Democrats: bill passed Thursday pushes Missouri toward Right to Work

Missouri lawmakers have passed a bill requiring public employees’ to give permission every year for union dues to be withheld from their paychecks.

The House voted 109-49 Thursday to send the legislation to Gov. Jay Nixon. The Senate passed the bill 23-7 earlier this week.

The Democratic governor vetoed a similar bill in 2013.

Lawmakers were unable to override his veto then. This year, the bill passed in each chamber with the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to override a veto.

Before the vote, House Democrats warned that the bill is a step toward so-called right-to-work rules that would bar mandatory union fees in the private sector.

House Speaker Todd Richardson defended the bill, saying it would never be used to implement right to work.