Missourians went to the polls August 7 and soundly defeated Proposition A, the state’s right-to-work law that has been on hold for almost a year. Voters rejected the law by about a 2-to-1 margin.
The right-to-work bill originally was signed into law on February 6, 2017, by then-Governor Eric Greitens. It was set to take effect on August 28, 2017, but a union-led petition drive forced a referendum on the issue, delaying the effective date pending the outcome of the election. As a result of the vote, Missouri won’t join the 27 other states that have right-to-work laws in place.
This is not the first time Missouri has been faced with the right-to-work issue. In 1978, Missouri voters rejected a ballot measure that would have made the state right-to-work. Then in 2015, former Governor Jay Nixon vetoed the passage of a right-to-work law. This time around, it was opponents of the right-to-work movement that were able to force a referendum on the law passed in the legislature.
Significant features of the measure would have prohibited requiring an employee to join a labor union or pay dues or fees to a union as a condition of employment. As a result of the referendum, Missouri will continue to allow collective bargaining agreements between employers and unions that require:
- An employee, as a condition of employment, to become or remain a member of the union.
- An employee, as a condition of employment, to pay dues or fees to a union.
Although Missouri won’t become a right-to-work state now, the movement already has 27 other states that are, and as history has shown, Missouri will see the issue pop up again in the future.
Employers with questions or concerns about the repeal of Missouri’s right-to-work law should contact Armstrong Teasdale’s employment and labor practice group for assistance.
Kyle P. McKenna is an attorney with Armstrong Teasdale in St. Louis and a contributor to Missouri Employment Law Letter. He can be reached at 314-342-8031 or kmckenna@armstrongteasdale.com.