Democrats Block Missouri "Paycheck Protection" Bill

(Jefferson City, MO) -- The Missouri Senate took its first stab Tuesday at passing a controversial bill that would keep public unions from being able to automatically withdraw dues from employee paychecks.

The chamber spent two hours debating SB 553, which would apply to all public unions in Missouri - accept first responders.

 Much of the debate came in the form of a filibuster from Senate Democrats that blocked the bill from ever coming to a vote.

Democratic minority leader Victor Callahan, D-KansasCity, delivered an impassioned rebuke of the bill. He lumped it in with other recent anti-union bills offered by Republicans, such as "Right-to-Work." He called them giveaways to Missouri's pro-business groups that ignored the real challenges facing the state's economy.

"This is what we're working on?" Callahan asked his colleagues incredulously. "With all the issues going in the state, this is what - this is going to surge us?"

Supporters of paycheck protection say it is unfair to require employees to pay union dues as a condition of employment.

The bill was laid over at the end of the day, to be revisited at a later time.