Kentucky counties chart own right-to-work path

Kentucky lawmakers have tried, unsuccessfully, for each of the past two legislative sessions to pass a statewide right-to-work law. Twenty-four U.S. states have them: statutes that guarantee employees can't be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment.

Not content to wait for state action, several home rule counties have taken matters into their own hands and passed county right-to-work (RTW) ordinances.

Warren County, whose seat is Bowling Green, was the first in the commonwealth and in the nation to enact a local RTW law. The county's Fiscal Court voted 5 1 in favor of the measure Dec. 19. Simpson, Fulton, Hardin, Todd and Cumberland counties have passed or in the process of enacting similar laws.

Kentucky law allows home rule counties to regulate matters pertaining to the "promotion of economic development and commerce." Officials say it's the same justification that Louisville-Jefferson County used earlier this year to pass a minimum wage law, a first in the South.

Warren County Judge Executive Mike Buchanon says the county's RTW law isn't an anti-union move but rather an economic development necessity, particularly in the Blue Grass State, the last state in the south that isn't right to work. And some bordering states to the west and north, such as Indiana, also have RTW laws.

"Our site selectors tell us on a regular basis, 'You didn't get a shot at that particular project because they didn't include you on the beginning list, much less the short list,' he said. Buchanon added that he expects counties along the border with Tennessee a right-to-work state "at least one or two counties deep will pass right to work." Some far-northern counties bordering Ohio might also take the plunge.

The AFL-CIO blames "extremist groups, right-wing politicians and their corporate backers" for pushing the issue. A Heritage Foundation paper dated Aug. 26, 2014 was titled Local Governments Can Increase Job Growth and Choices by Passing Right-to-Work Laws.

And a new organization, the American City County Exchange (ACCE), an offshoot of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), recently drafted a model local RTW ordinance.

The Heritage background paper notes, "There is a good argument to be made that cities, counties, and other political subdivisions of states can pass their own RTW ordinances. In states where RTW laws are unlikely to pass the legislature, counties and cities can and should experiment with their own laws."

Simpson County Judge Executive Jim Henderson said his county's interest in right to work predates these developments. "We've talked about this issue for the entirety of my term in office; I've been in office for 16 years.

"Several of us who've watched this issue got interested, started talking about being able to do this and began promoting the idea with our respective (fiscal) courts over the last few months," he added.

Kentucky's attorney general has issued an opinion advising "that a local government may not enact a right -to-work ordinance." But supporters of the measures disagree.

John Russell, ACCE's national director, called the opinion "nonsensical" because it relies on an outdated court case that pertained to a city, not counties.

The judge executives interviewed say the courts may end up deciding. Buchanon said that Warren County passed its ordinance under the same state authority that Louisville-Jefferson County used to pass its minimum wage law. "If we don't have the authority to do this, then Louisville doesn't. But I think we both do."

Whether at the courthouse or State House, Russell sees momentum building. "I think the end result is upward pressure on the state legislature to act and implement right to work in Kentucky.

"It wouldn't surprise me if it does pop up in other states," he said.