St Louis, MO — As Labor Day approaches, the Economic Policy Institute came out today with a strong reminder of why attacks on collective bargaining and union participation from Eric Greitens hurt ALL workers: “Union decline lowers wages of nonunion workers.”
Eric Greitens wants to remove collective bargaining from Missouri through Right-to-Work legislation and pays absolutely no attention to the issues that matter to working people and build a strong Missouri economy.
Greitens’ hyper-partisan position would harm workers, depress wages and slow Missouri’s economy. There is only one candidate who understands how important it is to standing with workers and support unions in Missouri, and that’s Chris Koster.
ON LABOR, WORKERS & WAGES, ERIC GREITENS IS WRONG FOR MISSOURI
Right-to-Work:
- Greitens: Eric Greitens has promised to sign Right-to-Work legislation if he becomes governor.
“I Believe We Must Have “Right-to-work” Legislation.” – Eric Greitens [Greitens For Missouri]
“We Have To Sign “Right to Work.’” – Eric Greitens [KBIA]
- Koster: As Attorney General, Chris has been on the forefront in the fight to protect workers. He has repeatedly and loudly spoken out against Right-to-Work legislation and continues to lead the charge against efforts to eliminate collective bargaining. He will continue to protect it as governor.
Prevailing Wage:
- Greitens: Eric Greitens has never even bothered to learn about the issue of prevailing wages. He is completely uninterested with the challenges working families face, which is illustrated by his insistence on eliminating collective bargaining rights.
- Koster: In the last three decades, Chris has prosecuted more prevailing wage violations than anyone else in Missouri. His office has always fought to ensure that workers are treated with dignity and fairness and has consistently punished employers who fail to do so.
Minimum Wage:
- Greitens: Eric Greitens refuses to take a position on the minimum wage. Greitens’ silence on the issue aligns him with his Republican colleagues who have refused to raise the minimum wage. However, Greitens has made it very clear he wants to end collective bargaining in Missouri.
- Koster: Chris has loudly advocated for raising the minimum wage. He believes that workers in Missouri, the same people who built the state into what it is today, deserve a raise.
Project Labor Agreements (PLAs):
- Greitens: Since Greitens wants to end collective bargaining in Missouri, he clearly believes PLAs have no value. Greitens shows no concern for the middle class workers who benefit from PLAs.
- Koster: Chris Koster has long supported PLAs. When he oversaw the remodeling of the Old Courthouse in Cass County, where he worked as a prosecutor, he insisted on securing a PLA for the job.
Education Funding:
- Greitens: Greitens did not oppose $456 million cut to education funding, despite the resulting negative consequences. He supports vouchers, and has no plan to address the teacher shortage and low teacher pay.
- Koster: Koster would work to fully fund schools. He opposed SB 586 foundation formula cuts and has consistently advocated for increased education funding. He knows too many Missouri schools are being starved of resources, causing harmful cuts to extracurricular programs, reducing teacher quality, and even forcing some districts to adopt a four-day week.
View this release online, here. Read more about how Eric Greitens is wrong for Missouri atwww.wrongformissouri.com
