“It’s obviously an issue that stirs some deep passions on both sides, but it’s an issue that we think is critical to the economic future of Missouri,” said House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff.

As House lawmakers approved a measure sent to them by their colleagues in the Senate, Gov. Eric Greitens was speaking at a special needs school in Nixa, Mo., where he announced his spending plan amid a $456 million budget shortfall.

Republicans in the Legislature, ecstatic to have an ally in the governor’s mansion, are hopeful the policy change will boost the state’s economy and send a friendly message to employers looking to set up shop in the Show-Me state.

But for the hundreds of union members flooding the Capitol to protest the bill, it’s familiar action with a new and disappointing final outcome. Both chambers previously have passed right-to-work legislation, but former Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, vetoed those proposals.

During final debate on the House floor, Republicans pointed to a grandfather clause protecting existing contracts until they expire as evidence of compromise.

But Democrats slammed the urgency to push the bill through, saying they weren’t ever invited to the table to negotiate changes.