(The following message is directed to BLET members living in the state of Missouri.)
CLEVELAND, May 7 — As the Regular Session of the General Assembly in Missouri draws to a close, the fight to defend workers’ rights in your state has continued to increase in its intensity. In the next few days Missouri State Senators and State Representatives will determine which direction the members of the House of Labor will be forced to take. These “Right/Freedom to Work” bills that have been introduced would severely damage the rights and benefits that workers in your state currently enjoy. Labor organizations in states that have passed similar legislation have lost their ability to properly represent their members due to a lack of adequate funding for them to operate.
Representatives who support this legislation should be called upon to answer why they have taken it upon themselves to endanger the benefits blue collar workers and their families now receive. Missouri voters did not know that their wages, benefits, and retirement plans would be put at risk by those who were elected to represent them in the two Missouri State chambers.
Brothers and Sisters, while this situation certainly does sound very grave, and it is, the door has opened for personal participation in the process of governing. Look around and see the benefits that have been provided to you by our forefathers in labor. We now can stand in their honor to defend those same rights for both us and our children’s generation.
The BLET National Division in conjunction with the Missouri State Legislative Board is asking that every Missouri member immediately call both your State Senator and State Representative and politely ask them to vote “NO” on any “Right/Freedom to Work” or any other anti-labor legislation. This can be easily done by using the following sample call:
“Hello, my name is _________ and I live in _________. As a constituent of Representative/Senator ______ I am calling to ask that (he or she) please vote against any anti-worker legislation including so-called “Right or Freedom-to-Work” bills. Thank you”
You can locate your legislator here: www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/default.aspx
This call only takes a few minutes to make and although you probably will not talk to the Legislator personally, the call certainly has a far reaching impact in determining how he or she will vote on these bills.
Our Founding Fathers gave us the right to address our grievances with our government and here and now is a time when we can fulfill that demand.
If you need any assistance please call Missouri State Legislative Board Chairman Brian Kelley at 816-786-8475