It will help retain workers that we have and hopefully attract new workers to the system.

This is one of those rare instances where the workers and the employers are on the same side. It will be the end of many low-wage industries.

There's a lot to be proud of. Overall, public schools will see an increase; universities will see an increase. We have protected the social safety net, which is a tremendous goal given the economic times we face.

We need additional help to respond here in Missouri, as well as assisting with the request to dispatch workers to hurricane-affected regions. Active department employees are needed here to handle the increased workload.

We believe there is a need for a union to come in and help these workers. The conditions in some of these places are criminal, especially in the way they treat undocumented workers, and it's criminal that they often get away with it.

This dovetails nicely with what we're doing. Our role is to help Wal-Mart workers get a voice on the job.