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Missouri Supreme Court hears arguments in key case involving 2018 labor bill

November 17, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Supreme Court heard remote oral arguments on Monday afternoon in a key case involving public-sector employee labor laws.

The Supreme Court heard 36 minutes of arguments in a complicated case that involves a 2018 Missouri bill, that was sponsored by State Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa. Republicans describe that bill, House Bill 1413, as paycheck protection, while Democrats view it as anti-labor.

In January, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Joseph Walsh III declared the bill “void in its entirety,” and prevented any of its provisions from being enforced. The state appealed.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer says the trial court erred several times, and emphasizes that no provision of the bill violates public employees’ rights to bargain collectively.

“There’s unrefuted, unrebutted evidence in the summary judgment record in this case that the plaintiffs submitted no evidence at all to refute that directly addresses how the various provisions of House Bill 1413 do protect in advance employees’ ability to select representatives of their own choosing,” Sauer tells the court.

You can read the full 146-page brief submitted by Solicitor General Sauer here.

Seven labor unions that represent public sector employees in Missouri disagree with Mr. Sauer, and are asking the state Supreme Court to affirm Judge Walsh’s decision. Those unions include the Missouri National Education Association, Ferguson-Florissant National Education Association and the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local Union Number 42.

National Education Association attorney Jason Walta, who represented the plaintiffs at the Missouri Supreme Court, says the 2018 bill dramatically curtails public-sector collective bargaining.

“I think that the trial court wrote a very thoughful and excellent decision in this matter. He (Judge Walsh) considered the issues very carefully, and I think that it’s a decision that’s worthy of this court’s affirmance,” Walta tells the Supreme Court.

Counselor Walta says the bill infringes on the rights of employees to bargain collectively. You can read the full 103-page brief submitted by Counselor Walta here.

Because of COVID concerns, Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice George Draper III was the only judge in the Jefferson City courtroom on Monday. The other six Supreme Court judges participated remotely, as did Counselors Sauer and Walta. Capitol reporters listened to the arguments remotely.

There is no timeframe on when the Supreme Court will issue a decision.

National Weather Service’s Springfield office issued nine tornado warnings on Saturday night (AUDIO)

November 15, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(News directors J.T. Gerlt and Patty Burns at Missourinet affiliates KTKS and KBNN contributed to this story)

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield says it appears that straight line winds caused the significant damage Saturday evening to a popular Osage Beach shopping center.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield says straight line winds caused the significant damage at the popular King’s Plaza shopping center in Osage Beach on November 14, 2020 (photo from Daniel Carnahan Jr., through J.T. Gerlt at Missourinet Versailles affiliate KTKS Radio)

NWS Springfield meteorologist Justin Titus tells Missourinet that they’ve checked drone footage and have spoken to Osage Beach’s emergency management director.

“And so that’s something that we can still receive new information on and update as we go, but right now preliminarily it looks like straight line winds,” Titus says.

Osage Beach Police Chief Todd Davis tells us the storm damaged at least seven to eight businesses in the King’s Plaza shopping center, which has a Randy’s Custard location. The shopping center is a popular spot for Lake-area tourists and local residents.

Drone photos show that the storm blew roofs off many of the businesses. Walls have caved-in as well, and Missourinet Versailles affiliate KTKS reports vehicles in the parking lot were also damaged during the storm.

The NWS’ Springfield office issued nine tornado warnings and 21 severe thunderstorm warnings on Saturday evening. The thunderstorm warnings were across their entire forecast area.

The NWS had warned Friday that severe storms and hail were possible Saturday afternoon and evening, across the Ozarks.

There are no reports of any serious injuries from the storms.

Titus says the storms also caused damage in the small town of Dixon, which is about 100 miles northeast of Springfield. The town has about 1,400 residents.

“But that Dixon area, north of Waynesville, got hit pretty hard. Had some mobile homes flipped over and some other damage up in that area,” says Titus.

He says while the damage in Dixon appears to be from straight line winds, it’s still under investigation.

Titus says their office is still deciding whether to send survey teams to impacted areas.

“We base that on what we’re seeing out in the field, as far as evidence. So we’ll be making that determination coming up too,” Titus says.

Missourinet Lebanon affiliate KBNN reports the storm brought 65-mile-per hour winds and one-inch hail in some locations, knocking power poles down in Springfield. KBNN reports trees were knocked down in southwest Missouri’s Jasper County.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Springfield meteorologist Justin Titus, which was recorded on November 15, 2020:

Jefferson City mayor describes Gold Star monument location at Capitol as solemn area (AUDIO)

November 13, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Jefferson City’s mayor says the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument being built on the Missouri Capitol grounds is one of just five monuments located at state capitols nationwide.

Members of Lincoln University’s ROTC presented the flags at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in Jefferson City (November 11, 2020 photo by Brian Hauswirth)

Mayor Carrie Tergin spoke at this week’s Veterans Day groundbreaking ceremony, describing the spot as a perfect location.

“This is a place here on the beautiful Capitol grounds where thousands of people are going to be convening. So this very spot right here is going to have a lot of visibility,” Tergin says.

The monument is being built next to the Missouri Veterans Memorial and next to the Bicentennial bridge entrance. It will have four panels with themes of homeland, family, patriot and sacrifice.

“It’s a solemn area,” says Tergin. “It’s a place where many students come so they can learn the stories, learn what this is about and why this is so important that we always remember our Gold Star families.”

Fundraising efforts are continuing for the monument.

Gold Star families, veterans, state lawmakers and Jefferson City business leaders are leading the fundraising effort, and they’ve already raised about $30,000. It will cost $75,000 for the monument and granite benches.

The benches are being designed to give visitors an opportunity to reflect on the meanings of the four panels.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin, which was recorded on Veterans Day 2020 on the Missouri Capitol grounds:

Look for Missouri Senate to vote on $1.27 billion supplemental next week (AUDIO)

November 13, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Senate is expected to debate and vote on the proposed $1.27 billion supplemental budget next Thursday and Friday. That’s according to Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia.

Missouri House Majority Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, (left) speaks to House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, in the House chamber in Jefferson City on November 10, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The House gave final approval to the supplemental budget this week, with a bipartisan 133-4 vote. That pleases House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage.

“It (the budget) was more of a what I call ‘keep the trains running on time supplemental budget bill.’ The deployment of federal resources across a variety of state departments is mostly what the bill was about,” Smith says.

He says the budget also provides more authority to spend federal dollars on personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing. Chairman Smith says it also addresses Missouri’s unemployment fund shortage.

“Our plans for unemployment program ran short with higher than expected unemployment,” says Smith.

If the Senate approves the supplemental budget as is, it would head straight to the governor’s desk. If changes are made by the Senate, the budget would head to a Senate-House conference committee.

Smith is hopeful the Senate will send it to Governor Parson’s desk, saying he doesn’t expect it to be controversial in the upper chamber.

Meantime, the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says there have been 25,961 new COVID cases in Missouri in the past seven days, along with 63 new deaths in the past week.

State Rep. Jon Carpenter, D-Gladstone, a senior Democrat in the Missouri House, addressed the issue on the floor this week. He’s warning his colleagues that COVID hospitalizations are skyrocketing in the Midwest.

“We now have twice as many people getting infected with coronavirus in our region (the Midwest) than any other region in this country at any point during the pandemic,” Carpenter says.

During his House floor speech, Carpenter called on the Parson administration to address the pandemic itself and to use some of the $1.2 billion supplemental to address economic hardships, school hardships and food hardships in Missouri.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, which was recorded on November 10, 2020 at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City:

Governor Parson adds COVID liability to Missouri’s special session call; Quade says it will worsen crisis

November 12, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor expanded his special session call on Thursday to include COVID-19 liability, relating to his declared state of emergency for health care providers, manufacturers, businesses, churches, schools and others.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson announces he’s expanding his special session call to include COVID liability, during a November 12, 2020 press conference in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The issue is a top priority for Missouri’s largest business organization and for GOP legislative leaders, but some labor unions and the House Democratic leader see it differently.

Governor Mike Parson (R) made his announcement at a Statehouse press conference in Jefferson City.

“None of these groups (health care providers, businesses, churches, schools) should be penalized for their efforts to respond to a declared state of emergency,” Parson tells Capitol reporters. “They must be able to continue operating and serving the public without risk of unnecessary and senseless claims.”

The governor is calling on the Legislature to approve a bill with three main components.

“Liability protection for health care workers who provide care as necessitated by a declared state of emergency,” says Parson. “Products liability protection for any person who designs, manufactures, labels, sells, distributes or donates products in direct response to a declared state of emergency.”

The third component is premises liability protection for exposure claims, relating to a declared state of emergency.

Governor Parson also wants lawmakers to approve an emergency clause.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been urging the governor to expand the special session, saying six of Missouri’s eight bordering states have approved similar legislation. Chamber President Dan Mehan tells Missourinet that more than 800 Missouri employers, mostly small businesses, signed a letter requesting a special session. That includes a skate park and a pizzeria.

Mehan describes COVID-19 liability protection as an important step towards re-opening the economy.

You can read the governor’s special session call here. House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, told Missourinet this week he expects the House to be in session in December to work on COVID liability.

The top Democratic in the Missouri House is blasting the governor’s announcement, saying it encourages reckless behavior.

“Over and over, Governor Parson has stressed the need for personal responsibility in fighting COVID-19. But for businesses that negligently put their employees and customers at risk, he doesn’t want them to have to take any responsibility at all,” House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, says, in a written statement. “While providing protections for businesses that follow the rules and take the necessary steps to keep people safe might be warranted, a blanket exemption that also shields bad actors from legal liability will encourage reckless behavior and make a crisis that already has spun out of control far worse.”

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is also critical. SEIU Healthcare Missouri Kansas vice president Lenny Jones says the governor’s proposal would grant immunity to operators and owners of nursing homes and medical centers, during the COVID pandemic.

Thousands of unemployed Missourians sign up for free online classes

November 11, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

In July, the state partnered with a company called Coursera to begin offering free online courses to Missourians unemployed as a result of COVID-19. The state Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development tells Missourinet about 2,300 individuals have registered and about 471 people have completed at least one course so far.

Thousands of unemployed Missourians sign up for free online classes

Through the partnership, the students can choose from more than 3,800 free classes in business, technology, and data science. They can also earn professional certificates from leading companies like IBM and Google that are designed to prepare people for entry-level careers like IT.

“I truly believe education changes lives,” said Zora Mulligan, commissioner of higher education. “Coursera provides another avenue for Missourians to learn new, marketable skills and, even during this period of economic uncertainty, advance their careers.”

Anyone who was registered by the October 31 deadline has until the end of this year to complete courses for free.

Haahr anticipates addition of COVID liability to Missouri’s special session (AUDIO)

November 11, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s House Speaker anticipates that the governor will expand his special session call to include COVID-19 liability.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, presides over the House on November 10, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, made his comments to Missourinet, during a Tuesday afternoon interview in his Capitol office in Jefferson City. He expects the Missouri House to be in session in December to work on COVID liability.

“We’ve been in long talks with the (Capitol’s) second floor (the governor’s office) on that for several weeks now and those talks have gotten pretty serious, and I think we’re at a place where we’re comfortable moving forward,” Speaker Haahr says.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also urging the governor to include COVID liability in his special session call, saying January is too long to wait to shield businesses, schools and hospitals that follow public health guidelines from COVID suits.

Chamber President Dan Mehan describes COVID-19 liability protection as an important step towards re-opening the economy.

“There’s a lot of employers out there that are a little bit concerned about opening for fear of being sued on frivolous grounds for COVID, by customers, by employees, that sort of thing,” says Mehan.

Mehan says more than 800 Missouri employers, mostly small businesses, have signed a letter requesting it. He says that includes a skate park and a pizzeria.

Mehan also says many of Missouri’s neighboring states have passed similar legislation.

“We’ve seen six of the eight contiguous states, the border states, adopt something in this light. Most recently Iowa signed it into law,” Mehan says.

As for Governor Parson, he supports the COVID-19 liability proposal and has publicly stated at several Capitol press conferences that he would include it during the special session, if there’s a path for it to pass.

House Majority Floor Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, who will be Speaker in January, has also written a letter to the governor, asking him to expand the special session call.

“Right now there are numerous small businesses afraid to open because of the threat of litigation tied to COVID-19,” Leader Vescovo writes. “Additionally, many of our hospitals and health care professionals are asking us to help them to better be able to do their jobs by passing commonsense COVID-19 liability protections.”

Speaker Haahr tells Missourinet that many businesses across the state have reached out, adding that lawmakers are working to keep the language tight.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Dan Mehan, which was recorded on November 6, 2020:

Missouri education official calls substitute teacher shortage a crisis

November 10, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri schools continue to struggle with having enough teachers available to educate students in traditional classrooms this year. The Show-Me State has had a chronic problem with teacher shortages, but COVID-19 has made that can of worms open even more.

Missouri education official calls substitute teacher shortage a crisis

Many of the state’s 70,000 pre-k through 12 teachers are going above and beyond this year to reach their students in the classroom and at home. Some schools have been forced to move to online learning if they lack enough educators. Teachers are giving up their planning time to pitch in and help in other parts of their school. Students are sometimes getting shuffled into other classrooms because their teacher is absent.

According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) website, about 81,000 students are currently getting in-seat instruction. About 139,000 are learning online only. Another 658,000 are doing a combination of the two. None of Missouri’s roughly 551 school districts and charter schools are closed due to COVID-19.

In September, DESE launched an online training program that can fast track candidates to become K-12 substitute teachers. The temporary effort is meant to help fill the gaps in teacher shortages during the pandemic.

More than 2,700 Missourians have enrolled in the program so far and about 700 are currently subbing. Dr. Paul Katnik is the assistant commissioner of the Office of Educator Quality at DESE. During a state Board of Education meeting today, Katnik says people in every region of the state have signed up.

“We started the entire program on September 2. We were issuing our first certificate on September 9,” he says. “People can get this done in a week if they’ve got everything turned in and they get their training done right away. I can tell you there’s other people that haven’t moved along quite that quickly.”

Despite the volume of participation, the need for more subs still exists. Just ask Missouri Board of Education member Mary Schrag of southern Missouri’s West Plains.

“I just think we’re just really struggling still to get subs in these very small towns where we have really limited numbers of individuals who would probably be able to sub and be successful,” she says. “I think in the more urban areas, they are more populous. There’s just more people to tap into in the first place.”

Substitute teacher certifications have also taken a plunge since March. The range has been anywhere from 16% to 72% compared to last year. Certifications began to turn the corner a bit last month but Katnik says the substitute teacher shortage is still very real.

“It was a problem before the pandemic. It’s certainly a crisis now,” he says.

Katnik says the rate at which schools are not filling substitute teacher jobs has, in turn, grown during the pandemic.

“The typical fill rates for substitutes are upwards of 80% in a normal year. Meaning if I need ten subs, I usually get eight out of the ten,” says Katnik. “But we’re hearing fill rates now being 50% and less, which means I can’t even fill half.”

The cost for the full set of substitute training courses required to meet certification is $175. The online program is available on the Missouri Department Elementary and Secondary Education’s website.

UPDATE: Missouri House gives initial approval to $1.2 billion supplemental budget

November 10, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House voted Tuesday to give preliminary approval to a proposed $1.27 billion supplemental budget, a supplemental that is the reason for the special session.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, (right) talks with House Budget Committee Chair Cody Smith, R-Carthage, and Majority Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, on
May 7, 2020 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The supplemental budget includes funding for school nutrition programs, job training grants, $1 million for witness protection funding and money for child support payments.

Governor Mike Parson (R) called the special session, saying there is still CARES Act funding that needs to be distributed to Missourians.

One key part of Tuesday’s debate involved funding for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for food.

State Rep. Justin Hill, R-Lake St. Louis, tells Missouri House colleagues that the money would be better spent on other things, saying some Missouri school districts have become “glorified lunchrooms.”

Representative Hill is specifically critical of the school district in eastern Missouri’s Wentzville, telling colleagues on the House floor that leaders there have failed. State Rep. Bryan Spencer, R-Wentzville, expresses similar concerns. Both Hill and Spencer note they have heard from many Wentzville parents.

State Rep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson, responded by saying there shouldn’t be a child in the state who is hungry.

State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, spoke on the House floor this morning about day cares across the state, warning that many of them are suffering financially. He says it’s a major issue across the state and must be addressed.

Missouri gets $6 million in federal aid to create thousands of tech apprenticeships

November 10, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation is deploying $6 million in federal funding to create 5,300 new tech industry apprenticeships. During a virtual event Monday, President Dan Mehan calls the investment a game changer.

Missouri gets $6 million in federal aid to create thousands of tech apprenticeships

“There is an apprenticeship revolution going on in Missouri,” he says. “Over the last two years, our state ranks second in the number of completed apprenticeships – second only behind California.”

More than 10,000 Missourians have gone through an apprenticeship program that gives them real-world and traditional learning through a paid work experience. The effort is meant to give participants a feel for whether they would like to make a living in the profession.

According to the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about 94% of apprentices are retained by their employers after they complete their apprenticeships and the average annual salary is not too shabby – about $70,000. The Chamber says the pay leads to a $300,000 lifetime earning advantage over non-apprentices.

Mehan says the state is “poised for strong growth” in apprenticeships thanks to a number of developments this year.

Mehan says House Bill 2046, passed this year by the Missouri Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson, will boost the state’s apprenticeship efforts. The plan, sponsored by Rep. Derek Grier, R-Chesterfield, gives students industry credentials after they finish their program.

“This progress could not have come at a better time,” says Mehan. “We all know our state faces many challenges as we continue to confront COVID-19 and seek to grow our economy out of it. One of our biggest challenges will be training workers who find themselves unemployed or underemployed due to the pandemic. Apprenticeships will be a very important tool as we work to help get these workers back on the job and likewise ensure that Missouri employers have the talent they need to grow and power our economy.”

Another development Mehan points to is Missouri Apprentice Connect – the first in the nation apprenticeship matching program. The free service can be found by going to MoApprenticeConnect.com

Dr. Mardy Leathers, director of the Missouri Office of Workforce Development, says there is a wide variety of businesses contributing to the state’s apprenticeship success.

“In Missouri, it would be easy if I could rattle off the names of a couple employers. But the reality is, there are 493 employers who have apprenticeship programs in the state. So, we have a lot of employers who engage,” says Leathers. “It’s actually a great thing that I can’t rattle those names off because we have so many.”

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, helped to secure the federal grant. Blunt chairs a subcommittee that funds U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and others.

“Nobody has taken better advantage of this than Missouri has,” says Blunt. “We’ve got a new Office of Apprenticeships and Work-Based Learning that has been set up in the Department of Higher Education. I think what these apprenticeship programs do and what our state, what you’ve done and what Governor Parson has done and others have done, is realize we have to look at the workplace a little differently.”

Cerner Corporation – a global healthcare technology company in Kansas City – was the lead partner in bringing the federal grant to Missouri.

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