peoples’ representation, while they reap the benefits and don’t have to share the costs.”

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

McVey is urging union members to call their representatives now to voice their opposition to right-to-work (for less), paycheck deception and other anti-union, anti-worker measures.

Call 888-907-9711, listen to the recorded message then, follow the simple prompts to be connected with your representative.

Contact your state reps and senators!

St. Louis—Delegates to the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council last week received an urgent plea from their leader to help get rank and file union members to contact their state lawmakers about anti-union bills making their way through the state legislature with strong support from Republican leaders in both houses.

“Help them understand this is about their families!” Aboussie said. “If unions are destroyed in this state, their families are not going to have the middle class standard of living that union contracts have given them.”

Aboussie said he was alarmed recently when he heard about a union member who had supported a Republican candidate for the legislature who is supporting the phony right-to-work (for less) bill and other anti-union measures GOP lawmakers are promoting.

“He said he voted for him because he knew him and he was a “nice” guy. “Did he know that his “nice” guy friend was working to destroy the good wages and benefits that unions have brought to his family.”?

“You have to help some of these members of ours understand that these bills – if they pass – can only lead to a very dark future for them and their families.”

Aboussie encouraged all union members to get in touch with their state representatives and senators to oppose the following bills:

• House Committee Substitute for House Bills, 77, 91 and 95, a right-to-work (for less) measure. This would put right-to-work (for less) on the ballot in August 2014.

• House Bill 64, a paycheck deception measure that would require unions to receive annual authorization from their members before deducting fees used for political purposes.

• Senate Bill 29, another paycheck deception measure, would require public-employee unions and teachers groups obtain annual written permission from their members before any dues could be automatically be deducted from their paychecks.

Union members can contact their state lawmakers by calling 888-907-9711.

The phone line, set up by the Missouri AFL-CIO, includes a recorded message and simple prompts to follow to be connected with your senator or representative.