Louisville Courier-Journal: The reason for workforce shortage? Kentucky employees are frustrated and fed up | Opinion
By JASON BAILEY
The latest version of a decades-long narrative that Kentuckians lack the motivation to work now says we have a “workforce crisis.” Like in the past, this story from employers ignores the perspective of workers themselves. Listening to them yields a quite different, and better, understanding of what’s really going on in the world of work.
Many Kentuckians have experienced a deterioration of job quality for decades now. Policy decisions have forced unions to decline dramatically, decreasing workers’ voice on the job. Wages have been stagnant as a result, even as family costs have increased for needs like healthcare, childcare and housing. Companies have dramatically scaled back retirement and health benefits, and 38% of jobs in Kentucky do not even offer paid sick days.