While the national press has focused on efforts in Tennessee and Alabama, the Toyota plant in Troy, MO, is also a target. The UAW’s efforts failed in Alabama, and we hope they are also unsuccessful in Troy – our own backyard.

Recently, a Ford Motor Company executive stated that due to the UAW strike last year, the company must “think carefully” about where it will build vehicles in the future. That strike has and will continue to create long-term obstacles for job growth in the auto industry. Workers lost nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars in unrecoverable wages from the strike. And since the strike, the Big Three automakers have announced 18,000 layoffs.

The union’s preferred method of organizing – card check, rather than the secret ballot – exposes workers to public pressure, intimidation, and even harassment. This tactic has worked for the unions in other states. Forcing workers to publicly declare their support for or opposition to the union (which is how card check works) breeds division, conflict, and coercion among workers.

But that’s not all. Unions want to silence employers by attempting to pressure them into accepting neutrality agreements that bar the employers from expressing their perspective about the union. This allows the union to prevent workers from receiving all the information, facts, and context in the organizing election, meaning important information may never reach the workers in Troy. They would be denied the right to make an informed decision – one that affects their careers for the rest of their work lives.

Associated Industries of Missouri opposes the UAW’s self-serving efforts to expand its membership in the “Show Me State.” Ultimately, we believe it will kill job growth by making the state less competitive and will cost workers their freedom in the workplace.

Ray McCarty

Ray McCarty is the president and CEO of Associated Industries of Missouri, the state’s oldest general business association.

The post Opinion: Resist union expansion in Missouri appeared first on The Missouri Times.

“Not only has the historical lack of access to early learning and child care programs been a problem for the educational success of Missouri children, it’s a workforce problem for families and businesses all across our state,” Governor Mike Parson said. “Families already have a lot to consider when deciding whether to work or stay home. What we don’t want is lack of child care options to be the contributing factor, and that’s why our administration will continue prioritizing early learning initiatives and supports. These are commonsense measures that are good for business, great for families, and best for Missouri children.”

Parson made child care a priority earlier this year and highlighted the issue in his 2023 State of the State Address. Parson mentioned that one-third of public facilities still remain closed after the pandemic, creating even more issues for parents. 

Business leaders have also made child care access a priority. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry released a poll, conducted by CHS and Associates, that surveyed more than 500 of Missouri CEOs and business leaders. The poll showed that businesses are very concerned about lack of childcare in the state. 80 percent of respondents agreed that “the expense and difficulty in finding child care keeps a significant number of Missourians out of the workforce”. 

 “Our workforce shortage is the most crucial challenge facing Missouri employers — with childcare remaining a significant barrier for many Missourians who want to work. Missouri’s economy loses more than $1.35 billion annually due to the lack of childcare access,” said Daniel P. Mehan, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Rural parts of the state have also been affected, especially by child care deserts,  geographic areas with lack of available child care options for families.

“Missouri’s child care crisis is having a real and damaging impact on children, families, communities, families and local economies all across the state. Of the 73 counties designated child care deserts, 70 of them are located in rural counties. We are incredibly grateful to see bold leadership from Governor Parson, policymakers and budget officials in Jefferson City who continue to work to find solutions to solve this crisis,” said Sarah Gould, the Early Learning Center Director at Community Support Services of Missouri in Webb City,

Early childhood education and child care has had support from both ends of the political spectrum, according to a poll shared by the Missouri Champion of Children coalition. According to the poll, More than 90% of voters believe having childcare options for families helps to recruit and maintain businesses while supporting the economy. 

Legislation regarding child care has been introduced in both chambers of the General Assembly. Sen. Lauren Arthur (D-Kansas City) and Rep. Brenda Shields (R-St. Joseph) filed SB 742 and HB 1488. These bills included tax incentives for businesses and individuals for charitable contributions to child care providers.

“Through collaboration and compromise, and the leadership of Governor Parson and leaders in the General Assembly, we are getting results for Missouri kids and families,” said Brian Schmidt, Executive Director of Kids Win Missouri. “But more work remains. We look forward to additional progress in the 2024 legislative session.”

The 2024 legislative session begins on January 3.

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A poll shared by the coalition shows that 80% of Missourians believe that early childhood education can help parents, children, and local businesses succeed. 

“Missourians across the demographic, political, and ideological spectrum overwhelmingly support affordable, quality childcare and early learning opportunities for Missouri children,” said Brian Schmidt, Executive Director of Kids Win Missouri. 

“This is a crisis impacting children and families, public safety, and our economy.  Significant progress has been made already and, with the support of Missourians and legislative leaders, we look forward to working to strengthen policies and investments in childcare and early education in 2024.”

The first bill filing of the 2024 legislative session saw action to support child care from both chambers. Sen. Lauren Arthur (D-Kansas City) and Rep. Brenda Shields (R-St. Joseph) filed SB 742 and HB 1488. These bills included tax incentives for businesses and individuals for charitable contributions to child care providers. To receive the incentive, businesses must provide childcare to employees. 

“Missourians across the demographic, political, and ideological spectrum overwhelmingly support affordable, quality childcare and early learning opportunities for Missouri children,” said Brian Schmidt, Executive Director of Kids Win Missouri. 

“This is a crisis impacting children and families, public safety, and our economy.  Significant progress has been made already and, with the support of Missourians and legislative leaders, we look forward to working to strengthen policies and investments in childcare and early education in 2024.”

The poll, which was done by Victory Enterprises, was conducted in early October and interviewed 600 likely general election voters. Data  showed that voters of both ends of the political spectrum believe access to quality child care can reduce crime. 

More than 90% of voters also believe having childcare options for families helps to recruit and maintain businesses while supporting the economy. 

“Missouri is facing a childcare crisis that requires us to use every tool in our toolbox to meet the moment,” said Arthur. “In addition to a significant and sustained investment from the state, we also need to make it easier for businesses to help their employees find care. Last year, our childcare tax credit bill received bipartisan support but did not make it across the finish line. This year, we need to get this bill to the governor’s desk so we can help more parents access safe, affordable, quality childcare.”

Arthur is no stranger to education. Before entering politics, she was a middle school teacher. Arthur has also sponsored past legislation relating to education and sits on the Competency-based Education Task Force committee. 

“I am excited to reintroduce the childcare tax credit bill this session,” said Shields . “I believe we have the momentum to pass this important piece of legislation that will increase our state’s capacity to provide high-quality early childhood care. This public-private partnership opportunity leverages our state’s resources for the benefit of our children, our caregivers, and our businesses.” 

Shields also taught in public education before becoming a State Representative. She also has served on the Missouri’s Coordination Board for Early Childhood Education.

The future of these bills will be decided in the upcoming 2024 session which starts in January. 

The Missouri Champion of Children is a coalition that includes child advocates, law enforcement, military, and business and healthcare leaders

The post Priority early childhood education legislation introduced appeared first on The Missouri Times.

So far, I believe that Congressman Smith has done a good job of doing just that. This year, he’s fought for bills, like the recently introduced Small Business Jobs Act, to cut costs for small businesses across Missouri, grow jobs here in the Show Me State, and support our economy. However, despite his best intentions, Congressman Smith is pushing for one policy change – changing the de minimis threshold – that could seriously hurt small businesses here in Missouri.

While many Missourians might not have heard of de minimis before, it’s an important trade rule that small business owners rely on to cut down on bureaucratic red tape and unnecessary tariffs on low-cost imports. Unfortunately, Congressman Smith is threatening to put the de minimis threshold in danger. Many small business owners in Missouri wouldn’t be able to keep their doors open without de minimis.

The de minimis threshold plays an essential role for small businesses by saving companies from paying tariffs on shipments with a value under $800, and it helps small business owners who don’t have the time to navigate through complicated trade laws to simplify the process of importing the items they need to run their companies. That helps small business owners cut costs, which allows them to hire for good-paying jobs and pass savings onto families here in Missouri.

According to research by the Business Roundtable, changing the de minimis threshold would force the over 6,000 businesses based in Missouri that rely on receiving shipments from over 154 countries to bear the cost of price hikes on low-cost imports. Over three-quarters of those companies have less than 20 employees, and they simply can’t afford to watch their costs stack up. And since other countries would likely retaliate against a change to the de minimis threshold by raising tariffs on American-made items, the thousands of businesses that export goods made in Missouri would find it harder to sell their products.

The de minimis threshold plays an essential role for small businesses here in Missouri, and it’s an important trade rule that helps support families, companies, and jobs in our state. Congressman Smith has made it clear that he wants to protect small businesses, and that means the de minimis threshold is a policy he should fight to protect.

Carl Barnes

Carl Barnes has owned Reed Lumber Company in Potosi, Missouri, since 1993.

The post Op Ed: Congressman Jason Smith Should Fight to Protect Key Trade Provision That Supports Missouri’s Small Businesses appeared first on The Missouri Times.

While initially charged to merchants, these fees take a major toll on small businesses and companies with slim profit margins, forcing them to pass the added cost onto their customers through higher priced goods and services. Estimates show the average household pays more than $1,000 annually thanks to inflated costs due to excessive swipe fees.

Fortunately, a solution to lower these fees already exists via the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) introduced by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Dick Durbin (D-IL). If passed, this legislation would take aim at the market failure that has allowed major credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard to consolidate 80 percent of the market share and raise fees indiscriminately. It would also rule out foreign payment networks that pose a security threat to our national security.

Despite advances in technology making it easier and safer to process transactions, credit card swipe fees continue to increase on a set schedule. Visa and Mastercard levy and raise fees that major banks collect, refusing to compete with each other on price. As a result, banks offer merchants a single routing option to process their credit card transactions, forcing them to pay excessive fees.

And since banks implement swipe fees without question, merchants have no ability to negotiate with major credit card companies that set these fees in the first place.

With 36 percent of consumers now using a virtual or physical credit card as their primary payment method, and just 9 percent preferring cash, business owners have no choice but to accept credit cards. Visa and Mastercard count on this reality. Last year alone, merchants paid over $126 billion in credit card swipe fees, more than a 20 percent increase from the year before.

Meanwhile, this credit card duopoly continues to take in high profits with these rising fees. Visa’s net profit margin was over 50 percent last year while Mastercard hit almost 45 percent. Merchants that take the cards average profits of around 2.5 percent.

It’s critical for Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) to support the CCCA. Passing this legislation would ensure merchants are offered a second network when routing credit card transactions, preventing major players like Visa and Mastercard from boxing out their competitors. With new competition in the payments marketplace, smaller networks could provide similar processing services at a lower cost.

Not only would this bill help bring down costs for American business owners and consumers, who pay the highest swipe fees in the industrialized world, but free market competition would drive innovation and better security standards as we’ve seen in similar industries.

Security is also a concern. Companies like China UnionPay were welcomed by Visa and Mastercard onto security standard councils like EMVCo and PCI, making our payments system vulnerable to foreign influence. These organizations help to set operational and security standards for the entire payments industry, and despite the national security threat posed by China, the U.S. is allowing a Chinese state-owned financial services corporation to hold governing positions in those processes. The CCCA would put an end to this by blocking foreign state-owned networks and those that pose a security risk, like China UnionPay.

Inflation and high prices won’t go away overnight, but that doesn’t mean our lawmakers shouldn’t work to pass bipartisan legislation that will help reduce costs for businesses and consumers. Senator Hawley sits on the Senate Judiciary and Small Business Committees and Sen. Eric Schmitt’s experience as attorney general provides both with firsthand insight into the impact a monopolized marketplace can have on small businesses just trying to stay afloat. I hope they’ll keep up the fight for small business owners and work to pass the CCCA to help lower the costs for all Missourians in the Show-Me State.

Rep. Jim Kalberloh

Jim Kalberloh is the Missouri State Representative for District 126.

The post Op Ed: Missouri Senators Should Pass the Credit Card Competition Act, Saving Small Businesses and Consumers appeared first on The Missouri Times.

While many states and localities are working to improve resilience and preparedness for extreme weather events, a coordinated federal approach is needed to ensure that small businesses have the resources and support necessary to plan for and recover from natural disasters. The current fragmented approach to resilience, with 17 different federal agencies involved, can lead to inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and waste.

A streamlined federal approach, led by a Chief Resilience Officer, would help limit waste and ensure that small businesses have access to the resources, data, and tools necessary to plan for extreme weather events. A comprehensive federal strategy to address resilience gaps would also help to better equip small businesses and local communities with the resources they need to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

It is important to understand that natural disasters can have severe consequences for the economy, communities, and small businesses. By taking a proactive approach to resilience, we can reduce our vulnerability to these risks and ensure our business continuity and financial stability. A federal resilience strategy would also help to identify barriers to building resilience and develop strategies to mitigate them, reducing the likelihood of future disruptions.

In short, as a small business owner, the threat of natural disasters is not just a matter of infrastructure and public safety, but also of your business continuity and financial stability. A coordinated federal approach to resilience is essential to ensure that small businesses have the resources and support necessary to plan for and recover from extreme weather events. The security of your business and the well-being of your employees and customers depend on it.

Jon Marsh

Jon Marsh is a small business owner in Springfield, MO.

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The Republican Party is the party of the hard working, regular people who support the Make America Great Again agenda. Well today, Missouri conservatives are working to support these same people, like you and me, by passing legislation to reform tort laws that currently favor rich attorneys, corporations, and not our hard working Missourians.

Hopefully you never have to think about it, but if you were injured at work I’m sure that you would want to be able to do something about it. Tort laws are what regulate that. They govern your ability to file a civil lawsuit against your employer. However, Missouri has some of the most outdated tort laws in the nation, and some of these laws haven’t been changed since 1939. One of the flaws that we have is the statute of limitations in these cases, which is the amount of time you’re allowed to file a lawsuit after an incident takes place. It isn’t just good policy to reform these laws, it is in the Republican platform, which is why our Republican elected officials need to start doing so.

Right now in Missouri we allow plaintiffs five years to file personal injury lawsuits, one the longest periods of time in the country. This is double or more the amount of time in almost every other state. Deep blue Democrat states like Maine and Minnesota are the ones that have a longer statute of limitations for general personal injury claims. In the unlikely event that something were to happen to you on the job you probably would want as much time as you could have to file a lawsuit. The problem is that ultimately having those extra three years only ends up hurting the plaintiff while benefiting the rich attorneys who you would hire to represent you.

Our Missouri Republican platform states that the Republican Party supports, “Continued efforts to reduce costly frivolous lawsuits, which may result in killing jobs or harming the economy in other ways.” That’s exactly what legislation to lower our statute of limitations laws would do. The platform also states that the party supports, “Missouri’s tort reform law that stopped the abuse and misuse of Missouri’s judicial system through the filing of frivolous lawsuits and has allowed doctors to remain in our state.” Again, this is part of our party’s platform, so our Republican representatives and senators should support these efforts.

Another key reason that the extra time isn’t great for plaintiffs is that it can be difficult for judges and juries to evaluate cases when the evidence is old. Memories can change, and it can be difficult to locate witnesses. I’m not saying that statutes of limitations are not important. Sometimes cases take time to develop, and it’s unrealistic to expect people to follow a lawsuit immediately after they are injured. However, if you have the constitutional right to a speedy trial, why would Missouri want a long and drawn out five year process?

For every day that passes following an injury, the risk increases that evidence will be lost or inadvertently destroyed that would disprove the claim, including faded memories, death of key witnesses, loss of key evidence, etc. Long statutes of limitations can also cause waste in court resources as defendants rightfully challenge verdicts based on less than complete evidence. That is why we need to reform the outdated way we do this in Missouri and pass Senate Bill 117.

The post Opinion: Republican legislators should support tort reform, it’s in their platform appeared first on The Missouri Times.

It’s not the most pleasant topic to think about, but imagine you were injured on the job. Tort laws govern your ability to file a civil lawsuit against your employer. Missouri has some of the most outdated tort laws in the nation. These are important rights that we have as Americans, but some of these laws haven’t been changed since 1939 in Missouri. One of the flaws that we have is regarding the statute of limitations in these cases, or the amount of time you’re allowed to file a lawsuit after an incident takes place.

Currently, we allow plaintiffs with five years to file personal injury lawsuits, one the longest periods of time in the country. This is double or more the amount of time in almost every other state. 42 out of 50 of them plus the District of Columbia provides three years or less to file a general tort claim, and 23 states provide plaintiffs with two years to file a claim. Only four states give plaintiffs four years to file a suit, and only Maine, Minnesota, and North Dakota have a longer statute of limitations for general personal injury claims.

You might be thinking that if something were to happen to you that you wouldn’t want to give up this extra time that you have to file a lawsuit. The problem is that ultimately having those extra three years usually only ends up hurting the plaintiff while still benefiting the rich attorneys who you would hire to represent you. It also hurts the small businesses that support all of us. That is why I believe we need to change these laws.

The reason that the extra time isn’t great for plaintiffs is that it can be difficult for judges and juries to evaluate cases when the evidence is old. Memories can change, and it can be difficult to locate witnesses. The issue is that the more time that passes the more likely it is that a plaintiff won’t win the lawsuit, but no matter what the trial attorneys that you hire still need to get paid. That is why the longer the cases drag out the more it helps them, and hurts you. The reality is that two years is plenty of time for you to decide to file a lawsuit.

Let me be clear: Statutes of limitations are important. Sometimes cases take time to develop, and it’s unrealistic to expect people to follow a lawsuit immediately after they are injured. If 42 other states believe that three years or less is enough time to decide if you want to file a lawsuit then why shouldn’t we as well?

There is legislation to fix our statute of limitations in Missouri. Senate Bill 117 would ensure we will not change the process in place unfairly, we just are fixing it moving forward. However, for any claims in the future that should be filed after this law would go into effect, the new statute of limitations period would be 2 years, not 5 years.

For every day that passes following an injury, the risk increases that evidence will be lost or inadvertently destroyed that would disprove the claim, including faded memories, death of key witnesses, loss of key evidence, etc. Long statutes of limitations can also cause waste in court resources as defendants rightfully challenge verdicts based on less than complete evidence. That is why we need to reform this antiquated way we do this in our state and pass Senate Bill 117.

The post Opinion: Our out-dated statute of limitation laws need to be changed appeared first on The Missouri Times.

The RNLA is a national organization made up of Republican Lawyers from across the nation and participates in a wide range of legal-related activities, from education of other lawyers to training other lawyers in various fields of law.

“Marc Ellinger is a lawyer’s lawyer and a Republican’s Republican. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award than Marc,” said RNLA President David Bowsher.

Ellinger practices law in Jefferson City with his professional partner Stephanie Bell at his own firm, Ellinger and Associates LLC, which will soon become Ellinger and Bell at the start of the new year.

“Marc’s steady presence and leadership in the practice of law and in all of his endeavors is an example for us all,” Bell said in a speech she gave at the award ceremony.

Ellinger was born and raised in Missouri, hailing from the capital city. He attended Jefferson City High School and then attended the University of Missouri Columbia and the University of Missouri School of Law. Over his career, Ellinger has been a part of a wide variety of cases, including the Missouri Supreme Court as well as representing Missouri legislators.

He got his start in both politics and law by working at the office of the Missouri State Auditor in 1993. At this point, the Auditor was the only statewide elected Republican. This is in stark contrast to Missouri’s political landscape today, in which the Auditor is the only statewide elected Democrat, who is soon to be replaced by a Republican.

“Marc is acting on his values. He has always done that, which is why I love him so much! And I’d be remiss if I didn’t also say that he enjoys the enthusiasm and passion of RNLA members and supporters”, said his wife Christine Ellinger.

After serving in the state government, Ellinger moved on to private practice with Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch, LC as a member. Afterwards, Ellinger founded his own practice.

All along the way, he has been volunteering his time with the RNLA. Ellinger has traveled to many states to represent the RNLA in various elections over the past 20 years. He has also served in the organization in a variety of positions, including Vice President, Missouri Chapter Chair, and one of the Governors on the Board of Governors.

Ellinger reflected on his service with the organization and how that may have played a role in him being chosen over other Republican lawyers throughout the country.

“I think it’s because I volunteer and I do my time and I don’t get paid for it, that I think goes a long way in serving the mission of the organization. It is good to have somebody that is not just a check writer but also does the time,” said Ellinger

The RNLA did not stop with just an award for Ellinger’s longtime service. Shortly after he was presented the award in Washington D.C., he was nominated to be the organization’s President, starting in 2023.

According to Ellinger, he is prepared for the tribulations that lay ahead for such a position in the RNLA and where his responsibilities lie.

“I am the president now, that is a big component of what I am out talking to folks about as president, is that we got a big election in two years, a really big election. We just had a big election. We need to figure out what went well and what didn’t go well, from the lawyers’ side. I will let the politicians do the politician’s side,” said Ellinger.

Kelton Turner

Kelton is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He is a native of mid-Missouri and likes to write politics at both the state and federal levels. Kelton joined the Missouri Times in April 2022

www.themissouritimes.com

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Empower Missouri is a nonprofit statewide anti-poverty advocacy organization. Recently they have been campaigning for record expungement reform for eligible people.

Rep. Phil Christofanelli and Sen-Elect. Curtis Trent sponsored legislation centered around automatic record expungement discussed at the press conference.

The proposed legislation would automatically wipe away misdemeanor convictions after three years and felony convictions after five years, assuming the felony is eligible.

While many people are eligible for expungement of their record, most miss out on the opportunity since the only way to do it is through a court petition. A court petition is a very lengthy, complicated and potentially expensive process according to Christofanelli

“Under Missouri law, if you want to get expunged right now, you have to go through essentially a court petition and that costs a lot of money and a lot of time and so that’s why we are only seeing 1% of people utilize these services,” Christofanelli stated.

Christofanelli talked about his experience with the process through his own practice, which he stated could cost thousands each time if his firm did not do it pro bono.

He also went more in depth about the specifics of the proposed legislation, including its portal and notification process.

“I think this is a common sense bill to let people take advantage of the rights we afford them under the law without exuberant costs”.

Trent spoke about the benefits of the automatic expungement, which would include better access to housing and employment opportunities. He also mentioned how other states already have laws similar to this legislation.

“Once people pay their debt to society, they should have an opportunity to start over. They should have a clean slate. That is what this legislation is intending to do,” said Trent.

Besides the lawmakers themselves, the conference included a variety of speakers from around the state. This included Greg Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Coalition of Recovery Support Providers and Crista Hogan, Executive Director of the Springfield Metropolitan
Bar Association.

Both speakers reiterated the struggles convicted people face with housing, employment and other areas of their life, as well as how complicated and expensive the court petition process continues to be. Hogan specifically talked about the extremely low number of people that are actually successful in seeking a court petition and how an automatic process would certainly help people.

The bill has been prefiled in both chambers. Its future will remain uncertain as the start of the session nears, but Trent and Christofanelli are confident that it will survive.

Kelton Turner

Kelton is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He is a native of mid-Missouri and likes to write politics at both the state and federal levels. Kelton joined the Missouri Times in April 2022

www.themissouritimes.com

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