The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against the Missouri Democratic Party in September, saying it violated federal law by firing a data specialist who’d been working to organize party employees.
But the party is fighting back. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, it says the federal agency has never asserted jurisdiction over a political party before — and that doing so raises First Amendment issues. Telling the state party how to do business would represent unconstitutional governmental interference with its right to free speech, it argues.
At least one prominent Republican agrees. Speaking on St. Louis on the Air’s Legal Roundtable on Tuesday, former speaker of the Missouri House Catherine Hanaway said the case could have huge consequences, not just in the Show-Me State but across the U.S.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that political contributions are a form of speech, noted Hanaway, who is currently chair of the Husch Blackwell law firm. She believes that translates to party activity.
“When it so directly impacts the ability to state a message and have an impact on the outcome of elections, I think it's protected by the First Amendment,” Hanaway said.
Of Missouri Democrats, she added: “As much as I might disagree with just about everything they have to say, I think they should be able to speak and not be governed by the National Labor Relations Board and its employees [not] allowed to unionize. Everything about political campaigns could be...
A Wixom, Michigan, business accused of making false statements to obtain a loan has agreed to pay a settlement of just over $1.5 million after it was sued by the federal government, according to th...