References: MO Prop A official ballot language. MO Senate Bill 19, duly passed.
Earlier today I had a MO Prop A opposer come to my door with a marketing slick. I started asking her some pointed questions; as I do. First, the content of the marketing slick was a tagline-filled opening statement and then breaks down the proposal into 3 categories.
The statements says, "Prop A is not what it seems. Don't trust it. It will hurt working families and fail to help Missouri's middle class."
Fails to create jobs!: Prop A will cost us jobs. It will make it harder for private sector employers to negotiate with their workers and effectively manage their businesses.
Drives down wages!: Prop A will drive down wages and benefits for working families, making it harder to make ends meet. In states with laws similar to Prop A, workers make $8,740 less a year.
Hurts workers!: Laws like Prop A force workers to accept fewer benefits and protections, meaning higher health care costs and fewer safety protections.
Each of the 3 statements had a superscript attribution. I read these and literally laughed out loud in front of the lady. Here are the citations to support their 3 claims...
1. Missouri Senate Bill 19 Sections 290.590.3; 290.590.4; 290.590.6.
2. US Census Bureau and Dept of Labor Reports.
3. US Census Bureau Current Population Survey.
So I sorta feel bad knowing this gal is about to get the V-P treatment along the lines of an @dennyb64, @steveg17, or @Numbahs level beatdown. And so it begins...
Her: [Super perky, blonde, thin, age 45-50, 6/10] Hi! I'm walking the neighborhood letting people know about what our representatives in Jeff City are trying to do to Missouri employers and workers. It's coming to a vote in August. [Hands me a 4"x7" cardstock marketing slick]
Me: Geez, that sounds bad. [Smiling, friendly laugh] Let me pull this up on my phone and we can look at this together. I see you have some sections of the bill cited here on the card. I've heard about this but I'm not too familiar... [This is a lie; I know exactly what this is]
Her: Oh, I didn't write that.
Me: Well I know that! [both laugh] But you know those sections really well, right?
Her: Oh, yes. Those sections prevent employers from negotiating with their employees to give them the best salary and benefits they can.
Me: I see. Well, I'm scanning through here and don't see that explicitly stated or implied. Can you show me which parts of these sections make it difficult for employers "to effectively manage their businesses?" It says that on the card and that part would be a serious concern to me if we're voting on a law here that would disallow employers from managing their businesses as they see fit.
Her: [Stares at my phone screen]
Me: Feel free to scroll that page up and down. I can wipe it down with an alcohol pad later.
Her: [Crickets, more staring, and she didn't pick up on my joke either, super focused]
Me: It seems like those sections are unrelated to what's written on this card you gave me. Or, if anything, they seem to offer protections to Missouri workers rather then restrictions on employers.
Her: Protections from what? I mean, I can find out these answers for you and get back to you.
Me: Well, this says protections from being forced to join and pay for a union that may not be representative of an individual workers values and beliefs. This would appear to make it easier for employers to negotiate with their workers and effectively manage their business.
Her: Um, I'll ask my supervisor because I know there is an answer to this but no one has asked me this question before.
Me: You have a supervisor?
Her: Yes, and I can come back with that answer because your vote is very important to help us stop this. So can we count on your No vote on Prop A?
Me: Maybe. I have more questions first. So this second comment here about driving down wages almost $10,000 per person, that's a big number...
Her: [Interrupting] Right?!?! That's what this will do if it passes! You can't possibly want that to happen, right? [giggles]
Me: Sorry, I wasn't finished with my question... it's such a big number that it almost doesn't seem feasible. I noticed the citation here in the fine print simply points to "census bureau and labor dept reports." Can you be more specific on which reports I should review? I don't see that here. Let's face it, all the census bureau and labor dept are is a bunch of reports, right? [both laughing]
Her: [Aimlessly flips through pieces of paper on her clipboard] Um, let me see if I have that here. I know someone told us about these...*
Me: [Interrupting] It's okay. Don't sweat it. I can figure it out on my own. All I need to know is what states should I be looking at? Here it says "states with laws similar to Prop A." Which states are those?
Her: [This is such an obvious question that now she starts to get irritated with me] I should know this, but I can get this info for you too when I get the other answer. Then I can come back by here. Will you be here later today? I'm not sure why that matters though. We can't have this happen in Missouri.
Me: Well, it matters because in order for me to decide how to vote on this, I would want to see how the similar laws have impacted other states in a variety of ways. It also matters because the people who made these cards that you're handing out wrote it on here, so it must be an important factor for me to review, yes?
Her: Yes, definitely. For sure I will find that out.
Me: I can wait for you to come back with the answers. Don't be upset. I know you didn't write this. I'm just trying to make an informed decision and you're helping me. [She perks up as if me saying that means she's making progress]
Me: [That's a nope] I'm betting you'll need to get an answer on this last item here too. It says Prop A will "force" workers to accept fewer benefits and safety protections. "Force" is a strong word. I'm still looking through this bill, it's only two pages long and I've read it two times just now, and I'm not seeing anything here about a mandate for employers to lower employee benefits and workplace safety levels. Also, the source attribution they used to support this assertion is the US Census Bureau survey. Have you ever completed a census survey?
Her: Yes, I've done them a few times.
Me: Do you recall those surveys asking questions about workplace safety or employee benefits?
Her: [thinking in silence]
Me: I don't either. In fact, I'm pretty sure they don't. [She doesn't know it but I'm bringing up another website on my phone]
Her: I'm not sure...
Me: No biggie. You can find out those specifics for me too and tell me when you come back. Last thing, tell me about this We are Missouri thing here. [Me pointing] The card says "Paid for by We are Missouri." What is that; like who is involved? I've got it right here on my phone if you need to look at it.
Her: That's who I'm volunteering with. That's who sends us around. They make the cards.
Me: Oh, your supervisor that you were talking about earlier.
Her: Yes! We're fighting for Missouri workers. Our economy is terrible and so many people are out of work already...
Me: [Interrupting] No it's not; not they aren't.
Her: I'm sorry?
Me: The economy isn't terrible and unemployment is low right now. I was just correcting you.
Her: I don't need to be corrected!
Me: Well, what you said there, yes it did because it's wrong. [She's super pissed now, so I'm going all in.] Let me ask you this, last thing, hon, so I...
Her: [Interrupting] Don't call me "hon"!
Me: I'm sorry, sweetie, you hadn't told me your name so I was just trying to be nice.
Her: You haven't been nice this whole time! [Actually tries taking the card back from me]
Me: [Pulling the card back just out of her reach] What? I haven't? If I was being mean I'd have just torn up this piece of shit, fake news, propaganda card and told you the overpaid union leaders -- which isn't even mentioned on this card but appear in the Bill text like 20 times -- are just crying about having to actually work hard for their revenue now, and then told you to get off my porch. Now that would've been mean.
Her: You're an asshole. [Turns and walks away]
Me: My wife and friends tell me the same thing. You can count on my No vote on Prop A. Thanks for stopping by. [Closes the door]
That was five hours ago and she hasn't returned with answers to my questions either. Maybe she considers me a lost cause. Oh well. Lastly, I found this ironic statement on their website. It was about some bill back in 2016 that I didn't bother to review. It says,
"Politicians have no right to dictate how we spend our own paychecks. Join us in standing up for Missouri’s everyday heroes and contact your legislator today."
What's funny is that's exactly what they are fighting for right now; the right to dictate how workers spend their wages. I guess it's okay if the money is going into the union coffers.
*Their website has a "report" posted about states with right to work laws and indicates wages are lower. The report isn't from the US Census Bureau or Dept. of Labor. Rather, it's from some organization called the Economic Policy Institute, it uses data from 2011, and it states the wage difference is $1500 lower; that's a far cry from what the propaganda marketing card states. In other words, not only are their marketing materials full of shit, but it doesn't even match the info on their website. Utterly dishonest.
Earlier today I had a MO Prop A opposer come to my door with a marketing slick. I started asking her some pointed questions; as I do. First, the content of the marketing slick was a tagline-filled opening statement and then breaks down the proposal into 3 categories.
The statements says, "Prop A is not what it seems. Don't trust it. It will hurt working families and fail to help Missouri's middle class."
Fails to create jobs!: Prop A will cost us jobs. It will make it harder for private sector employers to negotiate with their workers and effectively manage their businesses.
Drives down wages!: Prop A will drive down wages and benefits for working families, making it harder to make ends meet. In states with laws similar to Prop A, workers make $8,740 less a year.
Hurts workers!: Laws like Prop A force workers to accept fewer benefits and protections, meaning higher health care costs and fewer safety protections.
Each of the 3 statements had a superscript attribution. I read these and literally laughed out loud in front of the lady. Here are the citations to support their 3 claims...
1. Missouri Senate Bill 19 Sections 290.590.3; 290.590.4; 290.590.6.
2. US Census Bureau and Dept of Labor Reports.
3. US Census Bureau Current Population Survey.
So I sorta feel bad knowing this gal is about to get the V-P treatment along the lines of an @dennyb64, @steveg17, or @Numbahs level beatdown. And so it begins...
Her: [Super perky, blonde, thin, age 45-50, 6/10] Hi! I'm walking the neighborhood letting people know about what our representatives in Jeff City are trying to do to Missouri employers and workers. It's coming to a vote in August. [Hands me a 4"x7" cardstock marketing slick]
Me: Geez, that sounds bad. [Smiling, friendly laugh] Let me pull this up on my phone and we can look at this together. I see you have some sections of the bill cited here on the card. I've heard about this but I'm not too familiar... [This is a lie; I know exactly what this is]
Her: Oh, I didn't write that.
Me: Well I know that! [both laugh] But you know those sections really well, right?
Her: Oh, yes. Those sections prevent employers from negotiating with their employees to give them the best salary and benefits they can.
Me: I see. Well, I'm scanning through here and don't see that explicitly stated or implied. Can you show me which parts of these sections make it difficult for employers "to effectively manage their businesses?" It says that on the card and that part would be a serious concern to me if we're voting on a law here that would disallow employers from managing their businesses as they see fit.
Her: [Stares at my phone screen]
Me: Feel free to scroll that page up and down. I can wipe it down with an alcohol pad later.
Her: [Crickets, more staring, and she didn't pick up on my joke either, super focused]
Me: It seems like those sections are unrelated to what's written on this card you gave me. Or, if anything, they seem to offer protections to Missouri workers rather then restrictions on employers.
Her: Protections from what? I mean, I can find out these answers for you and get back to you.
Me: Well, this says protections from being forced to join and pay for a union that may not be representative of an individual workers values and beliefs. This would appear to make it easier for employers to negotiate with their workers and effectively manage their business.
Her: Um, I'll ask my supervisor because I know there is an answer to this but no one has asked me this question before.
Me: You have a supervisor?
Her: Yes, and I can come back with that answer because your vote is very important to help us stop this. So can we count on your No vote on Prop A?
Me: Maybe. I have more questions first. So this second comment here about driving down wages almost $10,000 per person, that's a big number...
Her: [Interrupting] Right?!?! That's what this will do if it passes! You can't possibly want that to happen, right? [giggles]
Me: Sorry, I wasn't finished with my question... it's such a big number that it almost doesn't seem feasible. I noticed the citation here in the fine print simply points to "census bureau and labor dept reports." Can you be more specific on which reports I should review? I don't see that here. Let's face it, all the census bureau and labor dept are is a bunch of reports, right? [both laughing]
Her: [Aimlessly flips through pieces of paper on her clipboard] Um, let me see if I have that here. I know someone told us about these...*
Me: [Interrupting] It's okay. Don't sweat it. I can figure it out on my own. All I need to know is what states should I be looking at? Here it says "states with laws similar to Prop A." Which states are those?
Her: [This is such an obvious question that now she starts to get irritated with me] I should know this, but I can get this info for you too when I get the other answer. Then I can come back by here. Will you be here later today? I'm not sure why that matters though. We can't have this happen in Missouri.
Me: Well, it matters because in order for me to decide how to vote on this, I would want to see how the similar laws have impacted other states in a variety of ways. It also matters because the people who made these cards that you're handing out wrote it on here, so it must be an important factor for me to review, yes?
Her: Yes, definitely. For sure I will find that out.
Me: I can wait for you to come back with the answers. Don't be upset. I know you didn't write this. I'm just trying to make an informed decision and you're helping me. [She perks up as if me saying that means she's making progress]
Me: [That's a nope] I'm betting you'll need to get an answer on this last item here too. It says Prop A will "force" workers to accept fewer benefits and safety protections. "Force" is a strong word. I'm still looking through this bill, it's only two pages long and I've read it two times just now, and I'm not seeing anything here about a mandate for employers to lower employee benefits and workplace safety levels. Also, the source attribution they used to support this assertion is the US Census Bureau survey. Have you ever completed a census survey?
Her: Yes, I've done them a few times.
Me: Do you recall those surveys asking questions about workplace safety or employee benefits?
Her: [thinking in silence]
Me: I don't either. In fact, I'm pretty sure they don't. [She doesn't know it but I'm bringing up another website on my phone]
Her: I'm not sure...
Me: No biggie. You can find out those specifics for me too and tell me when you come back. Last thing, tell me about this We are Missouri thing here. [Me pointing] The card says "Paid for by We are Missouri." What is that; like who is involved? I've got it right here on my phone if you need to look at it.
Her: That's who I'm volunteering with. That's who sends us around. They make the cards.
Me: Oh, your supervisor that you were talking about earlier.
Her: Yes! We're fighting for Missouri workers. Our economy is terrible and so many people are out of work already...
Me: [Interrupting] No it's not; not they aren't.
Her: I'm sorry?
Me: The economy isn't terrible and unemployment is low right now. I was just correcting you.
Her: I don't need to be corrected!
Me: Well, what you said there, yes it did because it's wrong. [She's super pissed now, so I'm going all in.] Let me ask you this, last thing, hon, so I...
Her: [Interrupting] Don't call me "hon"!
Me: I'm sorry, sweetie, you hadn't told me your name so I was just trying to be nice.
Her: You haven't been nice this whole time! [Actually tries taking the card back from me]
Me: [Pulling the card back just out of her reach] What? I haven't? If I was being mean I'd have just torn up this piece of shit, fake news, propaganda card and told you the overpaid union leaders -- which isn't even mentioned on this card but appear in the Bill text like 20 times -- are just crying about having to actually work hard for their revenue now, and then told you to get off my porch. Now that would've been mean.
Her: You're an asshole. [Turns and walks away]
Me: My wife and friends tell me the same thing. You can count on my No vote on Prop A. Thanks for stopping by. [Closes the door]
That was five hours ago and she hasn't returned with answers to my questions either. Maybe she considers me a lost cause. Oh well. Lastly, I found this ironic statement on their website. It was about some bill back in 2016 that I didn't bother to review. It says,
"Politicians have no right to dictate how we spend our own paychecks. Join us in standing up for Missouri’s everyday heroes and contact your legislator today."
What's funny is that's exactly what they are fighting for right now; the right to dictate how workers spend their wages. I guess it's okay if the money is going into the union coffers.
*Their website has a "report" posted about states with right to work laws and indicates wages are lower. The report isn't from the US Census Bureau or Dept. of Labor. Rather, it's from some organization called the Economic Policy Institute, it uses data from 2011, and it states the wage difference is $1500 lower; that's a far cry from what the propaganda marketing card states. In other words, not only are their marketing materials full of shit, but it doesn't even match the info on their website. Utterly dishonest.
