FRANKFORT — Legislation that would make Kentucky a right-to-work state was approved
today by the Senate State and Local Government Committee.
The proposal, which would make membership in a labor union optional rather than
mandatory for workers at unionized workplaces, now goes to the full Senate for
consideration. The House of Representatives has already approved the measure, known
as House Bill 1, a designation given to House leadership’s top priority bill.
Testifying in support of the measure at today’s meeting, House Speaker Jeff Hoover,
a primary sponsor of HB 1, said the legislation would boost Kentucky’s labor market.
“Right-to-work is simply the name given to the ability of an employee to negotiate
his or her wages and negotiate his or her benefits directly with the employer
without being compelled to be a member of a labor union,” said Hoover, R-Jamestown.
“I don’t see why government should stand in the way of a worker opting to not join
and be given the ability to negotiate on their own if they so choose.”
“…Recent history proves that not only is passing right-to-work not a hindrance to
labor union membership, it can actually help labor unions grow. For example, both
Indiana and Tennessee … are right-to-work states and they have more union members
today then what they had prior to enacting this legislation. That is simply because
of the economic development that has been brought to those right-to-work states.”
Hoover said private sector employment grew 17.4 percent in right-to-work states
between 2001 and 2013, more than double the 8.2 percent in states that don’t have
right-to-work laws.
Rep. Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling Green, a primary sponsor of HB 1, said Kentucky has
lost job-creating opportunities to other states that have right-to-work laws. “The
governor has an initiative to make Kentucky the epicenter of advanced manufacturing
in the world. … There’s no reason why we can’t expand our economic opportunities
by passing right-to-work legislation,” he said.
Opponents of right-to work legislation testified that Kentucky’s manufacturing
sector is already strong compared to neighboring right-to-work states.
“Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that among all states, Kentucky
already has the fifth-highest manufacturing employment as a share of total jobs,”
said Anna Bauman, a research and policy associate for the Kentucky Center for
Economic Policy. “A larger share of Kentucky workers are in manufacturing than
workers in both Virginia and Tennessee, two of our three neighbors with active
right-to-work laws.”
Bill Londrigan, president of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO, also testified against the
right-to-work proposal, emphasizing that unions come to workplaces where a majority
of eligible workers vote in favor of them.
“Workers have a variety of options if they are unwilling to financially support or
become union members,” he said. “They have the freedom not to seek employment in
unionized workplaces if they are displeased that a union was voted in to a workplace
by a majority vote. In such cases, the individual can seek employment in the 89
percent of workplaces in Kentucky that are not unionized.”
Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, predicted the state’s economy
will quickly enjoy a boost if Kentucky becomes a right-to-work state.
“We will see the results very quickly across this commonwealth as the numbers, the
leading economic indicators in this state, start pointing in the right direction,”
he said.
House Bill 1 contains an emergency clause, meaning it would take effect immediately
upon being signed into law by the governor.