As reported in Missourinet, labor leaders from around Missouri are contemplating ways of putting Missouri’s newly-passed right-to-work law before the voters. If they can muster 100,000 signatures before the law goes into effect in August they can at least delay its implementation until after a referendum or initiative until after voters have their say.
The groups involved include the AFL-CIO, the Teamsters, the Faith-Labor Alliance, Jobs With Justice, Working America and the Alliance of Retired Americans.
The two most likely options for reversal are an initiative petition calling for a constitutional amendment to bar right-to-work laws and a ballot referendum to overturn the law itself.
Ballot language will surely be a sticking point in either case. With Republican secretary of state Jay Ashcroft now responsible for overseeing that language, the unions and their allies may have trouble crafting a sellable message.
“Resolved: workers must join a union as a condition of their employment” will probably not attract a majority of voters.
