The Missouri Senate worked late on Tuesday night perfecting a bill known as paycheck protection. Right now the paying of union dues is unconditional for some public employees. It doesn’t matter if the employee disagrees with the union’s political stances, if the union is inactive and does little for the workers or if certain public employees are not even members of the union.
Paycheck protection would end this. Unions would have to seek permission from employees to have dues removed from their paycheck.
It’s also worth noting the legislation in no way prevents workers from joining unions. It only stops membership dues from being paid conditionally. If workers find that union participation benefits them, they’ll pay the dues. If not, then unions will be forced to stand on their own merits and convince workers why membership is so important and their dues need to be paid.
The Senate also debated a measure this week that would help bring more major conventions to the state. These conventions are a huge economic boost to the cities that host them. Not only do visitors stay in local hotels, they shop at local stores, dine in local restaurants and enjoy local entertainment. All of this equals more tax revenue for the area and the state. Senate Bill 800 would allow the Department of Economic Development to offer a grant to organizations looking to host conventions in an effort to bring them to the state.
On Wednesday, the Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee considered a measure I’m sponsoring this year to help our local wineries and vineyards. Senate Bill 709 would allow the Wine and Grape tax credit to be used for equipment while capping the incentive at $1 million annually. Missouri has a thriving wine industry, thanks in part to the state’s efforts to support it. This measure would help our wineries continue to grow and flourish.
Visitors this week include:
Shane Dublin, Mike Methvin, David Knight, Gary Noakes, Craig Johnson, John Crawford, Dayle Nelson, Wayne Hardison, Susan Arnold, William “Bill” Arnold, Pettis Co. Sheriff Kevin Bond, Detective Tolbert (Tollie) Rowe, Mona Coleman, Roger Reedy, Tina & Everett Kelly, Betty & Richard Lewis, Deb & Sandy Semitas, Roger Reedy, Jack Baker, Tim Francka, Patty Wood, Nan Hutcheson, Patrick Davis, Velynda Cameron & 4-H Youth from Polk & Hickory Co., Sam Lower, Ronna Ford, Tammy James, and Anita Hampton.