By: Elise Wilke- Grimm, Columbia Missourian
Missouri Workers Center and other community allies gathered on Clean Slate Advocacy Day on Tuesday (March 12). Participants joined forces to lobby for Senate Bill 347 and Senate Bill 1161. Currently, there are 12 clean slate states in the U.S. that meet the criteria of the legislation.
A member of the Missouri Workers Center, Ellen Farkas, has been petitioning with the organization for two months since moving to Missouri.
“I just saw this bill pass in Minnesota while I lived there and it made such a difference, it really feels good when you can make a difference. I think that clean slate is a main part of the initiative for equal pay,” Farkas said.
Allies of this bill came from Kansas City and St. Louis to attend meetings with multiple senators and to attend a hearing with a council of 16 representatives present. The group was split into three sections to speak with as many people at the Missouri State Capitol as possible.
Dan Radkey, a Missouri Workers Center organizer, came in support.
“This would help a lot of people who are low-wage workers with felonies. When we criminalize poverty in Missouri in the first place, it doesn’t allow people to recover from poverty,” Radkey said.
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