Posted on June 17, 2024 |

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‘When Josh Hawley calls himself pro-worker, he doesn’t mean us’

By TIM ROWDEN
Editor-in-Chief

Independence, MO – A group of Missouri tradeswomen have penned an open letter slamming Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) for defending Harrison Butker, who told recent college graduates that American women should embrace traditional homemaking roles.

“When Harrison Butker told a group of young college graduates that working women like us have fallen for ‘diabolical lies’ by providing for our families, Senator Josh Hawley had a chance to stand up for us and for our freedom,” the tradeswomen wrote in the letter. “Instead, Hawley showed us his true colors by defending that message.”

The letter was signed by 55 Missouri tradeswomen – representing carpenters, electricians, ironworkers, auto workers, tile setters, machinists, painters, operating engineers, retail clerks and others.

In his speech at Benedictine College in Kansas last month, Butker told students: “I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.

“Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

Butker also said his wife embraced “one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”

Hawley’s own wife, Erin Hawley, is a prominent anti-abortion lawyer.

Amid heated controversy over Butker’s remarks, Hawley told Spectrum News: “I’m not going to go in for all of this lefty garbage and I just thought that his calls for folks to stand up and be bold was great.”

MISSOURI’S TRADESWOMEN
Missouri’s tradeswomen are having none of it.

“We are Missouri’s tradeswomen. We’re the women who are building America. But whether we provide for our family by working on a job site or by taking care of our home, what’s most important in America is that we get the freedom to choose. Because in this country, no one gets to tell us how to live,” the tradeswomen said in the letter.

The letter goes on to state:

“It’d be one thing if it was just a speech, because at the end of the day, Harrison Butker has a right to say and believe what he wants. But the problem for us is this — Josh Hawley has taken this obsession with controlling how women live to elected office. Hawley voted against the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. He’s attacked No-Fault Divorce laws. He cut overtime pay for more than 200,000 Missouri workers, including women who provide their families’ only source of income. And he’s led the charge to take away the freedom to choose how we build our families and what we do with our bodies.

“Hawley has made it clear that he thinks it takes courage for a pair of millionaires to tell young women that most of them should be homemakers instead of choosing to follow their own dreams — and that somehow the condemnation of that message makes that pair the victims. That’s not surprising, since he also thinks it’s courageous for a millionaire politician to say things like ‘home is a promise given to a husband, made possible only by a wife’ and that it’s the ‘man’s job is to provide for his family’ in a book (he wrote)  titled ‘Manhood.’

“When Josh Hawley calls himself ‘pro-worker,’  he doesn’t mean us — working women. He thinks it’s his job to tell us how to live. It isn’t. His job is to protect our freedom and invest in our communities so we can raise our families as we see fit.

“So our advice to Josh is this: You start doing your job. We’ll keep doing ours.”

STARK CONTRAST
Hawley is being challenged in his re-election bid by Democrat Lucas Kunce, a 13-year Marine veteran, national security expert and anti-trust advocate, whose own wife, Marilyn, helped organize her workplace under the CWA umbrella and was nominated to work on the Organizing Committee.

“I’m really proud of that because it’s huge for our family, it’s huge for her workplace,” Kunce said at a fundraiser in February. “It’s a part of our movement that we have in our country right now that honestly kind surprises me: that people have finally realized that the only way everyday Missourians and everyday Americans are going to have power again is through organizing and Organized Labor.”

It was another Sunday morning of sometimes heated but always civil political debate on Hancock and Kelley for Sunday, June 16, 2024.

Republican consultant Jean Evans (in for John Hancock) and Democratic consultant Michael Kelley discuss the following topics:

• Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick essentially put out an APB for Kim Gardner. After months of delays, the former St. Louis Circuit Attorney finally surfaced and met with Fitzpatrick.
• No tickets for expired temp tags in St. Louis; how about a loan instead?
• Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey goes to Washington to blast Trump prosecutor Alvin Bragg.
• Our quote of the week is from the Supreme Court ruling upholding access to abortion medication, mifepristone.

A 3,014-square-foot retail building in Bentonville’s Commerce Centre development recently sold for $2.2 million, or $729.92 per square foot.

Curtis Jared, a commercial real estate investor in Springfield, Mo., bought the single-story building at 1700 S. Walton Blvd. The Christoffers Revocable Trust, led by trustee Debra Christoffers, was the seller.

Guaranty Bank in Springfield, Mo., backed the deal with a $1.32 million loan. City Title & Closing of Fayetteville was the title agent.

The single-story building was built in 2000 and remodeled in 2015. It is triple-net leased to Burger King, which has approximately 11 years left on a 20-year lease. The building sold with a cap rate of 6.56%. The restaurant is operated by a franchisee.

In 2019, Christoffers paid $2.57 million for the property, which equaled $852.68 per square foot. Kwangho Taehee LLC, managed by Kwang Ho Cha, was the seller.

BEAVER LAKE ABODE
A 2,728-square-foot residence on Beaver Lake in Benton County sold recently for $1.32 million. The purchase price equals $468 per square foot.

Stan and Kelly Fulk bought the three-bedroom residence on Ravenshoe Road. Erin Kyle was the seller.

HSBC Bank USA of New York backed the deal with a 30-year, $993,750 loan. Harbor Closing & Title of Rogers was the title agent. The Limbird Team with Limbird Real Estate Group of Rogers represented the buyer. Jan Holland with Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney & Faucette of Bentonville represented the seller.

The 1.16-acre development was built in 2008. It includes a private boat dock with four slips. Kyle paid $1.1 million for the property in December 2022. Josh and Shannon MacNeel were the sellers. MacNeel paid $90,000 for the land in March 2007. Marc and Brenda Riney were the sellers.

Riney paid $75,000 for the lot in March 2004. Will and Libby Green were the sellers.

PINNACLE RESIDENCE
A 5,858-square-foot residence inside the gated Pinnacle Country Club neighborhood in Rogers sold recently for $1.3 million. The purchase price equals $222 per square foot.

Casey and Brittany Flippo bought the five-bedroom home on West Champions Boulevard. Barnes Ventures LLC, led by Rodney Barnes, was the seller.

Central Bank in Little Rock backed the deal with a 30-year, $1.28 million loan. Advantage Title in Bentonville was the title agent. The Limbird Team with Limbird Real Estate Group in Rogers was the listing agent. Jackson Hogue with Collier & Associates in Fayetteville represented the buyer.

Camelot Construction built the home in 2006 on a 0.37-acre lot. Barnes Ventures paid $1 million for the property in September 2021. Michael Cattaneo was the seller. Cattaneo bought the residence in September 2017 for $649,000. National Equity Inc. was the seller.

HUDSON HOLDINGS
Commercial acreage north of West Hudson Road (Highway 62) near the entrance to Lost Springs Golf & Athletic Club in Rogers sold recently for $1.2 million.

Knuckleheads Investments LLC, a Texas company, bought the 2.57-acre site, which is bordered to the west by North 23rd Street and to the east by North 22nd Street. Ashley Rehabilitation and Health Care Center is to the north.

Louis and Shannon Froud were the sellers. The purchase price equals $10.72 per square foot.

Real Deals submissions: Submit tips about lease activity, construction, transactions or upcoming projects valued at $300,000 or more to Paul Gatling at [email protected]. Please write ‘Real Deals’ in the subject line.

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