Missouri is a MAGA paradise. Missourians overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024. They also elected Republican Mike Kehoe for governor in 2024, and Republicans have enjoyed a supermajority in Missouri’s General Assembly since 2012.¹ According to polling by Saint Louis University, the people of Missouri are happy with this arrangement.²

Like Maine, Missouri voters can bypass their General Assembly by bringing legislation directly to voters. Maine voters used the referendum process to force legislators to pass paid sick leave in 2019.³ Most Mainers are now guaranteed at least 5 days of paid leave per year.⁴ In a testament to the popularity of this pro-worker legislation, Missouri voters passed paid sick leave with 58% of the vote in 2024.⁵ Earlier this month, their Republican government repealed it.⁶

Let this serve as a dire warning to Mainers who vote for anti-worker politicians. Maine has had a Democratic trifecta since 2019. This means Democrats have held the Governor’s office and majorities in both the House and Senate for six years.⁷ Their trifecta expanded the 5-day guarantee to a 60-day guarantee in 2023. Starting in 2026, most Mainers will be eligible to take up to 12 weeks of paid family medical leave (PFML) to:

• Care for a family member with a serious health condition;
• Bond with a child after birth;
• Fostering or adoption;
• Care for their own medical needs;
• Deal with the transition of a family member’s impending military deployment;
• Or stay safe after abuse or violence.⁸

The PFML program will start paying benefits in 2026 because of the work Democrats are doing in the Maine Legislature.⁹ Maine Republicans, on the other hand, have consistently attacked PFML.¹⁰ Given the opportunity, they will repeal it just like Republicans repealed sick leave in Missouri.

Local S6’s 2023 contract was great for new employees because it expanded paid time off. The law guaranteeing paid leave did not override collective bargaining agreements entered into before 2021.¹¹ Under the 2020 contract, Local S6 members in their first year of employment received a max of 3 paid days off.¹² The 2023 contract raised this threshold to 6.¹³ We didn’t ask for this increase in negotiations. The company offered us more time off because the law made them.¹⁴ We did not win more time off at the bargaining table. We won it in the Maine Legislature. We won with the help of Democrats.

I am no liberal, but Missouri’s MAGA paradise will be on my mind when I go to the polls in 2026. It should be on your mind, too.

1. “Missouri General Assembly,” Ballotpedia, accessed July 16, 2025; Rudi Keller, “Status quo election leaves Missouri Republicans with legislative supermajorities,” Missouri Independent, November 5, 2024. ↩︎
2. Kenneth Warren, “Missourians Give Positive Approval Ratings to All Elected Republican Politicians,” Saint Louis University, March 18, 2025, accessed July 16, 2025. ↩︎
3. “Maine Paid Sick Leave Initiative (2020),” Ballotpedia, accessed July 17, 2025; Scott Thistle, “New law to make Maine first state with paid sick time that covers more than getting sick,” Portland Press Herald, May 28, 2019, accessed July 17, 2025. ↩︎
4. Ibid. ↩︎
5. “Missouri Proposition A, Minimum Wage and Earned Paid Sick Time Initiative (2024),” Ballotpedia, accessed July 17, 2025; Clara Bates, “Missourians vote to increase minimum wage, require paid sick leave,” Missouri Independent, November 5, 2024. ↩︎
6. David Lieb, “Missouri governor repeals paid sick leave law approved last year by voters,” AP, July 10, 2025; Rudi Keller, “Missouri Gov. Kehoe signs bill repealing paid sick leave,” Missouri Independent, July 10, 2025. ↩︎
7. “Party control of Maine state government,” Ballotpedia, accessed July 17, 2025. ↩︎
8. Maine Department of Labor, “Paid Family and Medical Leave,” portal, accessed July 26, 2025. ↩︎
9. David Sharp, “Workers in Maine will get paid family and medical leave starting in 2026,” AP, July 11, 2023; Susan Cover, “Maine Dems block Republican attempts to repeal, modify paid leave program,” Spectrum News, June 3, 2025. ↩︎
10. Randy Billings, “Republicans look to defund Maine’s new paid leave program,” Portland Press Herald, December 16, 2024; Sen. James Libby, “We need to fix Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Program,” Maine Senate Republicans, April 27, 2025. ↩︎
11. An Act To Support Healthy Workplaces and Healthy Families by Providing Earned Paid Sick Leave to Certain Employees, Title 26, § 626 (2019). ↩︎
12. Strike Settlement Agreement between Bath Iron Works and Local S6: August 24, 2020 to August 20, 2023 (Bath Iron Works, 2020), 28. ↩︎
13. Agreement between Bath Iron Works and Local S6: August 21, 2023 to August 23, 2026 (Bath Iron Works, 2023), 28. ↩︎
14. See transcript of 2023 negotiations. ↩︎