NEWS: Counties take up right-to-work Courier-Journal ELIZABETHTOWN - All it is, is a union-busting tactic, said Mark Morgan, vice president of the IUE-CWA local at Gates Corp. in Elizabethtown, which, among other things, makes belts for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. He said he doesnt believe claims that the Hardin ordinance is not meant to harm unions and reduce their ability to enter into collective bargaining with employers. I dont have to be standing in something thats waist-deep to know what Im smelling, Morgan said. Twenty-six states do not have right-to-work laws, and Kentucky has become the front line of efforts to pass local right-to-work laws in them. In places where right-to-work laws exist, employees cant be compelled to pay dues or fees of any kind to work in a union shop. Thats true even in cases where unions have exclusive representation agreements in which the unions are compelled to represent all employees. Warren County, home of the unionized Corvette plant, was the first in Kentucky to pass such a law. Then came Simpson, Fulton and Todd counties. Hardin joined them Tuesday, and Cumberland County is set to vote Feb. 10. Pulaski County likely will follow. Brent Yessin, a Kentucky-born, Florida-based labor lawyer, is behind the movement. He said he approached James Sherk at the Heritage Foundation about his belief that counties and cities in some states could pass right-to-work laws and then created a couple of nonprofit groups to push the idea. In August, the National Review Online posted Sherks analysis suggesting that Yessin was right, and the movement picked up steam - supported by two advocacy groups Yessin formed: Protect My Check and mycheckmychoice.org. Protect My Check has promised to help governments that pass the legislation and are ultimately sued by plaintiffs seeking to have the laws overturned. Thats a good thing for Hardin County, as a group of labor unions filed suit in U.S. District on Thursday to block the ordinance it passed two days earlier. The goal is, the taxpayer pays nothing to defend the suit, Yessin said. County power questioned The problem proponents face is that it is not clear whether counties, under federal law, have the right or ability to pass such laws. Proponents of the laws, however, argue that in Kentucky at least, the state Legislature has delegated that power to counties under its home rule law that gives local governments powers in situations that arent covered by state law. Theyve got opinions by a couple of former state Supreme Court justices to back them up. But Attorney General Jack Conways office has ruled that counties dont have the authority when it comes to right-to-work because the federal Taft-Hartley Act, which spells out labor-relations laws, gives the authority only to states and territories. Yessin said Kentucky was a good place to start the initiative because of its strong home rule law and because the Kentucky Senate is controlled by Republicans who favor the right-to-work law and therefore isnt likely to amend state statutes to say that counties cant pass such legislation. Its unclear where Yessins two groups get their money since neither discloses its donors. Yessin said some of the businesses and people who contribute are worried about reprisals from labor unions. In 1965, Shelbyville passed its own right-to-work law, but that was overturned by courts, which ruled cities didnt have that ability under the federal law. Right-to-work proponents note that the ruling applied to cities and not counties and came before Kentucky enacted its home rule law in 1980. Blocked in statehouse According to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, the 24 states with right-to-work laws include Virginia, Tennessee and Indiana, which border Kentucky. Most of the states with the laws are in the Old South and conservative Western and Midwestern states, but in recent years states like Michigan, a union hot bed, have passed them. Kentuckys Democratic House has fought off efforts to pass the law, and this year is no different. The Senate passed a right-to-work measure - Senate Bill 1, or the Senates top priority - on the third day of the 2015 General Assembly, but House Speaker Greg Stumbo recently said it wont become law. Its chances of passing the House, he said, are slim and none, and slim left town. Right-to-work advocates see the county-level ordinances as a way to place pressure on state legislators. Yessin said that in addition to the seven Kentucky counties that have passed or introduced right-to-work legislation, about two dozen more have contacted him about passing the ordinances. He said he sees the pace increasing if a court sides with Hardin County and the state Legislature again blocks a statewide law. If you had asked me (how many counties would pass such an ordinance) a couple of months ago, I would have said a dozen in the calendar year. Now, I think you could see a dozen in the next month, Yessin said.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 22:18:01 +0000
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