JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The powers of organized labor are being put to a new test by a voter referendum in Missouri over whether to ban mandatory union fees in all workplaces.
The vote Tuesday on a so-called right-to-work law marks the first time the public will get to weigh in on union powers since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this summer that government workers cannot be forced to pay union fees.
Unions from across the country have poured millions of dollars into the fight against Missouri’s measure, which would extend a similar ban to all private-sector jobs. They hope a defeat could turn a tide that has seemed to be moving against them.
Twenty-seven other states already have right-to-work laws, including six Republican-led states that adopted them since 2012.
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