Gov. Mel Carnahan issued a written directive to state department directors this summer that critics say expands the power of labor unions representing state workers and moves the state closer to collective bargaining for public employees.

Carnahan has created the position of "chief negotiator" to meet and confer with labor unions representing state employees and make salary and benefit recommendations to the state budget director. The chief negotiator, who is employed in the office of administration, also can appeal to the governor if the budget director doesn't take his advice.

Carnahan's action has come under fire from four business groups and U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft. Carnahan, a Democrat, is seeking to unseat the Republican senator in the November election. The business groups are the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the Missouri Farm Bureau, the Missouri Merchants and Manufacturers Association and the Associated Builders and Contractors.

They accuse the governor of trying to thwart the will of the Legislature and impose collective bargaining for state workers. Carnahan has denied the accusation.

Chris Sifford, a senior adviser for the governor's Senate campaign, was chief of staff for Carnahan earlier this summer when the memorandum was written.

Sifford said the governor simply tried to "streamline the process" of labor union representatives meeting and conferring with department officials over annual pay raises for state workers.

Sifford said the chief negotiator is already on the budget staff in the office of administration.

"Labor unions represent public employees," he said. "They just don't have the right to collectively bargain. They can meet and confer."

The "meet and confer" arrangement between department heads and unions has been in place since before Ashcroft was governor from 1985 to 1993.

Sifford said Carnahan's critics voiced the same accusation last year, charging that the governor was trying to implement collective bargaining by executive order.

"It was a lie last year and it is a lie this year," he said.

"We see this from John Ashcroft every day so it is not surprising we would see this from his cronies," said Sifford.

Ashcroft's campaign has tried to link the governor's directive to a subsequent union donation to the state Democratic Party. The Missouri Democratic Party received $110,000 from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on June 21, two days after Carnahan issued his memorandum creating the chief negotiator position.

But Sifford said the donation wasn't linked to the governor's action. "We really made quite an effort to keep state business separate from the political side," said Sifford.

He said he isn't surprised that the labor union would support the Democratic Party.

The business groups, citing Missouri's open-records law, have asked Carnahan's office to provide any correspondence relating to the June directive.

Dan Mehan, president of the Missouri Chamber, said taxpayers deserve to know what went on behind the scenes.

Farm Bureau President Charles Kruse said the governor's action signals a clear intent to impose collective bargaining even though the majority of state lawmakers and the public oppose it.

"I think it is disgraceful," said Kruse. "I believe the governor has absolutely turned his back on the will of the people in this state."