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Bipartisan Coalition Upholds Gov. Nixon Veto of Right-to-Work in Victory for Working Families
(WASHINGTON) – Today, a bipartisan group of state legislators in the Missouri House and Senate came together to protect working families by voting to sustain Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of so-called right-to-work legislation.
Nixon vetoed House Bill 116 in June after the Missouri House passed the bill by 92-66 and the Senate passed it by a vote of 21-13. Supporters of the bill needed a two-thirds majority vote today to overturn Nixon’s veto. However, a coalition of Republicans and Democrats stuck to their principles and voted to keep Missouri free from the damaging impact right-to-work legislation would have on the state.
“I would like to thank the state legislators who put aside their partisan differences and came together to uphold Gov. Nixon’s veto,” said Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa. “They recognized that right-to-work is wrong for working families and is wrong for the State of Missouri. This has been a true victory for all Missourians.”
Hoffa joined hundreds of union members from across the state that turned out to support Nixon and his veto of right-to-work on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Teamsters Local 41 in Kansas City, Mo.
Right-to-work states lag behind in wages, with workers averaging nearly $6,000 less annually. Eight of the ten states with the lowest minimum wages and nine of the ten states with the highest poverty levels are right-to-work.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.