RELEASE: Senator Josh Hawley’s Labor Day betrayal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024
Contact: liz@progressmo.org
Photo ops and tweets don’t pay Missourians’ bills
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Labor leaders from across Missouri met Wednesday, Aug. 28, to push back against Sen. Josh Hawley’s attempts to rebrand himself as a friend of workers just two months before November’s election.
View or download the full Zoom event
“As Missouri families gather to celebrate Labor Day, Senator Hawley wants you to forget his record,” said Tony Renfro, president of UAW Local 249. “He claims to be ‘pro-labor,’ but his actions speak louder than his empty words. He’s betrayed Missouri workers time and time again.”
Hawley has attempted to raise his profile with labor members over the past year with photo-ops at union events. However, his track record suggests he consistently favors corporations and special interest groups.
“I don’t believe Josh Hawley has been a friend to labor. He’s not a friend to working families. He doesn’t represent the ordinary person on the street — that’s just not who he is,” said Kevin Perkins, who works in Campus Dining at the University of Missouri and is a member of Laborers’ International Union. “You can’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth.”
David Cook is president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 655, representing meatpacking, shoe manufacturers and grocery workers in St. Louis.
“I remember the picket line at UAW years ago, and he was nowhere to be found. I remember in 2018, as labor was in the fight for our lifetime in Missouri, defeating Right to Work. He was an advocate for that and thought it was good for Right to Work to pass. Now he says he’s against it because he wants to walk on picket lines with a camera present. If he was reelected, labor would be right back there on the chopping block, make no bones about it.”
Lenny Jones, state director for SEIU Healthcare, or Service Employees International Workers Union, represents 90,000 care workers throughout four states.
“In our world, actions speak louder than words or visibility stunts,” Jones said. “There have been many opportunities for Josh Hawley to do the right thing through action, and he has failed every single time.”
Those actions include:
- Right-to-Freeload, Not Right-to-Work: Hawley champions laws designed to weaken unions, making it harder for workers to negotiate fair wages and benefits.
- Minimum Wage? More Like Minimum Effort: Senator Josh Hawley has publicly claimed to support an increase in the minimum wage; however, when it came to a critical vote on raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, he voted against the proposal.
He voted against raising the minimum wage, keeping many workers in low-paying jobs without the prospect of earning a livable wage.
- In 2018, then-Attorney General Hawley opposed Proposition B, a modest proposal to gradually increase the minimum wage by eighty-five cents a year. He claimed that it would be out of the mainstream, out of step with other states, and “raising the minimum wage [too] quickly.”
- Hawley’s Stance Against the PRO Act: Hawley consistently refuses to support the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, legislation crucial for strengthening workers’ rights to form unions and bargain collectively. Despite his claims of being pro-worker, Hawley’s opposition to the PRO Act and his support for right-to-work laws reveal his true anti-labor stance. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board stated, “Hawley’s recent claim that the [PRO Act] would ‘hurt workers more than it helps’ is classic anti-labor doublespeak.”
- Hawley’s Callous Cut to Overtime Pay Protections: Hawley supported legislation that cut overtime pay protections for hundreds of thousands of workers, reducing their income and financial security.
- Hawley Voted to Deny Pregnant Workers Basic Protections: Hawley voted against workplace protections for pregnant workers, showing his disregard for workers’ health and safety.
- Hawley Turns His Back on Retirees: The Butch Lewis Act Betrayal
When it came time to protect the hard-earned pensions of Teamster retirees, Hawley turned his back. His refusal to support the Butch Lewis Act, critical legislation that would have secured these pensions, reveals his true priorities: siding with corporations and special interests over the well-being of Missouri’s seniors.
As Jake Hummel, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO, stated:
“It’s no surprise that in an election cycle where Josh Hawley will face off against an actual champion for Missouri workers, he suddenly finds his way to a picket line. A champion of the ‘Right-to-Work’ scam, Josh Hawley, has always sided with massive corporations at the expense of American workers’ jobs. He’s a fraud who doesn’t give a damn about Missouri workers and only shows up when the camera flashes.”
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