(Source: Kansas City Star editorial, February 6, 2013)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In packed hearing rooms where tempers run short and accusations fly, the Missouri and Kansas legislatures are consumed with debates on bills intended to weaken unions. This expenditure of energy at first seems puzzling. Neither private- nor public-sector unions are especially powerful in either state. Kansas already is a “right-to-work” state, meaning non-union workers are entitled to all the benefits of union representation, as required by the federal Taft-Hartley Act, but they need not pay any union dues.
Lawmakers could better spend their time working on health care, education or other truly significant issues. Instead, key lawmakers and leaders are preoccupied with bills seeking to make Missouri a right-to-work state, and in both states to forbid unions to automatically deduct dues from paychecks, even if union members request it.
The unnecessary attacks on unions demonstrate how susceptible state legislatures are to outside forces.
Full story: Kansas City Star