Senator continues his battle against collective bargaining

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The debate over Gov. Bob Holden's executive order authorizing collective bargaining for some state workers reached the Senate floor on Tuesday.

The Republican-controlled Senate began debate on a bill that would keep state employees who did not vote for union representation from having to pay fees to support a union negotiator.

Republicans have long opposed so-called service fee deductions, which they say have been authorized by Holden's executive order of last June 29. Republicans even created a special committee -- boycotted by Democrats -- last year to review the process that led to Holden's directive.

The head of that committee, Sen. John Russell, is sponsoring the legislation that received debate Tuesday.

"I think it's important to reassure state employees that they will not have service fees taken from their paychecks," said Russell, R-Lebanon. "I think they need that assurance. There will be no fees unless a person wants to join a union."

The Senate did not vote on the bill.

The partisan nature of the debate was clear on the first proposed amendment of the day offered by Sen. John Schneider, D-Florissant.

Schneider's measure would have allowed all workers within a bargaining unit to vote on whether service fees should be charged. Schneider argued that even non-union members could vote on the fees.

The amendment was defeated 18-16 in a party line vote in the 34-member Senate.

Holden's order granted collective bargaining rights, including the use of binding arbitration on some matters, to as many as 30,000 of Missouri's 65,000 state workers.