Area GOP lawmakers push for right-to-work law in Missouri

Area Republican lawmakers are ready to push again for a right-to-work law in Missouri, and this time, they believe they will be successful.

The election Tuesday of Republican and right-to-work proponent Eric Greitens as Missouri’s new governor has made the issue a top priority in the GOP-dominated Legislature for the 2017 session.

When Greitens takes the oath of office as Missouri’s 56th governor in January, the GOP will control the legislative and executive branches for the first time in eight years.

State Reps. Donna Lichtenegger of Jackson and Holly Rehder of Sikeston already plan to introduce right-to-work bills for the coming session.

Two Cape Girardeau lawmakers, state Rep. Kathy Swan and state Sen. Wayne Wallingford, said Thursday they also will vote to make Missouri the nation’s 27th right-to-work state.

All four lawmakers said such a law, which would bar mandatory union fees, would encourage more companies to open factories and other businesses in the state and lead to more jobs.

But labor-union representatives argue such a move would lead to lower wages and makes for a less safe work environment.

They also contend there is no evidence such laws benefit the economy.

Mark Baker, president of the Southeast Missouri Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO, said workers make an average of $6,000 a year less in right-to-work states than their counterparts in states that do not have such laws.

He said right-to-work laws have not kept companies from moving jobs overseas.

But Baker said labor leaders recognize the political reality in Missouri state government in which passage of a right-to-work bill “is a very real possibility.”

Jebediah Morris, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Missouri who works as an electrical lineman, said GOP lawmakers are trying to weaken unions.

“They want to infringe on people’s freedom of assembly,” he said.

Area lawmakers said a right-to-work law would not weaken the right of labor unions to organize workers.

Wallingford said right-to-work states have seen an increase in labor-union memberships.

“I think it will actually help,” Wallingford said, adding he does not want to hurt labor unions.

“You don’t want to do economic growth at the expense of workers,” he said.

Wallingford said he believes Missouri would see job growth and ultimately increased wages under a right-to-work law.

He said the lower-wages statistic cited by labor unions reflects entry-level jobs, such as those at restaurants, and not those of skilled workers represented by many unions.

Lichtenegger said she has sought passage of right-to-work legislation for years.

She is optimistic such legislation will become law in 2017 now the threat of a veto has been removed with the election of Greitens.

Missouri is surrounded by right-to-work states, including Arkansas, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Iowa.

Lichtenegger said Tennessee, for example, has experienced a growing economy.

She said such a law should help Missouri’s economy, too.

The arguments against right-to-work laws have become “very hollow,” she said.

More jobs will boost the economy, and wages will rise, she said.

Rehder, who has championed right-to-work legislation in past sessions, said such laws amount to “free economic development.”

She added, “It makes Missouri a much more business-friendly environment.”

Rehder and other area lawmakers said Missouri has failed to attract some companies to the state because of its lack of a right-to-work law.

“Looking at all the other states that have passed right to work, they have increased in jobs,” she said.

Swan called it a “tool in the toolbox” to recruit new businesses.

“There are companies that won’t look at Missouri because we are not a right-to-work state,” she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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