ELECTIONS HAVE THEIR CONSEQUENCES

Proof of the adage “elections have their consequences”, it is not enough that legislation has been introduced to pass RTW again, to take away access to justice and to toss out the Clean Missouri victories from the 2018 elections. The Missouri Republican party has further signaled their anti-labor, anti-consumer efforts by filing six initiative petitions to be considered in 2020. The nation-wide successes of progressive issues, the Missouri favorable outcomes in attacking a bad RTW law while promoting clean government and increasing the minimum wages, have acted to embolden Labor’s traditional adversaries to brazenly ramp up their attacks. These attacks are directed not only at labor, but at citizens’ right to have an equal chance at access to justice, and some would say racism codified against non-white citizens.

Why are they doing so, particularly given the overwhelming voter support for these positive initiatives?

The answer in large measure is the balance of legislative power remains the same. The numbers of republican representatives and senators did not change.

So, perhaps their bravado is justified. Voters studied the multiple ballot issues and supported those which Labor championed, yet the elected representatives and senators who passed the bad RTW bill are still in office. They pass the bad stuff without accountability.

What are these six initiatives, and where can you read them in their entirety?  Go to the Missouri Secretary of State’s web page, and look under Initiatives and Referendum petitions for 2020, or, follow this link:  https://www.sos.mo.gov/default.aspx?PageID=9517

2020-019    Right To Work
2020-022   “Union Abuse Prevention” – Right To Work with anti-Project Labor Agreements
2020-023    Politicizing the election of judges
2020-024    Politicizing the election of judges alternatives
2020-025    Restricting Initiatives and Referendums
2020-021    Protecting Confederate memorials
2020-020    Requiring local offices to cooperate with ICE and detain aliens at cost to local government (Sanctuary City)

It is no longer enough for everyday citizens to pay attention in the few weeks before an election. Now, it may be too late if we are not ever-vigilant. A political action committee, widely known to be for the benefit of Governor Parsons, had already received multi-millions of dollars in contributions, three of the largest contributors are widely known for their opposition to Labor and Consumer issues: Herzog, Sinquefield, and Humphreys.

What can ordinary citizens do? Plenty. More on this in subsequent posts. Start thinking about quality people who share your values to run for school boards, alderman or council member, fire districts, state representatives and state senators. These people need to share the values of the district and may be republican or democrat, but the importance is in their support of issues which protect and advance citizen rights, particularly over those of dark money interests.