U.S.

Missouri Passes Anti-Union Bill, but It Isn’t Veto-Proof

By ELI YOKLEY
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Republican-controlled Missouri General Assembly on Wednesday approved legislation that would enact a so-called right-to-work policy in the state, but it fell far short of the required number of votes to overcome a likely veto from Gov. Jay Nixon.
The bill would bar employers from making representation fees or union dues a condition of employment. Twenty-five other states, including all of Missouri’s neighbors except Illinois and Kentucky, already have such laws.
“Freedom to work is necessary if Missouri wishes to regain a competitive standard with the states that surround us,” said Eric Burlison, Republican of Springfield, who sponsored the bill. “It will encourage job growth and help unions become stronger.”
The House gave final approval to the bill by a vote of 92 to 66, far short of the 109 votes required to override a veto. Senate Republicans passed the bill 21 to 13 on Tuesday, short of the 23 votes they would need to overturn a veto.
Republicans dominate the Legislature with veto-proof majorities in both the House and Senate, and opposition to the bill did not fall perfectly along party lines. In the House, the bill was opposed by 23 Republicans, and in the Senate, three Republicans voted no, including Senate President Pro Tempore Tom Dempsey, Republican of St. Charles.
Governor Nixon, a Democrat from Jefferson County, home to many union members, has not explicitly said he will veto it.
“Many of the things that organized workers have been able to do for all of the state — the 40-hour workweek, minimum wage, labor laws, paid maternity leave — many of those things continue to be important, especially as we see a greater concentration of capital for fewer and fewer,” he told reporters on Friday.
James Harris, a lobbyist for the Adam Smith Foundation who has advocated the bill’s passage, said, “It’s a long way until September, but Governor Nixon has been overridden more than any governor in Missouri’s history.”