For the second time in as many weeks, Associated Industries of Missouri president/CEO Ray McCarty was the sole witness in favor of a resolution to move the right-to-work issue to the August primary ballot instead of the November regular election ballot.
Sen. Dave Schatz
The bill is SCR 49, sponsored by Sen. Dave Schatz (R- 26, Franklin and part of St. Louis County). McCarty reiterated his testimony from the hearing on the House version of the bill last week, stating, “every day that goes by without enacting Right to Work in Missouri is another day our economic developers are unable to advertise Missouri as a Right to Work state,” he said. “We don’t even know the opportunities that are missed on a daily basis because we do not have the law in place and every day matters. We believe the voters should be allowed to speak on this as soon as possible,” he said.
If a resolution is not passed moving the election date to August 7, the question will appear on the November ballot.
McCarty pointed out that the main reason for AIM’s support of Right to Work is the economic development advantage it would give to Missouri, allowing Missouri to compete for new locations and expansions by companies that will only choose Right to Work states.
The committee planned to vote on several issues at a hearing on Friday, May 4, but that hearing was canceled and rescheduled for next week. The legislative session ends in two weeks.
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