Kentucky county passes ordinance that hits at power of unions

Reuters ^ | Dec 19, 2014 | Steve Bittenbender

[mdittmar]

(Reuters) - Warren County, Kentucky passed a right-to-work ordinance on Friday, making the fifth most-populous county the first in the state to pass legislation prohibiting unions from requiring members to pay dues in exchange for representation.

The ordinance, which lawmakers passed by a 6-1 vote, will face a legal challenge by unions, whose leaders said the law is designed to undercut their ability to bargain effectively for workers.

"What we're against is people benefiting from the union and not having to pay the cost," said Bill Londrigan, president of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO.

[skinkinthegrass]

💩!

[Sasparilla]

The union boss actually objects to free thought and free will.

[nascarnation]

Interesting. How does this work county vs state?
Or is that different depending on each state’s constitution?

[Petrosius]

"What we're against is people benefiting from the union and not having to pay the cost."

Can those harmed by the union send them a bill?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Novel, f’sure.

[ChicagahAl]

...what we're against is people benefiting from the union...

The only people benefiting from the union are the union bosses. Well, them and the totalitarian Dem pols they help elect.

The rest of us are against that.

[Svartalfiar]

Warren County, Kentucky passed a right-to-work ordinance on Friday, making the fifth most-populous county the first in the state to pass legislation prohibiting unions from requiring members to pay dues in exchange for representation.

Um, that makes no sense, and I would expect this to get struck down. The point of a union is representation (theoretically), and if you are a member, then you're represented and should be paying dues, or get kicked out. Right-to-work means workers can't be forced to join a union. At the same time, unions are perfectly free to determine requirements for membership. Like dues.

So I'm guessing either the author of the article has no clue what he's talking about, or the author of the ordinance has no clue what he's talking about.

[PLMerite]

Anyone know what this union goon’s salary is?

[lakecumberlandvet]

The Reuters article is not accurate. Check this link from the Lexington Herald-Leader for the factual story:

http://www.kentucky.com/2014/12/13/3591574/warren-county-votes-for-right.html

[Svartalfiar]

The Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/1BwIzsg) the measure passed on Thursday states that no employee covered by the National Labor Relations Act "need join or pay dues to a union or refrain from joining a union, as a condition of employment."

So yes, the author of the original article is an idiot. Thanks for clearing that up!