JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, the labor union representing Missouri prison workers endorsed a Democrat for governor.
In an announcement Monday, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, received the backing of the Missouri Correctional Officers Association over Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe.
鈥淗er values and mission for the department align with ours, she understands the plight of every state employee, and we believe she will make the necessary changes that are desperately needed to keep our law enforcement and communities safe,鈥 said union chief Timothy Cutt.
In August, Cutt criticized Kehoe for sponsoring as a state senator that 鈥渆ssentially stripped all state employees of any kind of employee rights.鈥
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He said the legislation was akin to an anti-union 鈥渞ight to work鈥 question that two-thirds of Missouri voters turned down in 2018.
鈥淪o that鈥檚 why we probably won鈥檛 be endorsing him at all,鈥 Cutt said.
Members of the union have been working under a bargaining agreement that expired in 2018, the year Republican Gov. Mike Parson, a Kehoe ally, took office.
After the corrections officers鈥 agreement expired, the state stopped deducting union dues from officers鈥 paychecks.
The corrections officers sued Parson鈥檚 administration to resume paycheck deductions for union dues, and collection restarted in 2023 after to a court settlement.
Even with the friction, Parson鈥檚 administration has backed numerous pay increases for corrections officers and other state workers in recent years.
The corrections officers endorsed former Gov. Eric Greitens in his 2016 bid for governor.
Even though the group clashed with Parson and didn鈥檛 endorse him, it still didn鈥檛 endorse his opponent in the 2020 election, then-Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat.
Kehoe has won the support of other law enforcement groups, including the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police and the Missouri State Council of Fire Fighters.
He also has the support of organizations such as the Missouri State Troopers Association and Missouri Sheriffs United.
Quade, meanwhile, lists support from numerous unions on her campaign website, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Missouri AFL-CIO, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 655, and others.
Quade said she was thankful to have the support of the prison guards.
鈥淭hey work so hard to make our communities safe and deserve a governor who will have their backs. I鈥檒l always make sure our law enforcement has the resources and support to protect our communities,鈥 Quade said.