Legislation Would Suppress Union Organizing

The Senate Small Business Committee heard SJR 40 (Jack Goodman) on February 9. The SJR would require a secret ballot election for union recognition, making voluntary recognition by the employer illegal. If SJR 40 were to become law, tax dollars would be needlessly spent on State Board of Mediation and NLRB elections, even when the employer and union agree that there is no need for an election! The legislation is a reaction to the federal Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), although you have to wonder how state law can trump federal law. You could also wonder if EFCA has much chance of passing at this point.

The arguments for the resolution ring hollow in Missouri, especially for public employees who would not even be affected by the federal EFCA if it passes, but who may be affected by SJR 40. For teachers and law enforcement employees, the state law does not currently provide for a process to fulfill their constitutional right to bargain collectively through a representative of their own choosing. Rather than passing this anti-union measure, the legislature should enact an effective bargaining law that treats all public employees fairly.