Missouri Labor Update
What Union Members need to know!
Before we recap the 2025 legislative session, the entire labor community wants to take a moment to acknowledge the tornado victims in the City of St. Louis. Life can be so fragile, and we pray for those who lost their lives, their homes, their businesses, and who had their lives turned upside down in a matter of moments. Union workers in the St. Louis region immediately began putting their resources and skills to work in the recovery effort and will continue to do so throughout the rebuild. As you read this, union workers from around the Midwest are pouring into the city to help restore power, clear rubble, and lend whatever assistance they can.
Do you want to help union families recover from the deadly St. Louis tornado? Or are you a union family that needs help? Please check out the links below.
Donate to help union families via $5 for the Fight: https://labortribune.com/5-for-the-fight/
Union members: If you were impacted by yesterday’s storms and need help from the St. Louis Labor Council’s $5 for the Fight Fund, you can apply for assistance here: https://unitehere.jotform.com/242484754912867
We continue to pray for the survivors, the safety of those cleaning up, and for the City of St. Louis and the region. For up-to-date information from the SOURCE, the City’s website with recovery information is here.
Senator Tracy McCreery (D-St. Louis County) helps with tornado clean-up in the City this week
On Wednesday, the Missouri Senate used a rarely used procedural motion called the “Previous Question” (PQ) to take the floor away from Senate Democrats, end debate, and ram through a repeal of Proposition A and Amendment 3.
Here are the straightforward facts:
210,000 Missourians signed a petition to put Prop A (Earned sick time) on the ballot.
1,693,000 Missourians voted FOR Prop A.
Proposition A passed with 57.6% of the Statewide vote.
EVERY SINGLE Senate Democrat spoke in FAVOR of Prop A, participated in a filibuster to protect Prop A, and voted NO on overturning Prop A.
EVERY SINGLE Senate Republican voted to overturn the will of the majority and rip away earned sick time from Missouri workers. (The only Republican exceptions – on either bill – were Sen. Lincoln Hough, who believes in direct democracy, and Senator Moon, who didn’t think the Amendment 3, abortion amendment, repeal went far enough).
380,000 Missourians signed a petition to put Amendment 3 (reproductive freedom) on the ballot.
1,538,000 Missourians voted FOR Amendment 3.
The Minimum wage escalator, which was included in the repeal bill, had been adopted by 76% of Missouri voters in 2006, meaning Republicans rolled back 20 years of minimum wage policy in Missouri.
Amendment 3 passed with a majority of the statewide vote.
EVERY SINGLE Senate Democrat spoke in FAVOR of Amendment 3, participated in a filibuster to protect Amendment 3, and voted NO on overturning Amendment 3.
EVERY SINGLE Senate Republican voted against the will of the majority and is attempting to overturn Amendment 3.
What’s Next
Since Amendment 3 was in the constitution, the efforts to repeal it and replace it with a near-total abortion ban will have to go back to the voters. That means there will be another Statewide vote in 2026, on an election date of the Governor’s choice.
Proposition A was a statute, so the legislature used its authority to straight up repeal the law. While Senate Democrats are asking Governor Kehoe to veto the bill, it’s a virtual certainty that he will sign it.
In Missouri, laws go into effect on August 28th, unless both chambers pass an “emergency clause” that makes it effective immediately upon the Governor’s signature. The Missouri AFL-CIO and the Unity table (shout out Carson Pope) worked incredibly hard to prevent those pushing the repeal from getting the necessary ⅔ vote to attach an emergency clause, meaning HB 567 (the repeal) will go into effect on August 28th. Loyal readers will know that earned sick time STARTED accruing on May 1st, which means that 728,000 workers who did not previously have sick time will continue accruing sick time over the summer, until it’s suddenly ripped away from them at the end of August.
For the Senate, the dual PQs lead the chamber into scarcely charted waters. There had not been an in-session PQ in nearly 10 years, and to use multiple PQs to overturn TWO issues that were passed 6 months ago by the majority of Statewide voters is unprecedented. Senate Democrats will have to respond next session by slowing everything down and grinding the Senate to a halt. That means an unfortunate escalation in tensions in the building, and a high probability of the 2026 session being long, painful, and unproductive.
