The Missouri Democratic Party Endorsed a Grassroots Petition to Let Citizens Veto ‘Right to Work’ at the Ballot Box

Here’s what it means and how you can help.

Credit: AFL-CIO

Earlier this year, Republican officeholders in Jefferson City and Eric Greitens gutted rights for working Missourians and tilted the deck further in favor of big corporations by bringing so-call “Right to Work” into our state’s law. As these new rules will drastically hurt workers and their ability to support their families, the Missouri Democratic State Committee voted in April to officially endorse the grassroots effort aimed at putting the so called “Right to Work” law on a statewide ballot. The aim of our endorsement is to help give the power to veto this damaging (and poorly named) legislation directly to the people it impacts most.

First, here are three reasons why so-called “Right to Work” is bad economics for Missourians:

• Shrinking Paychecks: Average workers in “Right to Work” states make $6,109 a year less than workers in states that protect workers.
• Threatening Health & Safety: The rate of workplace deaths is 49% higher in states with “Right to Work,” and the number of people younger than 65 without health insurance is significantly higher.
• Growing Poverty Rates: There is a 15.3% poverty rate in “Right to Work”states compared to 12.8% in other states.

Second, here’s a quick rundown of the petition and our endorsement:

• To bring a veto of this legislation to the ballot box, the petition needs valid signatures from 5% of the total vote for the previous election for Governor from 6 of 8 of Missouri’s congressional districts. The deadline is August 28, 2017.
• While we anticipate the Republican establishment in Jefferson City will do everything they can to stop it, there have been 26 of these types of referendums called since 1914 and 24 of those proposals succeeded.
• With an already strong grassroots movement training volunteers and gathering signatures, our official endorsement means members of the Democratic State Committee will be helping out with signature trainings and we will be promoting the petition at official Party events.

And finally, here’s how you can get involved: To get involved text WORK to 235246 to receive updates from the National AFL-CIO or you can visit www.moaflcio.org.