In Missouri, a union business agent-turned Democrat state representative is throwing his union boss buddies a bone by trying to turn fellow lawmakers into felons if they advocate for something known as workplace freedom–or, as it’s more commonly known, Right-to-Work legislation.
State Rep. Jeff Roorda is, according to his website, “currently employed as the Business Manager with the St. Louis Police Officers Association,” which is a union. Among his top contributors are…unions.
Last week, Representative Roorda sponsored Missouri House Bill 677 which states:
Any member of the general assembly who proposes a piece of legislation that further restricts the right of an individual to bargain collectively, as set forth under section 29, article I of the Missouri Constitution, shall be guilty of a class D felony.
The Daily Caller speculates that Roorda’s bill could be in response to Republican Rep. Mike Leara’s bill to criminalize any efforts by legislators to restrict gun ownership.
However, the Democrat Roorda’s efforts (and that of his bill’s co-sponsors, Reps. Burns, Hummel and Colona) are more than that: Fighting for the Constitution’s Second Amendment is far different than Roorda’s inanely direct nod and wink to union boss buddies, saying “we’ve got your back.”
Missouri is currently not a Right-to-Work state. This means unions can have workers at unionized companies fired from their jobs if they refuse to pay union tribute (either union dues or agency fees).
Moreover, Right-to-Work legislation has nothing to do with an individual’s right to bargain collectively and everything to do with unions’ ability to strongarm collect money. Yet, Roorda, like most union bosses like to try to confuse the two.
Much like Michigan and Indiana before it, the Show-Me state has recently become the latest battleground where citizens are attempting to break the union stranglehold on their paychecks.
Right-to-work legislation has been proposed for several years in Missouri without gaining much traction. But last year, Indiana and Michigan both passed right-to-work laws, giving the effort a potential boost here.
A month into the state Legislature’s session, hearings on bills that aim to make Missouri the latest right-to-work state have been held in House and Senate committees, drawing standing-room-only crowds.
A group of pro-workplace freedom Missourians have set up a Facebook page with regular updates. However, union bosses and their allies are pushing back–as they always do–knowing that without the ability to have people fired for refusing to pay them, will severely cripple their capacity to continue inflicting harm on cities like St. Louis.
If the workplace freedom advocates are successful in overcoming the likes of Sate Rep. Roorda and his union boss buddies by bringing Right-to-Work to Missouri, like Indiana and (especially) Michigan before it, the Show-Me state would be able to cast off the dark cloud of forced unionism to better compete for jobs.
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“Truth isn’t mean. It’s truth.”
Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)
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