Extremists in House Workforce Development and Workplace Safety Committee Pass SB29
SB29 Deceptively Labeled “Paycheck Protection” by National Special Interest Groups – is Radical Attack on Missouri Workers
(Jefferson City, Mo.) – Despite hearing testimony overwhelmingly in opposition to SB29, extremists in House Workforce Development and Workplace Safety Committee voted today to send SB29 to the Missouri House floor. This paycheck deception bill seeks to shut hardworking public workers out of the political process – and to take away their voice on the job.
Opposition to this unfair and unnecessary legislation wasn’t limited to the packed committee room, however. Voters held rallies and knocked doors to talk with their neighbors, and have sent thousands of emails, letters and phone calls to elected leaders.
“This bill is all politics,” said Mike Louis, Missouri AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer. “Not one Missouri worker has testified in favor of SB29, and that’s because this bill has nothing to do with helping working people. Public workers in this state have faced an uphill fight for collective bargaining rights and are 50th in the nation in pay. It is shameful that instead of correcting the very real problems faced by the workers who care for our veterans, teach and protect children at risk from abuse and neglect, and serve so many other critical roles – politicians chose to again reward special interests on the backs of our everyday heroes.”
Attending today’s committee meeting, autoworker Stan Stevenson from Wentzville has been knocking doors and phone banking against paycheck deception. “We vote for legislators and expect them to work for us, not CEOs and special interest groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council and Americans for Prosperity. I know they can do better – yesterday the House voted to pass a Bring Jobs Home bill that would reward companies for bringing good jobs back to Missouri. SB29 does the opposite – it is payback for the same corporations that have been shipping our jobs overseas and dodging their taxes.”
“The out of state special interests can look out for themselves – we need our elected leaders to stop these unfair attacks,” said Natasha Pickens, state social services worker from St. Louis County. “Like all Missouri public workers who voluntarily join a union, I did so because I want a voice at work and in Jefferson City. I help families every day who are struggling in this economy – it is about time that politicians start creating jobs and quit trying to make it even more difficult to do our jobs.”
Source: AFL-CIO
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