Blunt eliminates mediation board, duties go to labor commission

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Matt Blunt has done away with a state board that oversaw public employee elections on whether to join unions -- a move he contends should save the state money.

Instead, Blunt transferred the board's duties to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission.

In vetoing several budget items in June, Blunt cut the state Board of Mediation's budget from nearly $123,000 to about $59,000, saying he would shift the board's duties to the labor commission. He then quietly signed an executive order to make that happen July 1.

The labor commission also hears appeals on workers' compensation cases and unemployment benefits.

The mediation board included five members, with two representing workers, two for employers and a neutral chairman. The chairman was a full-time state employee, and the board also had a full-time administrative assistant.

The labor commission, meanwhile, has three full-time members, an employer representative, an employee representative and a public representative.

The mediation board handled less than 50 petitions a year regarding public bargaining units, and the full board had not met in about 15 months, Blunt spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said. She said chairman John Birch handled most of the work, but he retired June 15 and was not replaced.

"The Board of Mediation had a comparatively light workload," Robinson said.

Still, some labor unions worry whether the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission can handle the additional duties.

"I don't see how you are going to be able to do both things without just rubber-stamping the decisions of businesses," said Ken Jacob, a former Democratic lawmaker who now is executive director of the Missouri and Kansas chapter of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.

Jacob briefly served as chairman of the labor commission. He said it's a full-time job just to review and hear workers' compensation and unemployment cases.

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Information from: Southeast Missourian, http://www.semissourian.com