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Editorial: The Miseducation of Prop A

By John Bowman,
Former member of the Missouri House of Representatives

In 1978 Missouri Voters overwhelmingly rejected the so-called right to work law.  You would think that once voters have used the power of their vote to loudly say, we strongly believe this is a bad idea for Missouri; government would listen to their constituents. Whatever happened to the concept that government works for us? Anyway back to reality. What appears to be a bad repeat of the horror movie, RTW Groundhog Day, or Back to RTW Future in 2018 our voices were ignored again. Over three-hundred-thousand signatures were gathered throughout Missouri opposing RTW. Missourians and working families understand what is not good for Missouri.

Fact is, RTW WILL NOT BRING NEW JOBS, but it will result in less wages and benefits for everyone including non-union workers. Right-To-Work Laws have absolutely nothing to do with the right to work period. Has nothing to do with giving anyone permission to work. protect their job or keep them from losing it, and this miseducation is by design. Many people believe that unions are based around the concept of the closed shop, an agreement between an employer and the union representing the employer’s workers requiring that the employer hire only labor union members or, if nonmembers are employed, they must become a member of the union within a certain time period or lose their job. This is not true.

The Taft-Hartley Act, passed in 1947, which amended the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, did away with the “closed shop” era in America. The Taft-Hartley Act (The Original RTW Bill) additionally required that employment agreements collectively bargained for the benefits of non-member employees, even when these employees chose not to join the union. Imagine you ride to work in a carpool. One of the riders refuses to contribute on putting gas in the car, but wants a free ride to work every day.

Government should understand we just want to be left alone. Attempting to circumvent the will of the people, through legislative actions, and changing the dates of the elections, will not override the power of the vote.

Final Tally:
YES (32.5%)
NO (67.5%)

Humbly,

John Bowman

Former Member Missouri House of Representatives