JEFFERSON CITY • Tuesday’s election showed that a push by big business to weaken Missouri labor laws will be front and center again when a new crop of state lawmakers take their seats next year.
The bitter fight to get a “right to work” law on the books played out in four races for seats in the Legislature and is expected to again be a focal point during the general election in November.
In the Republican primary contest to represent eastern St. Charles County in the state Senate, Bill Eigel of Weldon Spring beat Rep. Anne Zerr of St. Charles by a mere 385 votes.
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Rep. Sheila Solon, R-Independence, Rep. Nick King, R-Liberty, and Rep. Bonnaye Mims, D-Kansas City, also were defeated Tuesday in their bids for re-election.
A common denominator for most of the victors was David Humphreys, the owner of TAMKO Building Products in Joplin, whose family poured millions of dollars into the campaign coffers of candidates and political action committees this primary season.
Humphreys wants the state to approve a law allowing employees at unionized private companies to opt out of the union even as that union bargains and does other work on their behalf.
A watered-down version of the proposal dubbed “paycheck protection” was vetoed this spring by Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat. The Republican-led Legislature failed to override his action because of pro-union GOP lawmakers such as Zerr, King and Solon.
The fight has led to tension at the Capitol and in communities across the state.
Bart Velasco, president of the Jefferson County Labor Committee, said unions would make their presence known in the run-up to November. “This is the mandatory election for organized labor. We have to get out there and defeat at least two or three right-to-work supporters,” Velasco said. “It’s got to be important to anybody who is trying to make a living.”
Mike Louis, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO, described the right-to-work push as a “war declared against working families by out-of-touch corporate special interests flooding our elections with millions of dollars.”
Republican candidates for seats in the House are expected to gather in Branson on Thursday and Friday to talk strategy heading into the general election. House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, is a featured speaker and could outline his plan for taking another run at right-to-work.
In addition to the more than $1.4 million raised by Eigel and Zerr, additional money was dumped into the race by independent committees. Humphreys funneled $300,000 to Eigel. Zerr received $195,000 in labor union backing.
Solon lost to fellow Republican Dan Stacy, who campaigned against her on her opposition to right-to-work. The Humphreys family gave $25,000 to Stacy.
King, R-Liberty, was a first-term incumbent but lost to Mary Hill, who received as much as $125,000 from the Humphreys.
“It was about the money and the negative ads,” said King, who won’t be returning after one term in office. “There was a lot of money thrown at this race from outside this area.”
Mims, a Democrat who opposed right-to-work laws, lost her primary to Richard Brown of Kansas City.
Humphreys could not be reached for comment.
