Republican Gov. Eric Greitens is about to make Missouri the 28th state to ban mandatory union fees
Greitens plans to sign the right-to-work bill into law Monday then travel around the state announcing his support for the measure.
The governor had pledged to sign right to work while on the campaign trail. He and other supporters say it will bring business and jobs to the state. Opponents say it aims to weaken unions and could lead to lower wages.
Seven of the eight states that surround Missouri already have right-to-work laws, including Kentucky where it passed last month. New Hampshire lawmakers are considering a similar proposal.
Missouri's new law will take effect Aug. 28. It exempts contracts in place before then until they expire or are reopened.
Passage of a right-to-work bill isn't the end of Missouri Republicans' efforts to regulate labor unions.
Proposals up for debate in the House and Senate would require public workers to annually opt-in instead of opt-out of automatic withdrawals of union dues from their paychecks.
Another would change minimum-wage requirements for some public construction workers.
Debate on some labor-related bills could come the same day Republican Gov. Eric Greitens is set to sign a measure banning mandatory union fees, making Missouri the 28th right-to-work state.
It's unclear if other Republican-proposed labor bills will make it through the Legislature so quickly.
Sen. Dan Brown proposed right to work and now is shifting attention to the bill to change wage requirements for public construction workers. He says it likely will face more pushback.
