{"id":861,"date":"2024-08-28T19:45:16","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T19:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progressmo.com\/?p=861"},"modified":"2024-08-28T19:45:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T19:45:16","slug":"release-hawley-labor-day-betrayal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gallant-mclaren.18-188-198-158.plesk.page\/index.php\/2024\/08\/28\/release-hawley-labor-day-betrayal\/","title":{"rendered":"RELEASE: Senator Josh Hawley’s Labor Day betrayal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong>
Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024
Contact: liz@progressmo.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo ops and tweets don’t pay Missourians’ bills<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. \u2013 Labor leaders from across Missouri met Wednesday, Aug. 28,<\/a> to push back against Sen. Josh Hawley\u2019s attempts to rebrand himself as a friend of workers just two months before November\u2019s election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

View or download the full Zoom event<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs Missouri families gather to celebrate Labor Day, Senator Hawley wants you to forget his record,\u201d said Tony Renfro,<\/strong> president of UAW Local 249. \u201cHe claims to be \u2018pro-labor,\u2019 but his actions speak louder than his empty words. He’s betrayed Missouri workers time and time again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hawley has attempted to raise his profile with labor members over the past year with photo-ops at union events. However, his track record suggests he consistently favors corporations and special interest groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe Josh Hawley has been a friend to labor. He\u2019s not a friend to working families. He doesn\u2019t represent the ordinary person on the street \u2014 that\u2019s just not who he is,\u201d said Kevin Perkins<\/strong>, who works in Campus Dining at the University of Missouri and is a member of Laborers\u2019 International Union. \u201cYou can\u2019t believe a word that comes out of his mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Cook<\/strong> is president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 655, representing meatpacking, shoe manufacturers and grocery workers in St. Louis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember the picket line at UAW years ago, and he was nowhere to be found. I remember in 2018, as labor was in the fight for our lifetime in Missouri, defeating Right to Work. He was an advocate for that and thought it was good for Right to Work to pass. Now he says he\u2019s against it because he wants to walk on picket lines with a camera present. If he was reelected, labor would be right back there on the chopping block, make no bones about it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lenny Jones<\/strong>, state director for SEIU Healthcare, or Service Employees International Workers Union, represents 90,000 care workers throughout four states. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn our world, actions speak louder than words or visibility stunts,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThere have been many opportunities for Josh Hawley to do the right thing through action, and he has failed every single time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those actions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Right-to-Freeload, Not Right-to-Work:<\/strong> Hawley champions laws designed to weaken unions<\/a>, making it harder for workers to negotiate fair wages and benefits.
    <\/li>
  2. Minimum Wage? More Like Minimum Effort:<\/strong> Senator Josh Hawley has publicly claimed to support an increase in the minimum wage; however, when it came to a critical vote on raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, he voted against<\/a> the proposal.

    He voted against     raising the minimum wage<\/a>, keeping many workers in low-paying jobs without the prospect of earning a livable wage. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n