State chamber pushing for right-to-work veto override

Eric Burlison sponsored the right-to-work legislation.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce is lobbying lawmakers to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s early June veto of the controversial right-to-work legislation approved this year by the General Assembly.

Sponsored by Springfield Rep. Eric Burlison, a Republican, House Bill 116 was approved 92-66 in the House of Representatives and 21-13 in the Senate in the waning days of the session. While it is designed to prohibit unions from requiring workers to join or pay membership dues, Nixon said in his veto letter it would expose businesses to unwarranted governmental interference and potential criminal prosecution.

In a news release, state chamber officials said projected vote tallies indicate a potentially successful override.

“We need this reform to compete with states that already allow this freedom to their workforce,” Missouri chamber President and CEO Dan Mehan said in the release. “We are nearly surrounded by right-to-work states, and we are told by site selectors that Missouri is often overlooked for expansion as a result.”

If legislators override the veto, Missouri would be the 26th state to pass a right-to-work law. Of those bordering the Show-Me State, only Illinois and Kentucky have not passed similar laws, according to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Inc.

Chamber officials are leaning on a Gallup survey of over 1,000 Missouri CEOs and top managers that found 54 percent of them support right-to-work legislation. The chamber commissioned the survey as part of its 15-year strategic economic plan, Missouri 2030: An Agenda to Lead.

In the transportation, utilities and communications industries, officials said the approval rating was higher at 67 percent.

Ahead of the September veto session, chamber leaders cite economic statistics favoring right-to-work laws. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, employment in right-to-work states grew by 9.5 percent 2003-13, above the national average during the same period. The chamber also pointed to Missouri’s 42nd and 43rd rankings in employment growth and gross domestic product per capita growth rate, respectively, between 2003 and 2013.

“We believe those rankings are unacceptable and that Missouri needs to make changes to do better,” Mehan said in the release.