Q&A: "A Smaller and Smaller Set of Donors Really Call the Shots"

We talked to Richard von Glahn of Missouri Jobs with Justice about the state legislature overruling the will of the people to eliminate paid sick leave.

In November 2024, Missouri voters passed with 58% approval a statewide ballot initiative, Proposition A, that increased the minimum wage and guaranteed paid sick leave to workers in the state. Soon afterward, the Chamber of Commerce began lobbying to overturn the voter-passed sick leave rule. This summer, during a special session, the Republican-controlled state legislature passed and Republican Governor Mike Kehoe signed HB 567, which repealed Prop A. Starting next week, once again, Missouri won’t guarantee workers paid sick leave.

Richard von Glahn is policy director for Missouri Jobs with Justice, which gathered 100,000 of the voter signatures required to get Prop A on the 2024 ballot. I spoke with Richard about how corporate money in politics is undermining workers’ rights and our democracy.

Meaghan: Why did Missouri Jobs with Justice and the coalition decide to focus on sick leave?

Richard: The decision came from meeting with and being in relationship with the nearly 700,000 Missourians who don't have access to paid sick leave. We would hear stories from parents saying, “When the school calls and tells me to pick up my child, that means I can't afford my electric bill at the end of the month.” We heard from people who are trying to care for a parent at the end of life and having to tell someone who sacrificed so much for them, “I can't be there for you to take you to the doctor's office.” And the real heartache that that was causing families and people.

There are certain industries where paid sick leave isn't very common. Construction is one, and it's an industry that you see substance abuse is high, suicide is high. When we're not given time to care for ourselves physically and mentally then our bodies really just become tools of extraction. That's not a dignified life. I think that's why you saw so many organizations that are not typically activist groups, like the state network of pediatricians, endorse the campaign, saying this just makes such sense from a public health and child wellbeing standpoint.

It's one of those things, everybody gets sick through no fault of their own. And the reality is, a majority of Missourians already have paid sick leave, but the jobs where people don't are often jobs occupied by women, and by women of color.

Every business executive that testified [to the state legislature] about why Prop A needed to be repealed, every single one, I had to listen to them say, “I have paid sick leave.” And so, when we were talking [to the legislature] about it, I said, “Look, this isn't a question about if you can do it. It is a question of: Do you believe that other people deserve the basic dignity that you believe you deserve?”

Meaghan: 58% of Missourians voted in favor of Prop A, for paid sick leave for workers. Can you tell me some of the reasons the legislature would vote to repeal something that is so popular with their voters?

Richard: The simple answer is the Chamber of Commerce, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.

Legislators filed various bills about Prop A. The Chamber of Commerce did a webinar where they said, “This bill, House Bill 567, this is our Trojan horse. This is what we're going to use to get as much as we can.” The legislator that filed the bill was the Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 Freshman of the Year. I mean, she is a bought and sold vessel of this organization's priorities. It was abundantly clear that what was driving the legislation was not any legislator’s idea. It was what the Chamber wanted.

Meaghan: Can you talk about why you ran this campaign as a ballot amendment?

Richard: The reason I like doing ballot initiatives is because I think they are a better representation of the values of the state.

When we were communicating with state legislators about Prop A, saying, “Well, you know, your constituents voted this way,” a state senator said to us, directly, “What makes you think I give a f– about how my constituents voted on this?” I was just like, “Because you’re here to represent the values of your district.”

But the Republican Party in Missouri has increasingly articulated, increasingly emphasized, that what they believe is that we are a republic. What they believe is that they, the elected officials, are elected to make judgments for everybody. The reality is, they're anointed by the state Chamber of Commerce or whoever funds their campaigns. That is who they feel accountable to. At the end of the day, you know, Missouri doesn't have a lot of competitive elections, so elected officials get beholden to a smaller, smaller set of groups, and a smaller and smaller set of donors really call the shots.

It used to be that we had less gerrymandered districts, and I’d bring people to the capitol, we could have a public accountability campaign, we could get a senators’ attention. What citizens experience when they lobby their legislators is really hard. Citizens see how little their voice matters in Missouri. It’s often an exercise in futility, and it makes it hard for me to want to bring people there, because I don't want to reinforce notions of apathy or cynicism about our democracy. I want people to go lobby their elected officials, and for their elected officials to have a thoughtful response to them, but it doesn’t happen.

If you cannot organize your community to have an impact on the way a legislator is representing your community, then what are we doing?

Meaghan: With so many difficult things happening, how are you coping?

Richard: The thing that I try to keep in mind is that the values that I believe in are the majority opinion. The other side needs to create systems of manipulation in order to win. They have to contort rules to win. I'm reassured by that. But, you know, the political manipulators’ tools have grown. Citizens United was a huge part of it, because it empowered individuals and organizations that seek to thwart public will.

We are at a point in this country where social power and political power are dictated by economic power. Look at all those corporations and universities that issued DEI statements after George Floyd, and look how quickly they succumbed to pressure during the backlash. They crumbled. We need to build organizations that can withstand pressure.

We are the majority and so we need to stick together. And I don't mean come out to the big march that gets organized. I mean go to the meetings and sustain the organization where the march is being organized. It's not enough to be part of the majority that gets mobilized, be part of creating the mobilization. Find a local organization and put some of your time and treasure into it. If we don’t do that, we’re all going to wake up in a very different place.

Wealth distribution is a North Star for me. FDR once gave a speech and said he welcomed powerful people’s disdain. We should probably have more people who think like that.