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Efforts to raise Missouri’s minimum wage on ballot in November general election

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One of the six ballot measures that Missouri will decide in November’s election would raise the state’s minimum wage.

Backers of the proposal collected more 120,000 signatures to ensure it would be placed before voters.  The effort was led by Missouri Business for Fair Minimum Wage and Raise Up Missouri.

The ballot measure known as Proposition B would increase the minimum wage, starting next year, to $8.60 from the current $7.85, and gradually increase it by 85 cents a year until it reaches $12 an hour by 2023.

The state’s current minimum wage of $7.85 translates to $314 a week and slightly more than $16,000 a year for a full-time worker.

Missouri Business for Fair Minimum Wage is part of a national group that advocates for hikes in minimum pay across the country.  Two of its member business owners recently spoke with Missourinet.

Stacy Jurado-Miller heads the Vecino Group in Springfield, which is a real estate development firm that specializes in low-income housing.  She says taxpayers end up footing the bill for workers with low paying jobs.

“We deal in affordable housing, so every day we see what happens when hard-working Missourians can’t pay for their basic needs,” said Jurado-Miller.  “The result is as a state we’re paying one way or another when people can’t afford their rent.”

Howard Hanna owns two restaurants in Kansas City, the Rieger and Ca Va.  He claims all his kitchen and waitstaff make more than $12 per hour already and says raising the minimum wage will level the playing field for businesses.

“We’re having to compete against people who are paying the least they possibly can,” said Hanna.  “That makes it difficult for us to compete in the marketplace when our prices look high compared to others.  And it’s because we’re actually trying to do the right thing by our staff.”

Both St. Louis and Kansas City either enacted or had plans to implement minimum wage hikes before being overridden by the state legislature.

In August of 2015, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance to raise minimum pay to $11.00 by this year.  In August of 2017, Kansas City voters approved a measure by a 75%-to-25% margin to increase the city’s minimum wage over five years to $15.00 by 2022.

Those efforts were crushed by the state legislature in 2017 when it passed a bill barring municipalities from establishing minimum pay requirements that exceed the statewide minimum wage.  Then Governor Eric Greitens let the bill become law without his signature.

St. Louis actually hiked its local wage for four months in 2017.  A court battle between the state legislature and the city had started after the city ordinance was approved in 2015.  The city prevailed when the state Supreme Court reversed a circuit court ruling that the St. Louis ordinance was out of step with state law.  The city’s minimum wage was briefly raised to $10 in May of 2017 before the new state law prohibiting the increase became effective on August 28th of last year.

Backers of this year’s ballot measure rely on several studies to support their claim that boosting the minimum wage helps the economy.

An analysis conducted by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute concluded that Proposition B would result in a new investment of more than $1 billion in consumer buying power in Missouri, affecting over 670,000 workers.

A 2011 study, “The Spending and Debt Responses to Minimum Wage Increases” by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago stated that “every dollar increase in the minimum wage results in $2,800 in new consumer spending per household over the following year.”

Business groups that generally fight against minimum wage increases have been relatively silent since Proposition B was certified for the November ballot.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce opposed the wage hikes in Kansas City and St. Louis that the state legislature ultimately blocked.  The Chamber’s Matt Panik said his organization hasn’t taken a position on the ballot measure but would be evaluating it with Chamber board members.

“Generally, we try to wait until it’s certified and we know that it’s going to be on the ballot before we really weigh in on something,” said Panik.  “That’s all I’d say at this point.”

Even if Proposition B is approved by voters, the Republican-dominated, and business-friendly state legislature could still have the final say on what the final outcome is.  Missouri is one of 11 states with no restrictions on lawmakers’ ability to repeal citizen initiatives.

Missouri’s Rehder looks ahead after Tuesday’s right-to-work defeat

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The Missouri House sponsor of the 2017 right-to-work bill indicates she’ll continue to push for the measure.

State Rep. Holly Rehder speaks on the Missouri House floor on March 15, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Tuesday’s right-to-work referendum, which was Proposition A, was rejected by Missourians. The vote was about 937,000 to 452,000.

More than 67 percent of Missourians voted against Proposition A.

Veteran State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, who sponsored the 2017 House right-to-work bill, issued a statement to Missourinet on Wednesday.

Rehder, who chairs the powerful Missouri House Economic Development Committee, says she’s not giving up on her efforts.

“Last night’s results should not surprise anyone who has followed this issue. We knew that big labor would throw in everything they had to defeat right to work. Spending millions of dollars to confuse voters led to the results last night. Unions will do anything to cling to power but the data is clear, the right to work states around us have seen wages go up and the number of jobs increase. This fight is not going away and I look forward to continuing to push for labor reform,” Rehder’s statement reads.

Rehder, who represents Mississippi and Scott counties, is unopposed in November for her fourth and final term in the Missouri House.

Voters in both Mississippi and Scott counties in her district rejected right-to-work, which says that a person cannot be required to join or refrain from joining a labor organization, as a condition of employment.

Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Webber, a former state lawmaker who served in the House with Rehder, issued a statement late Tuesday after the votes came in.

“Tonight, Missouri voters rejected a top Republican priority and sent a resounding message that we will not leave working people behind. Standing together, Democrats and working families successfully fought off this shameless attack on the middle class from corrupt Republican politicians in Jeff City,” Webber said in his statement.

Senate Minority Leader Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, has warned that right-to-work will lead to lower wages and decreased safety protections.

Rehder disagrees with that, and has told Missourinet that right-to-work would increase union jobs in Missouri.

Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Dan Mehan, who appeared live on Missourinet’s election night coverage Tuesday, also says right-to-work remains “an important and worthy goal” that the Chamber will continue to pursue.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Shelbina businesswoman wins GOP primary in key northeast Missouri race

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A northeast Missouri businesswoman has captured the GOP nomination for a key state Senate seat being vacated in January by term-limited State Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown.

Veteran State Senator Brian Munzlinger (2016 file photo courtesy of Senate Communications)

Shelbina businesswoman Cindy O’Laughlin captured 37 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s four-way GOP primary, beating three incumbent state lawmakers.

O’Laughlin beat State Reps. Craig Redmon, R-Canton, Lindell Shumake, R-Hannibal and Nate Walker, R-Kirksville.

The sprawling district covers 14 counties in northeast and north-central Missouri, stretching from Clark County on the Iowa border to Chariton County, west of Moberly.

O’Laughlin carried only four of the counties, but two of them were large counties: Randolph and Macon. Moberly and Macon are the two biggest towns in those counties.

O’Laughlin will face Hannibal Democrat Crystal Stephens in November.

Former State Sen. Wes Shoemyer, D-Clarence, was the last Democrat to represent this district.

Republicans have held the seat since 2010, when Munzlinger unseated Shoemyer.

Redmon and Shumake are in their eighth and final years in the Missouri House, due to term limits.

Munzlinger is the powerful chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

The top upsets in Missouri’s primary election

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Another Missouri primary election is in the books. The outcomes of some of the races were not surprising, while others came out of left field.

The biggest statewide upset in Tuesday’s election goes to Right-to-work supporters. For the first time since 1978, Missouri voters have rejected a ballot referendum known as Proposition A, which would have banned mandatory union membership or fees in the workplace. Missouri will not become a Right-to-work state, for now. The issue is a major priority for many Republicans in the Missouri Legislature and another similar proposal will likely make a comeback soon.

The top upsets in Missouri’s primary election

Saundra McDowell has taken the Republican nomination for the Missouri State Auditor’s race. She finished the race with 33% of the vote to David Wasinger’s 27%, followed by State Rep. Paul Curtman’s surprising 16%. McDowell faces Missouri Democratic State Auditor Nicole Galloway, along with the Libertarian, Green Party and Constitution Party candidates in November.

In a four-way Republican race for the Missouri Senate District 18 seat, the lone candidate who is not a current legislator, Cindy O’ Laughlin, defeats the three legislators. Lindell Shumake, Craig Redmon and Nate Walker were also running for the seat being vacated by the term-limited Brian Munzlinger of Williamstown. O’Laughlin will face Crystal Stephens, a Democrat, in November.

Justin Dan Brown has defeated Republican State Reps. Diane Franklin and Keith Frederick to take the State Senate District 16 seat in mid-Missouri. Brown, also a Republican, captured 40% of the vote to Franklin 35% and Frederick’s 25%.

Longtime St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch has lost his re-election bid. Fellow Democrat Wesley Bell, who serves on the Ferguson City Council, won last night’s primary.

State Rep. Karla May came out with the victory in last night’s Democratic primary by beating incumbent Jake Hummel for the District 4 State Senate seat. May will take on Republican Robert Crump in November’s general election.

Term-limited Springfield State Sen. Bob Dixon has handily defeated incumbent Bob Cirtin in the Greene County presiding commissioner race in southwest Missouri. Dixon faces Democrat and former State Rep. Sara Lampe in November. Lampe and Dixon, a Republican, both served together in the Missouri House.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

McCaskill, Hawley exchange barbs while securing U.S. Senate nominations

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Missouri’s Incumbent Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill was victorious in her primary for re-election Tuesday night.

Although she was not thought to be in jeopardy of losing the party nomination, she’s been continually referred to in the national press as one of the most, if not the most, vulnerable Democrats trying to hold onto a Senate seat in this year’s election.

Front-running Republican challenger Josh Hawley handily won the GOP nomination Tuesday as well.  He’s been quick to pounce on McCaskill’s perceived weaknesses as a Democrat in a heavily Republican state.

Hawley challenged McCaskill to a debate several times in recent weeks and has criticized her for not responding.  Tuesday night, he doubled down on his demand, proclaiming that the debates be held on the back of a flatbed truck.

“I’m going to drag that flatbed truck all over this state to courthouses everywhere,” said Hawley.  “We’ll get out.  We’ll get on the back of a truck and we’ll debate, just me, just her, no holds barred.  That’s my challenge.”

McCaskill took time to issue her own challenge to Hawley, asking for all debates to be hosted by local Missouri media outlets and journalists, and for all of them to be aired on broadcast television, radio or streamed online to reach as many voters as possible statewide.  She also sent out a press release listing her campaign manager’s contact information for arrangements to be made for a debate.

At a primary night stop at her Columbia campaign office late Tuesday afternoon, McCaskill noted Hawley had avoided debates with his primary opponents.

“We just weren’t going to talk about debating until the Republicans had nominated a candidate,” said McCaskill.  “I thought that was just really inappropriate.  He was being asked to debate his opponents and didn’t want to.  So, I think he was trying to pivot and focus on trying to talk about a debate in the general (election).  But I’ve always debated my opponents.”

Hawley held his election watching party in Springfield where he spoke in general terms but took sharp aim at McCaskill as out of step with Republican-heavy Missouri.  “She takes her orders from the liberal elites in Hollywood and Washington,” said Hawley.  “For too long, she has been representing them and not us.  Well, I’ll tell you what, not anymore.”

The former University of Missouri Constitutional Law Professor also attacked McCaskill for not supporting President Trump’s stance on immigration and Supreme Court judges.

“In 2016 Missouri voted for conservative judges, but Claire McCaskill ignored us,” Hawley said.  “In 2016 Missouri voted to build a wall and secure our border, but Claire McCaskill turned a deaf ear.”

For her part, McCaskill is making health care a major part of her platform.

As the Republican state Attorney General, Hawley joined 19 other GOP led states in a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act.  The suit claims the law is now entirely invalid because Congress did away with the individual requirement to have health insurance when it passed the 2017 tax cut package.

The case argues that because the law is no longer valid, the protections it offers, such as those for preexisting conditions, are no longer enforceable.  McCaskill sees defending health care as a major advantage for her in the Senate race against Hawley.

“On the one hand, you’ve got somebody who is looking after you on your side against the insurance companies,” said McCaskill.  “And you’ve got somebody else who is willing to use the courts to wipe out every protection you have.  If we can take that message to every Missourian, you know what’s going to happen?  On election night, the first Tuesday of November at about 11:30 or so, they’re going to say, ‘You know what, Claire McCaskill’s done it again. She’s won Missouri.”

Hawley has said that he favors continuing consumer protections including preexisting conditions but still says the health care law needs to be replaced.

McCaskill also mentioned it would be a Democratic priority with a win in November to push for volume discount negotiations to bring down the cost of drugs in the Medicare program.

But her biggest talking point besides health care was her claim that she is being attacked by dark money.  Dark money is a phrase used to describe contributions made through 501 (c) (4) non-profit groups that don’t identify their donors.

McCaskill didn’t call out organizations Tuesday, such as the Koch Network who she has named in the past, as spending large sums of money against her with attack ads.  She did claim that dark money groups are vastly outspending Hawley on his own campaign.

“He has spent, I’m guessing maybe a dollar for every 10 dollars that the dark money groups have spent on his behalf,” McCaskill said.  “Millions and millions of dollars have been spent in dark money.”

The two-term Senator also addressed criticism over her failure to endorse Brett Kavanaugh, President Trumps second Supreme Court nominee, after she voted against Neil Gorsuch, who was confirmed last year.

McCaskill mentioned she would be meeting with Kavanaugh on August 21st and stated that the interview would be centered on health care and campaign finance among other things.  “I want to ask him about dark money in politics,” McCaskill said.  “I want to ask him about fighting for the little guy instead of the big corporations.  I want to ask him about protecting health care for people who have preexisting conditions.”

McCaskill and Hawley are now officially opponents in the general election.  Hawley won the 11 candidate Republican nomination with 58.5% of the vote while McCaskill rang up 82% in the seven-person Democratic race.

 

Missourinet 11:00 p.m. primary election newscast

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Missourinet’s last report this evening on our primary election coverage includes Brian Hauswirth recapping the latest results.

Alisa Nelson reports the decision on a mid-Missouri State Senate race.

Bob Priddy shares his thoughts on tonight’s major union victory against Proposition A and a St. Louis Congressional race.

Listen here:

Missourinet 10 p.m. primary election newscast

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Missourinet’s primary election coverage continues through 11 p.m. In this broadcast, Brian Hauswirth recaps the latest results and upsets.

Missourinet contributor Jill Enders reports from the union election headquarters in St. Louis.

Bob Priddy shares his thoughts on voter turnout in Missouri Auditor’s, State Senate and Congressional races.

Listen here:

Proposition A continues to lose steam in Missouri

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Proposition A continues to lose steam in Missouri

Opponents of Proposition A continue to have a strong upper hand in today’s primary. Some 280,000 voters oppose making Missouri a Right-to-work state while roughly 176,000 support Proposition A.

The measure is asking Missourians whether to ban forced union membership or dues as a condition of employment.

Missouri 9:30 p.m. primary election newscast

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Missourinet brings you the latest primary election results this evening. In this broadcast, Brian Hauswirth talks to Missouri Chamber of Commerce President Dan Mehan, a Right-to-work supporter. Mehan shares his strong statements about Proposition A having a tough day at the polls.

Listen here:

McDowell with commanding Republican lead in Missouri State Auditor’s primary

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Saundra McDowell has a strong lead in the Republican nomination for the Missouri State Auditor’s race. She holds about 34% of the vote, followed by David Wasinger with 25%, Kevin Roach with 23% and State Rep. Paul Curtman with 17%.

Of the more than 3,200 Missouri precincts, 1,053 have reported election results.

The winner will face off in November against Missouri Democratic State Auditor Nicole Galloway, along with the Libertarian, Green Party and Constitution Party candidates.