Missouri voters reject law that would ban mandatory union fees

Missouri voters have rejected a right-to-work law banning mandatory union fees in workplace contracts.

The vote Tuesday marked a major victory for unions, which poured millions of dollars into a campaign to defeat Proposition A.

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The right-to-work law originally was enacted in 2017 by Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature and governor. But it never took effect, because unions gathered enough petition signatures to force a public referendum on it.

Unions argued the measure would have led to lower wages, while business groups claimed it could have led to more jobs. Economic studies showed mixed and sometimes conflicting results.

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Twenty-seven other states have similar laws against compulsory union fees, including five Republican-led states that have acted since 2012 – Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Kentucky.