John Goodman hits Missouri airwaves to campaign against 'right-to-work'

Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified John Goodman's place of origin. He is from the St. Louis area.

John Goodman, the actor with Springfield ties, has lent his voice to efforts opposing a Missouri "right-to-work" law.

Goodman, a St. Louis-area native who attended Missouri State University, features in an ad paid for by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, a union that represents actors and broadcast personalities.

Missouri's "right-to-work" law, which would ban unions from collecting mandatory dues, will be decided Aug. 7 by a vote of the people.

Republicans in Jefferson City passed the law in early 2017, but labor organizations and Democrats forced a public vote by gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures.

"Maybe you've heard of Proposition A, the Missouri Senate's so-called 'right-to-work' bill," Goodman says over a gentle musical background. "The name's deceiving: the bill will not give you the right to work. Instead, it gives big business and out-of-state corporations the right to pay you less than they do now."

The law makes it a crime for employers to require employees to join unions as a condition of employment. The vote on whether to keep the law was moved to August by Republicans in Jefferson City after it was initially placed on the November ballot.

"It's being sold as a way to help Missouri workers," Goodman continues in the ad, "but look a little deeper, and you'll see it's all about corporate greed."

Goodman notes that the pro-"right-to-work" campaign is being supported by wealthy out-of-state interests (the opposition also has received large contributions labor interests outside Missouri).

"Show the politicians that Missouri values hard work and a robust middle class," Goodman says toward the end of the minute-long radio spot.

So far, SAG-AFTRA has only purchased airtime in the St. Louis radio market, according to Federal Communications Commission filings. However, a union spokeswoman told the News-Leader that SAG-AFTRA was considering expanding its radio buy to Springfield.