JEFFERSON CITY • A union-led attempt to dump Missouri’s new “right to work” law scored a victory in court Friday.

The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District overturned a lower court decision that said the language of a proposed ballot initiative seeking to nix the new law was unfair and insufficient.

At issue is a controversial law that bans the collection of union dues as a condition of employment. Gov. Eric Greitens and fellow Missouri Republicans say it will create jobs and lure businesses to the Show-me state.

Unions including the Missouri AFL-CIO, however, say the law is anti-worker and have turned to the voter referendum process to overturn it.

The AFL-CIO hopes to put the law in front of voters for an up-and-down vote, a seldom-used tactic that will require them to collect an estimated 90,000 signatures before the new law takes effect on Aug. 28.

If they get the required signatures, the law would not go into effect until the outcome of the referendum is known in November 2018.