Right-to-work opponents deliver signatures to secretary of state

A group of right-to-work opponents effectively stalled implementation of the law in Missouri.

Bipartisan organization We Are Missouri on Friday delivered 310,567 signatures calling on a repeal of the legislation Gov. Eric Greitens signed into law in February. The secretary of state office is reviewing the petition, an act that stops the bill — designed to prohibit employers from requiring employees to join unions —  from taking effect as planned on Aug. 28.

A secretary of state spokeswoman could not be reached for comment by deadline on the next steps after receiving the petition. According to a news release from We Are Missouri, the signatures are nearly three times the 107,510 needed to qualify for placement on the ballot.

The group is targeting the November 2018 election.

Greitens visited a vacant Springfield warehouse earlier this year to ceremonially sign Senate Bill 19, which bars employers from requiring employees to “become, remain or refrain from becoming a member of a labor organization or pay dues required of labor organization members as a condition of employment.”

Opponents have said right-to-work laws lessen the bargaining power of unions.