Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down medical review panels, upholds ‘right-to-work’ law
By Joe Sonka | Posted on November 15, 2018This post has been updated with union comment. The Kentucky Supreme Court Thursday issued opinions striking down the law creating medical review panels for medical malpractice lawsuits in the state and upholding the so-called “right-to-work” law that prohibits requiring employees to pay union dues....
UPS package handlers reject contract proposal; Teamsters leaders ratify agreement anyway
By Boris Ladwig | Posted on October 8, 2018Although UPS package handlers rejected a contract proposal that would cover about 240,000 workers, national leaders of the Teamsters union said its constitution requires them to ratify the agreement, causing some confusion, disagreement and anger among members nationwide, including Local 89 in Louisville. One...
Court rules that Kentucky’s ‘right-to-work’ law is constitutional
By Joe Sonka | Posted on January 24, 2018Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ruled Wednesday that Kentucky’s “right-to-work” law passed last year is constitutional, in a defeat to the local labor unions that filed a lawsuit against Gov. Matt Bevin challenging the law. The Kentucky State AFL-CIO and Teamsters Local 89 filed...
Swedish ambassador, Volvo dispute Gov. Bevin’s claim that company would have opened plant in Kentucky if it had ‘right-to-work’ law
By Joe Sonka | Posted on February 17, 2017During Gov. Matt Bevin’s State of the Commonwealth address last week, he praised the Kentucky General Assembly’s recent passage of a so-called “right to work” bill, claiming the ambassador of Sweden recently confided to him that Volvo would have chosen to locate a new plant...
Seven bills in five days: General Assembly fast-tracks legislation on abortion, unions, UofL and more
By Joe Sonka | Posted on January 9, 2017In their first week with supermajorities in both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly, Republicans wasted no time in passing major legislation that has long been on their wish list concerning labor unions and abortion. Here is a rundown of the seven bills that...
State House committee passes ‘right to work’ bill, repeal of prevailing wage in party-line votes
By Joe Sonka | Posted on January 4, 2017Long on the wish list of Republicans and business organizations in Kentucky, a House committee in Frankfort finally passed a so-called “right to work” bill on Wednesday along a party-line vote, sending it to the full House for final passage that might happen before...
House speaker talks local option sales tax, education, right-to-work and more during legislative update
By Boris Ladwig | Posted on June 9, 2016Kentucky Democrats likely will make passage of a local option sales tax law their top priority in the next legislative session, the state’s House speaker said during a speaking engagement in Louisville this week. The so-called LIFT (Local Investments for Transformation) would allow municipalities to ask...
Federal judge strikes down Hardin County ‘right-to-work’ law; county to appeal
By Boris Ladwig | Posted on February 4, 2016A federal judge has struck down a Hardin County law that prohibits labor agreements that require employees to pay union dues — but the county plans to appeal the decision “in a matter of days.” U.S. District Court Judge David J. Hale of Louisville...
Right-to-work, union membership and prevailing wage laws debated on KET
By Guest Author | Posted on January 20, 2016By John Gregory | KET Should non-union workers at a unionized business be forced to join that union or help pay for its services? Should labor costs for public education construction projects be set by state officials rather than by market forces? As the...
Chambers of commerce once again pushing ‘right-to-work’ in Kentucky, but does it stand a chance?
By Boris Ladwig | Posted on January 13, 2016State and local business associations are – once again – pushing so-called right-to-work legislation in Kentucky, and while they now have an ally in the governor’s mansion, the passage of such legislation remains unlikely so long as Democrats hold on to their tenuous majority...