Most Chamber Members Support Making Missouri a “Right to Work” State
“It is great to hear that Missouri’s business leaders understand that we cannot continue to do the same things and expect better outcomes for our state. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s support of making Missouri a ‘Right to Work’ state shows that more and more Missourians are realizing the positive impact a worker-protection law could have in our state.
By simply making sure that paying dues or joining a union can no longer be a condition of getting or keeping a job, we can bring more jobs to our state. By better competing with our neighbors, especially when it comes to manufacturing, we can put more Missourians back to work. Six of Missouri’s eight neighboring states are ‘Right to Work’ states, and all but one has a lower unemployment rate than Missouri. Tennessee, the only ‘Right to Work’ state with a comparable unemployment rate to Missouri, gained jobs in 2010 while Missouri lost jobs.”
-Senate Leader Robert N. Mayer, R-Dexter
Supporter of Senate Bill 1*
“Fifty percent of manufacturers refuse to consider Missouri as a place to locate new jobs because Missouri law has no protection against forced unionization of their workers, according to testimony presented to senators. I am glad the Missouri Chamber’s members have joined us in hearing the wake-up call that if we don’t change our practices, we will continue to cost Missourians’ jobs.
‘Right to Work’ is not about whether unions can continue to operate in Missouri, rather it is about removing a legal barrier that is harming our state’s ability to compete for jobs that impact the 89 percent of Missourians that are not union members.”
-Sen. Luann Ridgeway, R-Smithville
Sponsor of Senate Bill 1*
*Senate Bill 1 is currently on the Senate Informal Calendar for debate. To learn more about the bill and sponsors, visit www.senate.mo.gov.
Posts
“The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s support of making Missouri a ‘Right to Work’ state shows that more and more Missourians are realizing the positive impact a worker-protection law could have in our state.
ReplyDeleteBy simply making sure that paying dues or joining a union can no longer be a condition of getting or keeping a job, we can bring more jobs to our state. By better competing with our neighbors, especially when it comes to manufacturing, we can put more Missourians back to work.” ( -Senate Leader Robert N. Mayer, R-Dexter Supporter of Senate Bill 1*)
75% of the Chamber's membership is non-union, by their own admission, what is holding them back? What industries by-passed Missouri and for what reasons? Facilities are not “automatically” unionized when locating in Missouri. The same process for becoming a unionized facility applies in right-to-work states as well as non-right-to-work states. [Gary W. Elliott (Opponent of Right-To-Work) ]
“Fifty percent of manufacturers refuse to consider Missouri as a place to locate new jobs because Missouri law has no protection against forced unionization of their workers, according to testimony presented to senators.” (-Sen. Luann Ridgeway, R-Smithville Sponsor of Senate Bill 1*)
There was current, relevant information, from recognized as acceptable sources, that questions and refutes the claims made above. It would appear that this information was disregarded. If there is a law passed regarding union dues, would the next step be to restrict hiring of people that paid tithes to their church, health club memberships, etc.? The whole claim about "forced" unionism is one of politics. The idea behind this law is to weaken unions politically and weaken workers at the bargaining table. Whether a person pays dues or not is irrelevant as to the price of the produced product in the market-place; that is determined by the wages paid, state and local tax, etc. This law is a prelude to letting companies operate in any manner that they see fit, pay wages that they choose to pay (with no bargaining) and all in the name of "competition". There are already federal laws that cover how dues money is spent. There are already laws regarding becoming a member or not. This is a law to hamstring workers and eviscerate the contract bargaining process.
Respectfully, Gary W. Elliott (Opponent of Right-To-Work)