JEFFERSON CITY — Senator Joseph Keaveny, (D-St. Louis), joins other lawmakers in expressing his disappointment in the passage of so-called Right-to-Work legislation, House Bill 116, and the rare use of a procedural motion known as the P.Q. to end debate.  Passage of this legislation will endanger job site safety and lower worker wages.

“It was wrong for us to lower the wages of hard working Missourians. The Senate spent valuable time debating legislation that Missourians did not ask for and do not want,” Sen. Keaveny said. “There are more important, pressing issues which need to be handled. Destroying the institution of organized labor and taking money out of the pockets of working Missourians is not only senseless; it is not responsible legislation.”

The motion to end debate is an affront to the long-held traditions of the Missouri Senate, in which members with opposing strongly-held beliefs typically compromise on issues important to the people of our state.

“The motion to end debate is bad for the Missouri Senate as an institution and more importantly, in this instance, will have tragic consequences for the hard-working men and women of our state,” concluded Sen. Keaveny.