WorkingMissouri's blog

The man behind the slanderous anti-Kerry "Swift Boat" ads rears his head in Missouri politics.  Bob Perry (aka "Swift Boat" Bob), a Texan homebuilder, apparently is looking to bring his brand of politics to Missouri.  On March 4, Perry and his wife, Doylene, EACH contributed $100,000 ($200,000 total) to Matt Blunt's re-election (?) campaign. 

During 2002, Perry was the largest financier to the DeLay-run TRMPAC.  TRMPAC, the subject of criminal investigations and indictments (including Tom Delay), was tasked with the job of gerrymandering Texas Congressional Districts in a desperate attempt to maintain Republican control of Congress.  

During the 2006 election, Perry gave more to 527s ($9.75 million) than any other donor in the nation. With Perry and Rex Sinquefield's, who also contributed $100,000 to Blunt, history and a commitment of spending millions for pet candidates and causes, it is becoming more apparent why the Republicans championed House Bill 1900 (2006) eliminating those pesky contribution limits.    Story Continued »

Last week, the proponents of Proposition B, along with Jobs with Justice, launched the Save Our Tips campaign. In just the first week, over 1,000 people signed onto the Save Our Tips petition.

With 62,500 tipped employees in Missouri, you'd think the press may be wondering why they have yet to receive the pay raise resulting from the passage of Proposition B (that was the initiative that passed with 76% support and in every county across the state).

The Blunt Administration is telling Missouri employers they only have to pay their tipped employees $2.13/hour, instead of $3.25/hour.  This advice directly contradicts BOTH the Missouri law AND the Missouri Code of State Regulations.

Rep. Tom Dempsey must really be afraid of what is coming in 2008.  In 2006, Dempsey sponsored House Bill 1900 abolishing Missouri's contribution limits.  As you may recall, these limits were a result of Proposition A passed in 1994 with 77 percent support.

So what do you do now when you fear the wrath of voters coming after you next election and the possibility of ballot initiative reinstating a campaign contribution limit system?

On January 1, 2007 thousands of Missouri workers got a raise because voters passed Proposition B increasing the state's minimum wage to $6.50/hour - including an increase to $3.25/hour for tipped employees. But tipped employees were left out in the cold because of actions by Governor Blunt's administration!

The U.S. Department of Labor and lawyers across Missouri all agree that tipped employees are entitled to $3.25/hour. So why haven't they received a raise?

After first opposing the minimum wage increase across the board, Gov. Blunt and his administration are recommending to employers, such as restaurants, bars and hotels, just ignore the law. Now they are even going so far as to strongarm the U.S. Department of Labor to take down information on its website that contradicts Gov. Blunt's position. (PDF Version of old US DOL page / new US DOL page).