
Lawmaker Looks to Repeal "Right to Work" Law
Clip: Season 4 Episode 319 | 2m 55sVideo has Closed Captions
Lawmaker says "Right to Work" law hurts Kentucky families.
"The Kentucky General Assembly passed a Right to Work Law in 2017 that allows workers to opt out of joining a union if a business has one. Backers say it was needed to make Kentucky competitive so it could attract business. Critics say that law hurt unions, and as a result, hurts Kentucky families.
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Kentucky Edition is a local public television program presented by KET

Lawmaker Looks to Repeal "Right to Work" Law
Clip: Season 4 Episode 319 | 2m 55sVideo has Closed Captions
"The Kentucky General Assembly passed a Right to Work Law in 2017 that allows workers to opt out of joining a union if a business has one. Backers say it was needed to make Kentucky competitive so it could attract business. Critics say that law hurt unions, and as a result, hurts Kentucky families.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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In 2017, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a right to work law that allows workers to opt out of joining a union if a business has one.
Backers say it was needed to make Kentucky more competitive so it could attract business and new jobs.
Critics say that law hurt unions and as a result, hurt Kentucky families.
Today, State Representative L3 Adrielle Camuel of Lexington, who is a Democrat, introduced a bill that would repeal it.
>> Working people in Kentucky are being squeezed and the people in power know it.
Wages aren't keeping up, costs are out of control.
And while families are struggling to make ends meet, the wealthy and well-connected are consistently getting tax breaks by politicians in both Frankfort and Washington.
This is not a coincidence.
It's by design, and it's the result of deliberate policy choices.
They passed House Bill one so-called right to work.
It was their number one legislative priority that year.
Then they repealed the prevailing wage.
Then they banned public employees from striking, and then they blocked unions from using our own union dues to advocate politically.
>> So what it does is it drives down.
It just weakens our labor unions.
It drives down wages.
It drives down the opportunity for them to be able to secure benefits and things like that.
And so what you see is a it's it's a little bit of a vicious cycle of, you know, big corporations that get tax breaks, right.
And then they don't pay their workers enough to make a living wage.
And so then our tax dollars also go to supplementing workers who don't make enough money to make ends meet.
And so we're we're kind of bookending big corporations on both sides while our workers are scraping by to make ends meet.
>> Kentucky doesn't have a worker shortage.
We have a wage problem.
We have a system that rewards the wealthy while ignoring the work.
And repealing right to work is the first step in fixing that.
HB 585 is legislation designed specifically to repeal Kentucky's right to work law and to protect workers.
It's to protect workers freedom to join together in strong unions.
So this bill is about the dignity of work.
It's about fairness.
>> We've got to get back to making sure that we value not just the work that's being done, but the people who are doing it.
We're at a critical point right now where we have got to do the right thing by working people and pass this legislation and actually make Kentucky a worker friendly state, one that provides a fair wage, one that provides better benefits, and one that also creates safer working environments.
>> A companion bill was filed earlier this month by freshman
FCPS Superintendent Responds to Investigation Finding
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S4 Ep319 | 1m 12s | Investigation find FCSP superintendent failed to 'fully comply' with school board policy. (1m 12s)
House Committee Scrutinizes Executive Branch Spending in Review
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S4 Ep319 | 3m 43s | Committee reviews spending habits of Kentucky’s three branches of government. (3m 43s)
Recognizing Heart Disease Symptoms in Women
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S4 Ep319 | 5m 1s | Warning signs of heart disease differ in men in women. (5m 1s)
University Professors Say Bill Threatens Tenure
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S4 Ep319 | 3m 41s | Bill lets Kentucky universities cut staff more easily by expanding firing discretion rules. (3m 41s)
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