Trio of bills aim to alter collective bargaining

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Senate Republicans are pushing a trio of bills aimed at scaling back the impact of Gov. Bob Holden's executive order on public employee collective bargaining.

State Sen. John T. Russell, R-Lebanon, admitted that the chances of the measures he is sponsoring becoming law are slim. While he believes the bills stand a good shot in Republican-controlled Senate, he doesn't expect they would make much headway in the House, where Democrats hold the majority.

Even if they cleared the General Assembly, vetoes by Holden, a Democrat, would be almost certain. Despite the long odds, Russell said he will push forward.

"We'll at least give the governor the chance to change his mind and see the error of his ways," Russell said.

Holden's executive order, signed in June, extended bargaining rights to about 30,000 employees in state departments directly under his control.

Russell said the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee probably would hold hearings on the measures Jan. 29.

Russell's bills would:

Prevent the forced deduction of union service fees from the paychecks of non-union employees.

Allow departments to exempt certain employees -- including human resource staff, professional workers, security guards, Capitol police and park rangers -- from being eligible for union membership.

Require a majority of eligible workers in a bargaining unit to endorse certification of a union before the organization could represent employees.

Currently, only a majority of votes cast is necessary to bring in a union. Russell admitted his bill would mark a break with traditional election procedures. In public votes, for example, it is common for less than even a majority of registered voters -- let alone a majority of those eligible to register -- to cast ballots and decide elections.

However, Russell said his proposed change is warranted.

"When you are dealing with a person's livelihood and when you're going to take money out of a paycheck, I think it should require a majority of a bargaining unit," Russell said. "That way -- whichever way the vote goes -- there is no dispute about it."

However, Holden administration officials have maintained that they wouldn't even consider withholding representation fees from non-union employees unless a majority of workers in a unit -- not just a majority of union members -- agreed to it.

No legislation related to collective bargaining has yet been filed in the House. State Rep. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, said House Republicans are still developing a consensus bill. Crowell said the bill would likely focus on protecting against unwanted payroll deductions.

Despite the challenges of passing something through the Legislature, that route is currently the only one open to opponents of Holden's order.

Last month, a judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, and others challenging the constitutionality of the order. The judge ruled that Holden acted within his legal authority in signing the order and that the plaintiffs had no legal standing to file suit. However, Kinder, who is also a sponsor of Russell's bills, has vowed to appeal.

Russell, who chairs a special committee investigating the impact of the order and organized labor's involvement in its drafting, said the committee may issue a report on its findings in the coming weeks. Democrats boycotted the committee and refused to participate in a series of hearings held last year.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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