LABOR UNIONS IN MISSOURI

I support Labor and Trade Unions.

The right of workers to form unions and bargain collectively with their employers is guaranteed by the  National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and related federal laws. Currently, unions in Missouri, as part of collective-bargaining agreements with employers, can require that an entire workplace be unionized. Since 1989, the union membership rate in Missouri has been higher than the U.S. rate on six occasions, most recently in 2019. Missouri had 235,000 union members in 2021. There are 694 labor unions in Missouri. Combined, these Missouri unions employ 4,201 people, earn more than $323 million in revenue each year, and have assets of $536 million. 

Missouri's new law will prohibit most employers – both public and private – from compelling a person to join or remain a union member as a condition of being hired or remaining employed. It also prohibits requiring any employee to pay dues, fees, assessments, or similar charges to a labor organization.

Recently we saw a record investment in rebuilding America’s infrastructure. Highway construction, bridge repair, electric grid modernization, EV charger installation, lead pipe replacement, environmental remediation, broadband expansion, air, rail, and port improvements are all on deck for more Jobs creation because President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, with the support of the union.

In 2021 in a 5-2 decision the Supreme Court upheld the lower Court's ruling that House Bill 1413, known as Paycheck Deception, was unconstitutional and cannot be enacted. HB 1413 created unnecessary regulatory hurdles, like forcing members to opt-in annually to union membership, that existed solely for the purpose of making it difficult to join and operate a public-sector union.

In a second victory for state workers, a Circuit Court ruled a 2018 law restricting public employee bargaining rights unconstitutional and ordered Gov. Parson to resume bargaining with over 13,000 state employees covered by union bargained contracts. The decision was a major win for those who have been fighting to force the State to bargain with some of the lowest-paid state employees in the nation.

The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act is aimed at organizing new bargaining units to securing first contracts, to strengthening strikes and enacting meaningful penalties on corporate violators. PRO was PASSED by the House of Representatives, Co-Sponsored by 47 Senators and has the support of President Biden who called for it to be sent to his desk for  signature.

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