Attention All Missouri Labor Leaders,

 We've been made  aware that Missouri Labor Unions recently received a fund-raising letter from State Rep. Paul Wieland, R-102. Wieland lauds his voting record as "Legislator of the Year for Workers Rights." The problem? It wasn't a labor organization  or a workers' advocacy group that bestowed that "honor." It was Speaker of the House Steve Tilley. Speaker Tilley honoring someone as "Legislator of the Year for Workers Rights" seems like a silly notion. It would be like the Democratic House Leader naming one of his members "Right to Work Legislator of the Year." It just doesn't add up!   

While it is true that Speaker Tilley let Wieland off the hook on some labor votes when th e majority didn't need Wieland's vote, to say that he is pro-worker flies in the face of his record. As you know, the 102nd district is a blue-collar, suburban district in Jefferson County with a record of electing socially moderate representatives who have been some of labor's greatest champions over the years like Bill McKenna, Ryan McKenna, and, most recently, Jeff Roorda. 

Wieland didn't unseat House Minority Whip Jeff Roorda by publicly declaring his support for labor unions. Wieland did it by attending one labor-bashing Tea Party rally after another and by accepting tens of thousands of dollars in campaign support from a Republican political operation that was funded in large part by the most extreme anti-labor ideologues in Missouri. They used that money to distort Rep. Roorda's record and unseat one of the best friends labor has ever had in the Missouri House. 

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To see where Wieland really stands on labor issues, you have to dig a little deeper. In 1994, Wieland was elected to the Missouri House on the Newt Gingrich wave. Two years later, because of his dreadful record on organized labor issues, virtually every labor union in Missouri rallied their forces to unseat Wieland and elect another great pro-labor member to the House, Rep. Kate Hollingsworth. After riding the anti-labor, Tea Party tide back into office in 2010, Rep. Wieland is attempting to re-write history on his record. Don't be fooled!

The HDCC hasn't given up on trying to convince Jeff Roorda to run for his old seat again in 2012. But even if we don't (Jeff is now the Business Manager for FOP Lodge 68, the St. Louis Police Union), we are intent on finding a true champion of workers' rights to oust Paul Wieland and his right-wing agenda.

Please help us return Wieland's district to a pro-labor legislator. Toss that Wieland fund-raising letter in the trash and consider a donation for the House Democratic Campaign Committee so that we can recruit and fund candidates who are true champions for working families. And, if you talk to Jeff Roorda, let him know how much we need people like him back in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Jody Murphy
Executive Director
House Democratic Campaign Committee