On Nov. 9 in the pages of the Columbia Tribune, one of the state legislature's most dependable defenders of trade unionism sent a shot across the bow of the arriving conservative dreadnaught: Don't think seriously about passing a right-to-work law in Missouri, wrote Sen. Timothy Green, D-St. Louis.
Sen. Green had a list of reasons why unionism is good for the state and the world in general, but I'll bet the main intent of his literary foray was to remind enthusiastic conservatives of the political torture RTW poses. Green has a point.
It's likely that in this season of right-wing ascendancy in the Missouri General Assembly, thoughts of finally passing a right-to-work law dance in some heads like visions of sugarplums. Perhaps Sen. Rob Mayer of Dexter, representing the most conservative branch of the state GOP and heir apparent to the coveted position of majority leader, imagines this is the time finally to see RTW succeed in Missouri.
But he and his co-thinkers would be wrong. As Green hints, they would be heading for a brick wall with plenty of brambles along the way.
Right-to-work essentially prohibits employment contracts to contain so-called "closed shop" clauses requiring dues-paying to work. Right-to-work erodes the power unions have over their members and the leverage they have with employers.
Missouri, with its substantial urban areas, traditionally has been friendly to unions. Democratic Party unionists, like Green and the Hickeys, father and son from St. Louis, have represented large constituencies. Their political inclinations were honestly advertised and fairly pursued.
Today, with a Democrat sitting in the Governor's Mansion, even if a right-to-work bill could be passed, it would not become law. Indeed, the new conservatives might be surprised at the quiet but real resistance they would find within their own party.
I remember a discussion I had several years ago with a newly appointed director of economic development serving a newly elected Republican governor. As we talked about how to stimulate the state economy, I asked whether the new and eager administration would be promoting right-to-work. The director said to forget it. His boss had recently told him not to mention the word.
A two-sided debate can be had about the merits of right-to-work, but the bottom line in Missouri, even now, is it's not worth the political hassle to seriously try for it. I think Sen. Green wanted to remind his colleagues of this fact.