JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Eight months after voters approved it, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the repeal of a law Thursday that had guaranteed paid sick leave to workers and inflationary adjustments to the minimum wage.
The move marked a major victory for the state’s largest business group and a frustrating defeat for workers’ rights advocates, who had spent years — and millions of dollars — building support for the successful ballot measure. The repeal will take effect Aug. 28.
For the last year this site has followed the journey of Proposition A, which provided Paid Leave to Missouri workers, from petition signing to get on the ballot all the way through it’s passage in November. We even followed it through this springs legislative session as Republicans focused on reversing the will of the voters. This local sent members to lobby for Proposition A. We heard from State Representatives from this area that businesses just couldn’t afford to offer their employees paid leave. They never mentioned the quality of life of the voters that elected them.
They did not forget about those corporations and businesses that pushed them to eliminate Paid Leave. Instead of creating a tax incentive for businesses that honored the will of the voters and provided Paid Leave they gave them a no-strings attached Capital Gains tax cut.
Put another way: Free money for the wealthy, no free time for you.
