A Kansas City appeals court Tuesday denied a motion by right-to-work proponents to move a case challenging the legality of 10 initiative petitions to the Missouri Supreme Court.
The case challenged the legality of 10 initiative petitions filed by Mike Louis, president of the Jefferson City-based Missouri AFL-CIO labor union, long before Gov. Eric Greitens in February signed a bill making Missouri the 28th right-to-work state. A Cole County judge initially ruled in March the petitions used valid language but were invalid because the law passed the General Assembly after the petitions were drafted.
Opponents of right to work could use the petitions to force Missouri voters to affirm or repeal the new right-to-work law during the November 2018 general election.
The Western District Court of Appeals overturned the Cole County court's ruling June 27, and attorneys for right-to-work proponents asked the court to transfer the case to the Missouri Supreme Court or to re-hear the case. On Tuesday, the court denied both requests in three one-page statements.
The plaintiffs' lawyers had argued the opinion in the Western District court's ruling unfairly favored Louis and other right-to-work proponents because the opinion said the initiatives seek to amend the Missouri Constitution to modify the rights of employees and employers.
The court did not specify why it denied the motions for a re-hearing or transfer to the Supreme Court. Plaintiffs in the case still could ask the Missouri Supreme Court directly to hear the case.
The Western District court ruled all 10 initiative petitions used fair language. The court also said eight of 10 initiative petitions could proceed as written, but two needed to be amended slightly.
The case is similar to a separate case by many of the same plaintiffs challenging the legality of a referendum petition that could also force a vote to affirm or repeal right to work in November 2018. The Western District court also overturned a Cole County court's ruling in the referendum case July 28, saying Judge Dan Green erred by invalidating a referendum petition because of poor grammar.
Opponents of right to work have until Aug. 28 to collect about 90,000 signatures statewide. If they do collect enough signatures through the referendum process, the new law could not take effect until after voters either affirm or repeal the law in the November 2018 general election.
Meanwhile, right-to-work opponents see the initiative as a backup plan because they have until May 2018 to collect enough signatures to force a vote.