JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The fate of two Republican priorities targeted at labor unions is in question after a mixed vote by a Missouri Senate panel.
Right-to-work legislation, which would ban contracts that force all workers to pay union fees, was sent on Tuesday to the full Senate. But the Senate Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee failed to move forward with what supporters call a "paycheck protection" measure that would require annual written authorization from public employee union members before paying union dues.
Supporters say that right-to-work will make Missouri more appealing to businesses. The state's largest business organizations support it, and Missouri Republican leaders, including House Speaker John Diehl and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, have made it a priority.
Employees can currently opt out of paying membership dues but may have to pay fees at certain employers.
Opponents, including labor groups, say it's a politically motivated attack on unions.
Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, voted for the right-to-work bill but against the public employee annual authorization requirement.
Wallingford said he's not decided whether he would vote for right-to-work on the floor but wants to hear the facts. He said supporters say it will create jobs, while detractors say it will lower wages.
"I don't want one or the other," Wallingford said. "I want economic development and higher wages and a strong middle class."
The right-to-work bill endorsed by the Senate committee is not the House version. The Missouri House passed right-to-work on a 91-64 vote, short of the 109 votes that are needed to override an expected veto by Gov. Jay Nixon, who previously said he's never seen a right-to-work measure he would sign.
Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, said this session that he's not decided how he would vote on a right-to-work bill but that he would not stop it from coming to the floor for a vote.
The two proposals face strong opposition from Senate Democrats. Last year, the "paycheck protection" bill failed in the Senate after a deal was struck between Republicans and Democrats to drop it in exchange for other Republican priorities.
A House committee has passed a version of the "paycheck protection" bill.
Membership in a labor union for public employees is already voluntary and public unions cannot collect fees from nonmembers like private employer unions can. Union leaders say all an employee has to do is contact the union to end their membership and stop deducting money from their paycheck. But supporters of "paycheck protection" say it helps workers opt out.
Wallingford said he had no issue voting down "paycheck protection" because it does nothing for economic development and is more about needling labor unions.
"It didn't add one more job to Missouri," he said.
The "paycheck protection" bill could be reconsidered in the committee if an opponent requests another vote.
Correction, published March 20, 2015: In the original version of this article, The Associated Press erroneously reported about the status of a bill that would require public employee union members to submit formal authorization each year for dues to be automatically deducted from their paychecks. The measure has been approved by a House committee, not the entire House.