718
submitted 1 month ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Voters approved sick leave mandate by 58%, but lawmakers are caving to lobbying by the state’s chamber of commerce

Being sick is a costly business for Bill Thompson, who worked in the fast-food industry in Independence, Missouri, for more than 30 years, and recently worked at Guitar Center until early July, when he was laid off as.

“As an older worker, I have health issues from working on my feet and with my hands for many years with no breaks for eight to 10 hours a day. I have done it for 38 years now, living paycheck to paycheck,” 54-year-old Thompson said, noting in Missouri, workers are not mandated breaks of any kind during work.

So when Republicans in Missouri repealed a paid sick leave mandate that the state’s voters approved by 58% after an aggressive lobbying campaign by the Missouri chamber of commerce and industry and other business industry groups, he said, “It was a literal gut punch.”

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] DickFiasco@sh.itjust.works 151 points 1 month ago

Even on a day where Missourians sort of overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump, Josh Hawley and Governor Kehoe, they also overwhelmingly voted for an increase in paid sick days.

So they elected candidates who historically have opposed labor protections and government benefits, and then expected to get paid sick leave?

[-] Asafum@feddit.nl 79 points 1 month ago

Fox news tells them the GOP are pro-worker and the Democrats actually hate America and workers.

It's infuriating :/

[-] fishy@lemmy.today 95 points 1 month ago

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me for three decades straight and I'm the average Republican.

[-] kautau@lemmy.world 27 points 1 month ago

Yeah but I pray to the photo of Reagan on my wall every night that if I keep my mouth open and look up then the wealth will ~~piss~~ trickle down from the rich as they get richer

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Eldritch@piefed.world 23 points 1 month ago

There's a lot of lead pipes here still. And massive swaths of empty land that votes against anyone that might try to maintain or replace them via the necessary step of raising taxes.

Kansas city and St Louis didn't vote for Republicans. Unfortunately both blue patches aren't quite half the States population. But were close enough that there governor is looking to take away our representation.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

I'm a school bus driver and our shop is union (Teamsters). My coworkers rabidly support our union, but are opposed to all other unions (except police unions of course) including even the teachers' union in our district. They're also mostly MAGA. They're just so fucking clueless about their own self-interest, leaving aside their utter selfishness. Our dispatcher is a lesbian who proudly talks about her wife, and she's the most rabid trumper of them all. I had one painful conversation with her where she insisted that it's the GOP that brought about same-sex marriage.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] prole 13 points 1 month ago

It's absolutely maddening, and it's been happening for at least 30 years

load more comments (7 replies)
[-] HubertManne@piefed.social 71 points 1 month ago

I was talking with my brother about how republican state congresses tend to overturn voter initiatives. I don't understand this cuck attitude that keeps so many people voting for them.

[-] BakerBagel@midwest.social 25 points 1 month ago

Because the Democrats aren't running on those platforms, because they are also opposed to thise initiatives. The Democrats COULD run on a platform of guaranteed sick leave, mandatory holiday pay, rent control, and other wildly popular pro-worker policies, but they don't ecause they want to "appeal to moderates" or some other dumb bullshit. So you end up with a useless Democratic party in states like Ohio, Missouri, and Wisconsin who refuse to help people because they don't want Republicans to call them socialists. Then come election time they get caleld socialists anyway who support " illegals stealing jobs and giving abortions" or whatever and and shocked Pikachu when they keep losing elections. Until Democrats start openly campaigning on things that immediately benefit workers, they will continue to lose ground to the Republicans.

[-] HubertManne@piefed.social 13 points 1 month ago

thats all fine but when the folks you vote for are reversing he specific thing you voted for. I mean its not hard to realize you need to not be putting these people in power. At the very least they could just not vote actively for the ones doing this. I don't see how the dems not good enough plays in. If Im dying of thirst and I have a choice of drinking from a sewage pipe or a stream. Im going to risk the stream.

[-] prole 14 points 1 month ago

The people have been so deeply brainrotted, that they will never vote for someone with a 'D' next to their name. Many of them would literally rather die.

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

They’ve spent decades demonizing the left so thoroughly that any idea that they dislike and can associate with the left hey do so ad nauseam.

So any idea that would help those on the right just has to be called liberal and they’ll vote against it even if it hurts them too. It’s literally an unthinking knee-jerk hatred and reaction at this point. No thinking required.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Eh_I@lemmy.world 56 points 1 month ago

NOTE: Not a literal gut punch.

Thank you for your attention to this grammar.

[-] sexybenfranklin@ttrpg.network 15 points 1 month ago

"Literal" has been used metaphorically for emphasis by better writers than you, centuries before you were born. Shut up.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 54 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Oh dumbass Missourians.

Just like in 2018 when they voted against right to work and on the same ballot voted in a Republican majority and the Republican majority tried to implement right to work as the first item on the new session.

Never learn Missourians, never learn.

[-] orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 50 points 1 month ago

Read the article to see if someone was punched in the gut. Spoiler: nobody was.

Fuck Missouri.

[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 month ago

You're literally nitpicking.

load more comments (10 replies)
[-] Asafum@feddit.nl 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/gut-punch

"something that shocks and upsets you very much: I was totally floored when I heard what happened - it was a gut punch."

So I think the use of literally is still applicable.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] shittydwarf@sh.itjust.works 48 points 1 month ago
[-] zildjiandrummer1@lemmy.world 41 points 1 month ago

Sorry, but get fukt red Missourians. I hope they feel as much pain and anguish as possible, because it's the only way they learn, if it personally negatively affects them. And even then they sometimes still don't learn (see: COVID). I feel terrible for the democrat voters that get screwed anyway.

[-] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 32 points 1 month ago

Missouri has voted on numerous laws that have been repealed by state legislators. We voted an anti-gerrymandering law in but it was repealed a year later. We voted for abortion and they tried to take that back, we voted for better pay and sick leave, and they are taking that.

I don’t know how red Missouri actually is or if it’s just getting fucked by some bad representation. (Don’t get me wrong, Missouri voted in Josh Hawley and Roy Blunt, it’s not perfect)

[-] prole 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

They haven't gone Democrat in a single Presidential election since Bill Clinton in 1996. Almost 30 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_elections_in_Missouri

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] CatDogL0ver@lemmy.world 28 points 1 month ago

Ironically they will still vote Republican. They will somehow blame Hillary for it.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] MehBlah@lemmy.world 41 points 1 month ago

It wont stop them from voting republican.

[-] roscoe@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 1 month ago

I've never understood this. Even from the viewpoint of an extremely selfish person; do you want someone with COVID, the flu, or a cold making your food, or even just interacting with you in a retail environment? And as for employers; how shortsighted are you that you don't realize that while one sick person coming in may be better for productivity than them staying home, that quickly becomes five sick people working much less efficiently instead of four healthy ones and one person out sick?

[-] Sludgehammer@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

Let's all say it again... "Cruelty is the point"

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] Suavevillain@lemmy.world 29 points 1 month ago

The thing that is crazy to me about all of this even when midterms come up people will still go out and support the GOP. There is no bottom floor to hit for them.

[-] Dholi@lemmy.ca 24 points 1 month ago

This is what happened in Ontario. Our premier took away mandatory paid sick days right away and guess what happened next? ...Ontario voted for him again 4 years later with a majority. And then they did it again earlier this year.

Never underestimate how stupid the voter base is.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] FuckFascism@lemmy.world 22 points 1 month ago
[-] CatDogL0ver@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

Wonder how many hourly workers voted for Trump.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] MagicianWithABadPlan@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago

The irony is that in the passing of sick leave and the repeal of it Missourians still got what they voted for. No sympathy.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Jumpingspiderman@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago

When you vote for GOPers, this is what happens

[-] ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 18 points 1 month ago

Missourian businesses basically want workhouses... say goodbye to modern ideas of a weekend.

[-] UncleGrandPa@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago

This administration is definitely trying to kill off the poor

[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 1 month ago
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] LordCrom@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

If something is voted in, how can 'lawmakers' just choose to ignore it ?

[-] Mediocre_Bard@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

In the US votes don't actually matter. The democratic and republican party work for corporate donations. So, if everyone votes for issue A, but corporations lobby against it, sometimes for as little as $10,000, then issue will not happen. What are you going to do? Sue? The judges also work for the corporations.

[-] Lucky_777@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago

Thanks, Citizens United.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[-] WanderWisley@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

You voted for this, no take backs!

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2025
718 points (100.0% liked)

News

32565 readers
2690 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS