Blunt cuts labor mediation board with executive order

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt has quietly eliminated a state panel that presided over union elections for public workers and determined the status of collective bargaining units.

The executive order, which Blunt signed July 1 without public announcement, shifted the powers and duties of the Missouri State Board of Mediation to the state Labor and Industrial Relations Commission. The commission takes on the board's duties while retaining its previous responsibilities for reviewing disputes involving workers' compensation and unemployment benefits.

The order states that the move was made to reduce taxpayer costs.

The mediation board consisted of five members -- two each representing workers and employers and a neutral chairman. The chairman was the only full-time state employee on the board, which also employed a full-time administrative assistant.

Jessica Robinson, Blunt's spokeswoman, said the board had handled less than 50 petitions a year related to public sector bargaining units. Most of the work was handled by the chairman, who recently retired, and the full board hadn't had to meet in about 15 months, Robinson said.

"What was happening was the Board of Mediation had a comparatively light workload," Robinson said.

The Missouri Legislature included $123,000 for the board in the state budget for the current fiscal year, which began July 1. On June 23, however, Blunt used his line-item veto to cut that amount by nearly $64,000, a figure roughly equal to the now-departed board chairman's salary. In his veto message, Blunt announced his intention to transfer the mediation board's responsibilities to the labor commission.

The labor commission consists of three members -- one each representing the employers, workers and the public. The similarity of the configurations of the two panels made the commission the logical choice to assume the board's duties, Robinson said.

Workload concerns

Ken Jacob, state president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said he is concerned that the labor commission will be able to effectively absorb the workload of the mediation board.

"I don't see how you are going to be able to do both things without just rubber-stamping the decisions of businesses," Jacob said.

Prior to joining AFSCME, a union that represents many state workers, Jacob was labor commission chairman. The task of reviewing and hearing workers' compensation and unemployment cases alone is a full-time job, Jacob said.

"It was just mind-boggling," Jacob said. "They were just constantly piling on cases."

Missouri Department of Labor spokeswoman Tammy Cavender said the commission is confident it will be able to adequately handle the extra duties.

"It is not a concern," Cavender said.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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