Workers’ rights advocates canvass Missouri’s four biggest cities to draw attention to efforts to overturn Proposition A

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KFVS) - Missouri lawmakers are moving forward with plans that would restrict abortions and paid sick leave.

After Missourians voted in favor of restoring abortion access and requiring paid sick leave, many Republican lawmakers introduced bills that would reverse those votes. If passed, one bill would repeal the paid sick leave portion of Prop A entirely, which is set to go into effect May 1.

Another would ban abortions except in the case of medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape or incest; this one needs voter approval. Both of these bills are getting closer and closer to the finish line.

Prop A, passed by voters in November, promised one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers are required to send out written notice to their employees about that paid sick time by April 15.

In addition, a new minimum wage went into effect at the beginning of this year. Effective New Year’s Day, Missouri’s new minimum wage is $13.75 per hour. In 2026, it will raise to $15 an hour, and then raise each year based on the Consumer Price Index.

Missouri voters passed Amendment Three in November, overturning the state’s abortion ban, with 52% of the vote. Amendment Three was put on the ballot by initiative petition, having to receive thousands of signatures from people all over Missouri. It faced several legal challenges along the way, going all the way to the state’s Supreme Court before the matter was settled.

A Jackson County Judge stopped Missouri’s licensing requirements for abortion providers, saying they were unfairly restrictive and singled out abortion providers in February. Shortly after, Planned Parenthood started offering abortions at several locations.

The group Jobs with Justice was canvassing in Columbia, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield on Thursday to draw attention to the efforts in the state capitol to overturn Proposition A.

Samantha Bening was with the Columbia group. She notarized signatures for the petitions to restore abortion access and require paid sick leave in Missouri. Growing up with a disability, Bening watched as her mother left her dream career to search for minimum wage jobs that had enough paid sick leave to take her to doctors’ appointments.

“I always thought it was kind of sad that my mom had to give up her dream to take care of me,” Bening said.

That’s why she wants to make sure no other Missourian makes the difficult choice between health and their paycheck. She saw that become reality when voters approved Proposition A to require paid sick leave; she also cheered on the passage of Amendment Three to restore abortion access.

But bills are moving quickly that would undo all the work Bening and others put into passing these measures, which she calls an attack on democracy.

Rep. Brian Seitz is handling the newly revised joint resolution to change the language on Amendment Three. It was approved by a Missouri House committee Wednesday, and an identical bill has already been introduced in the Missouri Senate.

Seitz said Missourians did not get what they voted for with Amendment Three. He believes the clarifications will provide Missourians with a better abortion law.

“Well, I would suggest that most people who voted in favor of Amendment Three were thinking of the issues of rape and incest,” Setiz said. “I don’t think they were going to the voting booth to say we should have abortion on demand for up to nine months.”

The Missouri Supreme Court is also weighing a lawsuit that aims to overturn the voter-approved paid sick leave. Several business groups brought this lawsuit forward because they’re concerned about the effects Proposition A could have on the state’s economy. But some small businesses stepped up to defend it. The court has not yet made a ruling.

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