Missouri Capitol rally vows to fight for paid sick leave, defeat abortion ban
Protestors hold up signs criticizing Missouri lawmakers' recent votes to overturn ballot measures passed in 2024 during a rally on the Missouri Capitol steps Thursday (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).
When Missouri voters approved a ballot measure last November to provide paid sick leave to hundreds of thousands of workers, Andi Phillips felt hopeful.
Gone would be the 'complicated math game,' that she says she knew well — weighing whether missing a shift's pay meant she would still be able to afford things like a gallon of milk, the electricity bill, or laundry.
'I imagined a near future where I could work hard and make a living and be present for my family and my kids when they need me,' Phillips, a server in Springfield, said at a rally Thursday in front of the Missouri Capitol.
But now, she said, 'because of politicians' decision to undo the will of the people — the votes that we gathered — I will no longer have the ability to earn paid sick time and the relief of knowing that I have the choice between a paycheck and my family's health.'
Hundreds gathered on the steps of the Capitol Thursday afternoon to protest the passage of two bills the day prior by GOP lawmakers seeking to overturn initiatives approved by voters in November. One bill gutted Missouri's paid sick leave law and the other will put an abortion ban back on the ballot.
'What happened yesterday is a travesty of what's supposed to be democracy,' said Daniel Chura, organizer with Missouri Jobs with Justice, which helped lead the campaign for the paid sick leave law.
'When we look behind at this building, we know it's not democracy that's going on,' he added. 'But when we see what's gathered on these steps today, this is what democracy looks like.'
Attendees led chants of 'this is what democracy looks like,' along with 'we are the worker, the mighty, mighty worker.' They said it's not the end of the fight for paid leave, and vowed to reject the abortion ban.
They held American flags and signs ranging from 'Workers over billionaires' and 'No forced pregnancies,' to 'Missouri GOP: Gonna Override the People.'
Wednesday evening, Missouri Senate Republicans invoked a rarely-used rule to shut down a Democratic filibuster and repeal the paid sick leave law and put an abortion ban on the ballot with language that does not mention banning abortion.
The abortion amendment will appear on the November 2026 ballot, unless Gov. Mike Kehoe decides to hold a vote sooner.
Missouri Republicans shut down Senate debate to pass abortion ban, repeal sick leave law
The paid-sick leave benefits, which went into effect on May 1, will be stripped away on Aug. 28 if Kehoe signs the bill passed Wednesday.
That bill also removes the requirement that the minimum wage be indexed to inflation, which has been in place since 2007. The paid sick leave and minimum wage provisions passed with nearly 58% of the vote in November as Proposition A, garnering support from unions, workers' advocacy groups, social justice and civil rights groups, as well as over 500 business owners.
The measure made sick leave guaranteed for around 728,000 workers who lacked it statewide, or over 1 in 3 Missouri workers, according to an analysis from the progressive nonprofit the Missouri Budget Project.
In November, more than 1.6 million Missourians voted 'yes' on the measure — more than the number who voted for U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley that election.
Don Looney, a leader of UAW Local 2250, referred to the 'unmitigated gall' of lawmakers telling voters 'you didn't understand what you were voting for' by overturning paid sick leave.
'Your Missouri legislature has gone rogue,' Looney said.
GOP critics portrayed paid sick leave as a 'job killer' that would hurt small businesses, and as a 'one-size-fits-all' mandate for businesses.
House Speaker Jon Patterson said in a press conference Thursday he agreed with paid sick leave in principle but not as it was laid out in Prop A.
'I want people that are sick to be able to stay home and not have to work,' Patterson said. 'The way that it was done in Prop A it just was not workable. So I hope in the future what we see is something where employees are able to get their sick leave, but maybe not having mandates.'
Regarding the repeal of Prop A without input from the voters, Patterson said: 'They do get to have their voice. They get to go out and vote for their elected representatives, and they come to Jefferson City and make decisions.'
Amendment 3, which rolled back Missouri's abortion ban and opened the door for clinics to begin performing the procedure for the first time since 2022, passed with 52% of the vote, or over 1.5 million votes, in November.
The proposed ban that will now appear on the ballot seeks to repeal the constitutional right to an abortion but allow exceptions for medical emergencies, fatal fetal anomalies and for survivors of rape and incest in the first 12 weeks of gestation.
Abortion rights activists on Thursday led chants of 'we're not going back.'
'Voters have spoken,' said Mary Ann Perkins with Abortion Action Missouri. 'No forced pregnancy.'
The proposed ban, if approved by a simple majority of voters, would reinstate several targeted regulations on abortion providers, or TRAP laws, that were recently struck down as unconstitutional by a Missouri judge.
It seeks to ban gender transition surgeries and puberty blockers for minors, something that is already illegal in Missouri.
'No politician has the right to dictate what goes on in the doctor's office or in our private lives,' said Nancy O'Brien with Abortion Access Missouri.
Terrence Wise, a low-wage worker with Stand up KC and Missouri Workers Center, said when he saw the news about the Senate vote Wednesday, he thought about all the days he went to work sick, or brought his children to work sick with 100 degree fevers because he lacked paid leave.
He said the repeal could be 'fatal,' with people coming into work instead of getting needed care.
'Despite this clear mandate from the people, corporate interests refused to listen,' he said.
Wise said Missourians in Democratic and Republican districts 'voted for economic dignity and for working people…a clear message that no one should have to choose between their health and affording rent.'
Advocates said they'll consider putting the issue on the ballot again as a constitutional amendment, a move that would make it much harder for lawmakers to repeal.
Ray Thomas, a union electrician and leader with Missouri Jobs with Justice, said in an interview with The Independent she was so 'jubilant' when the ballot measure passed in November that she cried. It was a 'relief' to, for the first time in her career, though she is nearing retirement, have time off when she or a family member is sick.
Thomas collected 2,000 signatures to put the issue on the ballot last year and said talking to voters, she realized the issue transcended partisan divides — that it was about basic human rights.
Initially the news of yesterday's repeal vote was 'depleting' but she said now, it's just 'round two.'
'The battle's back on,' Thomas said.
'I don't care if I'm out there in a wheelchair, I don't care. I'm gonna go collect signatures again. I'm not gonna lay down until we get what we deserve.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
32 minutes ago
- New York Post
Miranda Devine: Trump's ‘spectacular' Iran strike could carve his place in history as most courageous leader since Ronald Reagan
What an impressive sight it was Sunday, when the futuristic B-2 stealth bombers sliced through the powder-blue Missouri sky on their triumphant return to home base in the American heartland after dropping their Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs on Iran's underground nuclear sites. The strikes were 'a spectacular military success,' President Trump told the world Saturday night, after emerging from the Situation Room. 'Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,' he said. Advertisement While Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan 'Razing' Caine said Sunday it was 'way too early' to know the full extent of damage at Iran's Fordow uranium-enrichment complex, satellite images show several large holes and a layer of gray-blue ash where all 14 massive 'bunker buster' bombs, each weighing 30,000 pounds, hit their target Saturday night in Operation Midnight Hammer. The strikes were also a spectacular political calculation by the president who ran on no new wars, and managed to keep a poker face all week as he was given advice by all and sundry. 'Unconventional' He made the right decision, and it appears to have been executed flawlessly. A limited strike, in and out. Iran's nuclear capability has been eliminated or at least severely degraded. No regime change. If the nuclear threat from Iran is indeed neutralized, leading to the extension of the Abraham Accords and peace in the Middle East, Trump will have achieved what countless predecessors failed to do. Advertisement If he pulls it off, without embroiling us in a larger war, he will have carved his role in history as the most courageous and consequential leader since Ronald Reagan. The man who rose from the stage in Butler, blood pouring down his face, raised his fist in the air and said, 'Fight, Fight Fight,' is exactly who you want as commander in chief at a time like this, especially as it's not his first rodeo. Photographs released by the White House show a serious-faced Trump inside the Situation Room Saturday night, wearing his trademark suit and red tie, not cosplaying a flyboy as his more casually-attired predecessors liked to do. His only bow to informality was a red MAGA hat with '45-47' on the side, representing his bifurcated presidential terms and the relentless grit it took to come back from the political dead. Advertisement So much for 'TACO Don.' He outfoxed everyone. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, just after emerging from the Situation Room last week where he watched the president deal with the complexities of the Iran-Israel war, likened Trump to Winston Churchill. 'He has a strategy and it's not a conventional strategy, but what conventional person has ever done great things?' said Bessent, in an interview for my new podcast Pod Force One. 'Does anybody think that Winston Churchill was conventional? '[Trump is] also so flexible in terms of the way he looks at things,' Bessent said. 'We've just spent basically the past 24 hours in the Situation Room over the Iran-Israel conflict, and I can tell you that the American people should know, and the American troops should know, that Donald Trump is doing an incredible job looking after their interests in what could turn, without someone like him, could turn into a widespread conflict that US soldiers and interests could get sucked into.' New team Advertisement In one fell swoop, Trump also restored the prestige of the US military, which had plummeted under Joe Biden. Most welcome was the upgrade from Gen. Mark 'Thoroughly Modern' Milley of 'white rage' fame, whom Biden had to give a preemptive pardon on his way out the door, presumably for his Trump-deranged outbursts to the Chinese. In Milley's place we now have 'Razing Caine,' once a daring F-16 pilot, and as cool and contained a general as you could find. 'This mission demonstrates the unmatched reach, coordination, and capability of the United States military,' he told reporters in a Sunday news conference alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, another veteran whose rapport with 'war fighters' has helped revive recruitment to record levels. 'In just a matter of weeks, this went from strategic planning to global execution,' said Caine. 'As the president clearly said last night, no other military in the world could have done this.' Every week, Post columnist Miranda Devine sits down for exclusive and candid conversations with the most influential disruptors in Washington. Subscribe here! What a contrast to the previous administration. Under Biden, our military was humiliated. Preposterous wokery and weak leadership led to a breakdown in discipline embodied in online displays of perverts in uniform dolled up in kinky dog masks and bondage gear. Advertisement Under Biden, incompetence was the order of the day, from the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, leaving behind $7 billion of equipment, to the failure to bring our astronauts home from the International Space Station, to the $230 million Gaza pier debacle which resulted in the death of one young soldier and dozens of troops injured while delivering minimal aid. The morale and reputation of our armed forces was severely depleted, making a mockery of Biden's frequent refrain' God bless our troops.' Under Biden, Obama's benighted Iran deal that Trump axed in his first term was reanimated. Trump 1.0 left Iran on its knees, unable to fund its proxies to attack Israel. Biden, in his wisdom, empowered and enriched Iran, reappointing Robert Malley, Antony Blinken's childhood friend from their prestigious Parisienne école, as Iran envoy. Malley was then suspended without pay pending an FBI investigation into an Iranian influence ring and his 'mishandling' of classified information. Naturally, the Ivy League came to his rescue, giving him gigs at Yale and Princeton. That is Biden's legacy. Advertisement But instead of thanking Trump for saving the world from a nuclear Iran, Democrats are pretending that he did something unconstitutional, and are whining because he didn't inform Democrat leaders in Congress before the top-secret operation. They only have themselves to blame for proving to be so unreliable with secrets in the past. Hello, Schifty Schiff. Dems were fine with Obama bombing Libya, Syria and Pakistan an estimated 13,000 times, killing thousands of people, without asking Congress for permission. Remember then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cackling over Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy's gruesome end when he was sodomized and brutalized to death on camera as she watched lasciviously from afar: 'We came, we saw, he died,' she said. Strong stance Advertisement Democrats should sit this one out. Despite their threats to impeach him, Trump has seized the moral authority and no doubt his already buoyant approval ratings will soar. That's the political dividend of strong leadership. What GOP senator could refuse to pass Trump's beloved Big Beautiful Bill now? And as with everything Trump does, the visuals were impeccable. The icing on the cake was his brand new 100-foot flagpole out the front of the White House, with Old Glory waving languidly in the night breeze as the B-2s worked their magic half a world away. Advertisement You're paying for radical Zoh New York, we have a problem. How could a candidate as toxic and radical as Zohran Mamdani be so close to victory in Tuesday's Democratic mayoral primary? An antisemitic socialist who is running to defund the police and raise more taxes for illegal migrants should be a political impossibility, yet he has surged to second place behind Andrew Cuomo in the polls. Attorney Denise Cohen, who writes a substack as 'Rational New Yorker,' has figured out this dangerous man 'could attain the highest office in NYC using public money that most of us didn't approve through a slush fund that we unwittingly paid for.' Mamdani has the highest social media engagement of all mayoral candidates with almost 6 million likes on TikTok, and has created the false appearance of a vibrant grassroots campaign with tens of thousands of small dollar donors, she writes. But he didn't amass a $8.4 million war chest from grassroots donations. Eighty percent of it came from taxpayers thanks to a New York campaign finance law in which the New York City Campaign Finance Board matches small donations by $8 for every $1 raised. If Mamdani wins, you and I probably paid for his campaign.
New York Post
40 minutes ago
- New York Post
Mayor Adams expected to hold re-election campaign kickoff event Thursday: ‘Major announcement'
Mayor Eric Adams is expected to hold a re-election campaign kickoff event Thursday, two days after the city's Democratic mayoral primaries close. Hizzoner will make a 'major announcement about the future of his re-election campaign' at the event, according to sources from his campaign. The announcement will be held on the steps of City Hall at noon and will include 'hundreds' of supporters, sources said. Mayor Eric Adams is holding an event for a 'major announcement' about his re-election bid on Thursday William Farrington Adams, 64, will be running for re-election as an independent following a tumultuous year in office, which saw him accused of corruption before the historic case was dropped by the Trump administration. He blamed the long duration of the 'bogus' case for tanking any hopes of campaigning for the primary and still insists he is a Democrat, but has been indicating a split from the party for several months. The city's Democratic primary will close Tuesday, with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Democratic socialist Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani battling out for the nomination amidst a large field of contenders. Adams is running on the line 'safe streets, affordable city,' arguing that those are the two areas New Yorkers are most concerned about. 'Those are the issues that are important to New Yorkers,' Adams told 1010Wins in April. 'They want a safe city. They want an affordable city. And I want them to know that is what I produced for them.' An Adams aide also may have violated city laws while publicizing the Thursday event after they blasted out a message promoting it from their government email, the Daily News reported. Local law prohibits city employees from using municipal resources for 'political activity,' the city's Conflicts of Interest Board states. The aide later told the Daily News they 'accidentally' sent the message from the wrong email account while multitasking.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Oil Prices Jump, Stocks Fall After US Strikes Iran Nuclear Sites
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Oil prices surged and U.S. stock futures declined as global markets reacted to American airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to the Associated Press. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 2.6 percent to $79 per barrel, while U.S. crude climbed 2.6 percent to $75.76 per barrel. Why It Matters The U.S.'s strikes on Saturday marked its entry into the Iran-Israel conflict and were the biggest escalation in the war since Israel first ignited it by striking at Iran on June 13. Iranian lawmakers voted to support closing the Strait of Hormuz in response to the strikes, which hit three Iranian nuclear and military sites. A final decision on the matter rests with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Nearly 20 percent of global oil trade passes through the Strait or Hormuz, a narrow but highly strategic waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. At its narrowest point, the strait is about 21 miles wide, with two shipping lanes that are 2 miles wide in each direction. Any closure of the channel is likely to result in a global spike in oil prices. What To Know There was some market uncertainty on Sunday evening, with futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping 0.3 percent, while Nasdaq futures fell 0.5 percent. Treasury yields remained little changed. The modest moves suggest markets are taking the latest developments in stride, though analysts expect continued volatility as the situation develops. Iran's strategic position controlling the Strait of Hormuz gives the country significant leverage over global energy markets. However, any Iranian retaliation that includes closing the waterway would likely be difficult to execute. Traders remain concerned that Iran could severely disrupt transit through the strait, potentially sending insurance rates spiking and making shippers nervous to move cargo without U.S. Navy escorts. Complicating Iran's decision is the country's own dependence on the waterway. Iran uses the strait to transport its own crude oil, mostly to China, and oil represents a major revenue source for the regime, creating economic incentives against closure. What People Are Saying President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday evening: "ANY RETALIATION BY IRAN AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL BE MET WITH FORCE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WAS WITNESSED TONIGHT. THANK YOU! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES." Greg Kennedy, director of the Economic Conflict and Competition Research Group at King's College London, told Newsweek: "This is not an act that just stays in the Gulf region, it has wider global strategic ripples." Jorge León, head of geopolitical analysis at energy consultancy Rystad, told the Financial Times on Sunday: "In an extreme scenario where Iran responds with direct strikes or targets regional oil infrastructure, oil prices will surge sharply. Even in the absence of immediate retaliation, markets are likely to price in a higher geopolitical risk premium." Spencer Hakimian, founder of Tolou Capital Management, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday: "There are close to 50 large oil tankers scrambling to leave the Strait of Hormuz right now. Looks like the oil industry is expecting the Strait to be blockaded in the coming days." The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stands in lower Manhattan on June 18, 2025 in New York City. Traders are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later today. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stands in lower Manhattan on June 18, 2025 in New York City. Traders are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later Happens Next Markets will closely monitor Iran's response as trading opens Monday, with analysts remaining divided on the likelihood of strait closure. The final decision about Iran's response will be made by Khamenei; the parliament's vote to close the strait merely advises him of the option to pursue. Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
