Missouri Jobs With Justice Voter Action

It has supported the campaigns of Democratic Party-aligned candidates and left-of-center ballot proposals, while also being involved in ballot campaigns to protect mandatory union fees, increase the minimum wage, and expand Missouri’s Medicaid program. ²

Background

Missouri Jobs With Justice Voter Action is a left-of-center advocacy and voter-mobilization organization that promotes candidates and policies supported by Democratic Party-aligned labor unions. ³

Its activities include community organizing, candidate recruitment and endorsement, voter engagement, get-out-the-vote programs, and ballot initiative support. ⁴

Its parent organization is Missouri Jobs With Justice, a left-of-center advocacy group. ¹ The two organizations share an executive director, Caitlyn Adams, whose compensation comes from the 501(c)(3) parent organization. ^{5 3}

Advocacy

Missouri Jobs With Justice Voter Action has previously supported the campaigns of Democratic Party candidates while supporting left-of-center ballot initiatives and advocating for left-of-center policies. ²

It was part of a coalition, with other left-of-center groups, that advocated for a state ballot initiative that expanded Medicaid eligibility within the state in 2020.  The coalition gathered 341,440 signatures and later supported the passage of the ballot initiative in August 2020. ⁶

The group has supported the “Fight for $15” minimum wage campaign  which has also been supported by national labor union federations such as the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). ²

Missouri Jobs With Justice Voter Action is a member of the Declaration for American Democracy coalition which advocates for left-of-center policy towards electoral systems. ⁷  

It opposed a 2025 Congressional redistricting plan supported by President Donald Trump and signed into law by Governor Mike Kehoe (R). ^{8 9}

Other policy priorities have included mandatory union fees, removing restrictions on abortion, and expanding paid sick leave. ²

Campaign Finance and Redistricting

In 2017, Missouri Jobs With Justice Voter Action received a $100,000 grant from the Instructional Telecommunications Foundation (also known as the Voqual Fund) to support the 2018 Amendment 1 “Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting Initiative.” ^{10 11} That same year, the Proteus Fund’s Proteus Action League donated $120,000 to the group for “Democracy.” ¹² The initiative would place redistricting power for the state in the hands of a state demographer, while implementing left-of-center campaign finance and lobbying reforms. ¹⁰

As of 2025, the organization’s highest fundraising level was in 2018 when it  reported $1,231,679 in revenue, ⁵ or roughly five times more than in the previous year, and as of 2025 was the only year to date in which it had reached $1 million in donations. ⁵

In 2020, the Amendment 3 “Redistricting Process and Criteria, Lobbying, and Campaign Finance Amendment” initiative, which Missouri JWJ Action opposed, overturned or changed some of the Amendment 1 provisions, eliminating the new redistricting system. ¹³ In 2024, a federal appeals court ruled that the original 2018 initiative’s two-year ban on lobbying by former legislators violated the First Amendment. ¹⁰

Funding

Missouri Jobs With Justice Voter Action has received funding national and local chapters of the  Laborers’  International Union of North America (LIUNA), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Communications Workers of America (CWA). ¹⁴

Jobs With Justice donated $90,000 to the group in 2023 to support minimum wage advocacy and $150,000 in 2022 “to support deep canvassing efforts in Missouri.” ¹⁵

It has also received grants from left-of-center groups including the Tides Foundation, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, and the Proteus Fund (through its Proteus Action League lobbying and advocacy arm). ¹⁴ From 2017 through 2023, the Sixteen Thirty Fund reported making five grants totaling $107,000. ¹⁴

Missouri Jobs With Justice Voter Action has received several grants from Missouri Organizing and Voter Engagement Action and MOVE Ballot Fund, which are affiliated with the Missouri Organizing and Voter Engagement Collaborative. ¹⁴

It has received multiple grants from the State Power Action Fund, which is the political affiliate of the State Power Fund. ¹⁴

In 2020, it received a $75,000 grant from the clearinghouse group All Hands on Deck Network, Inc., also known as the Movement Voter Project. ¹⁶

In 2024, Missouri Jobs With Justice Voter Action received a $45,000 general support grant from the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. ¹⁷