The (Un)Magnificent Seven

Posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2015 at 3:04 pm - Permalink

By Julie Lucarelli

Missouri Republicans Choose Unions Over Workers

On September 16^th, Missouri’s veto session opens. Seven lawmakers- seven Republican lawmakers- are standing in the way of right-to-work. Missouri is watching Representatives Kathie Conway (R-104), Kevin Corlew (R-14), Bart Korman (R-42), Becky Ruth (R-114), Linda Black (R-117), Bill Kidd (R-20), and Chrissy Sommer (R-106) to see if they will stand with the worker. These seven voted against right-to-work early this year and it looks like they intend to do it again.

And The Center for Worker Freedom has uncovered the reason. Who are the seven?

Representative Kathie Conway (R-104) serves a portion of St. Charles County outside of St. Louis. She is from Illinois and graduated from Western Illinois University. She worked as an investigator in St. Louis and Eastern Missouri before entering politics.

In 2014, AFL-CIO endorsed Representative Conway. That year, Conway accepted $5,000 from the Carpenter’s District Council of Greater St. Louis & Vicinity and $1,000 from Teamsters Local 688.

Representative Kevin Corlew (R-14) works in a district north of Kansas City in Clay County. He previously was a lawyer and served on the Board of Education in his town.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) has a strong presence in this area. Representative Corlew also accepted $1500 from Carpenter’s District Council of Greater St. Louis & Vicinity. He has been endorsed by a variety of unions including:

• The Missouri Teachers Association

• International Union of Painters & Allied Trades Dist. Council 3

•Teamsters Local Nos. 41, 245, 541, 838

•Laborers Local #264

General trade and transportation unions are some of his biggest donors supplying $4,250 in the past.

Representative Bart Korman’s (R-42) district lies outside of St. Louis in Warren, Montgomery, and St. Charles Counties. He is from High Hill and very involved with local politics as well as state issues.

He has taken over $7,000 from labor unions including Sheet Metal Workers Int. Assn. Local 36 Pac, International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 3 Pac Fund, and Missouri AFL-CIO Cope.

Representative Becky Ruth (R-114) serves south of St. Louis in Jefferson County. She is from Festus Missouri and was just elected in 2014. Some of her campaign donors include the Missouri State Teachers Association which gave $10,000 and public sector unions that provided $10,328.

Representative Linda Black (R-117) was first elected in 2008 as a Democrat. She switched parties after the 2014 election. Her district is southwest of St. Louis and lies in St. Francois County. She worked as a public school teacher and Chief Deputy Treasurer in St. Francois before entering politics.

She has accepted $4,000 from Boilermakers Local 27, $2,150 from Carpenter’s District Council Greater St. Louis & Vicinity, and $1,950 from the Missouri State Legislative Board United Transportation Union. Representative Black has taken over $20,000 from general trade unions, $4,675 from public sector unions, and $2,725 from transportation unions.

Representative Bill Kidd (R-20) serves a district right outside of Kansas City in Jackson County. He graduated from Oklahoma State University before working as a small businessman. Representative Kidd is also an ordained Christian minister.

He is a member of the appropriations committee focused on Revenue, Transportation, and Economic Development. “Unlike the others Representative Kidd has not seemed to accept any overt donators from unions. Meaning of course that he has no excuse.”

Lastly, Representative Chrissy Sommer’s (R-106) district lies in St. Charles County northwest of St. Louis. She is from Kirkwood, Missouri and graduated from the University of Missouri. Before politics she worked for her family’s company Sunset Maintenance Company and now helps run her husband’s CPA firm.

She was elected in 2012, and has accepted over $11,000 from trade unions, for example Carpenters District Council Greater St. Louis & Vicinity ($5,000), Missouri AFL-CIO ($600), and Hosting Engineers Local 513 ($1000). Representative Sommer has accepted $1800 from public sector unions and $3,550 from transportation unions for a total of $16,600 from unions.

All but one received significant support from unions and all representative districts have a union presence. These representatives need to put their own interests to the side and vote to give their citizens’ the freedom they deserve. They need to support right-to-work.

Contact information: Feel free to let them know how you feel.

Representative Kathie Conway

Address: MO House of Representatives

201 West Capitol Avenue

Room 114-B

Jefferson City MO 65101

Legislative Assistant: Jacinda Martin

Phone: 573-751-2250

E-mail: Kathie.Conway@house.mo.gov

Representative Kevin Corlew

Address: MO House of Representative

201 West Capitol Ave.