MO union membership declines in 2012

Missouri union members represented 8.9 percent of wage and salary workers last year, down two percentage points from 2011.

The state reported 224,000 union members in 2012, an 18.5 percent decrease from 275,000 members across Missouri the year prior, according to a news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Missouri has landed below the U.S. average since 2004. Last year, 14.4 million, or 11.3 percent, wage and salary workers nationwide were union members, down from 14.8 million, or 11.8 percent, in 2011.

State Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Springfield, last month filed a right-to-work bill dubbed The Freedom to Work Act that would allow employees to retain employment at companies where unions are in place without being required to pay union dues. 

The initiative drew overflow crowds during its two February committee hearings that included both House and Senate leadership.

Those opposed have said right-to-work legislation would weaken the collective bargaining power of unions.

Six of Missouri's eight bordering states have adopted right-to-work laws.

Before the bill’s second committee hearing on Feb. 13, Burlison said House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, has committed to bringing the measure, House Bill 77, to the floor once it received a committee vote. However, no action was scheduled for the bill as of this morning, according to House.Mo.gov.