Missouri holds a unique distinction among Republican-dominated states: having a robust and politically significant organized labor community.
Individual unions often play a major role in campaigns for statewide and state legislative offices. And though organized labor is a core constituency of the Democratic Party, labor unions in Missouri have gotten involved in Republican primaries — especially when GOP contenders have pro-labor views.
During an episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, Missouri AFL-CIO President Jake Hummel discussed how labor unions are approaching the upcoming election cycle. And that includes how his group endorsed Democrat Crystal Quade and Republican Mike Kehoe during last month’s primary races for governor — something he said was somewhat unusual.
“Crystal has been there for us every step of the way, anything that we've ever needed,” Hummel said. “She's always been there for us. I have a good relationship with Mike Kehoe. And while we don't agree on everything, I think that Gov. Kehoe is a smart enough man to know which way the Missouri voters are.”
Kehoe was asked during a June episode of the Politically Speaking Hour if he would sign legislation implementing “right to work,” which bars unions and employers from requiring workers to pay dues as a condition of employment. He said that while he had backed that policy in the past, voters spoke loudly when they repealed right to work in 2018.
However, Kehoe stopped short of saying he’d veto a hypothetical bill.
“There's different versions of right to work going on around out there in the conversation,” he said. “So I would love to see the piece of legislation … before I just say a blanket word to that.”
Hummel said the lack of commitment from Kehoe on vetoing a right-to-work bill is why the Missouri AFL-CIO endorsed Quade in the general election.
“She has made no bones about it that she would veto right to work,” Hummel said. “In the primary for some of our members … lean toward the other side of the aisle. We wanted to help steer them into a direction with somebody that we could at least work with.”
Up for grabs?
What Hummel was alluding to was how some members of organized labor are socially conservative — which means they may vote for Republican candidates even if they aren’t completely sold on how they approach labor issues.
And while Hummel said the vast majority of union members “are not super conservative,” he added that many in trade unions tend to be more centrist leaning.
“Do we have hard-right members? Absolutely. I think everyone does,” said Hummel, who served as a Democrat in the Missouri General Assembly. “And they may be more prevalent in some of those trade unions. But … I think most of our membership leans towards the blue side of the aisle.”
One Republican who is seeking to make inroads with union members is U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley. He told St. Louis Public Radio at the Missouri State Fair that he no longer supported right to work and went so far as calling himself the “most pro-labor Republican in the United States Senate.”
Democrat Lucas Kunce, who was standing next to Hawley when he made that comment, said his rival is “full of it” when it comes to labor issues — pointing to a number of Hawley’s Senate votes and his prior support for right to work.
Hummel said that while he’s happy that Hawley’s positions on labor unions have “evolved,” his organization wants to see how he votes in the future before lavishing any praise. The Missouri AFL-CIO backed Kunce early on the primary cycle, a move that likely solidified the Independence Democrat’s place as the frontrunner to take on Hawley.
“We are looking for someone that has the best chance at beating [Hawley],” Hummel said. “And we soundly thought that that was going to be Lucas Kunce.”
Editor's note: Rosenbaum is a member of SEIU Local 1 when he teaches as an adjunct instructor at Washington University. Non-supervisorial editorial staff at STLPR, including Rosenbaum, are represented by CWA Local 6350. Both unions are part of Missouri AFL-CIO.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Ulaa Kuziez, Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
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