'Right to work' laws make big business rich, workers poor

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was a letter to the editor published in the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. We thank Todd Johnson for sending it to us.

By MATTHEW LITSEY

With all the chaos on the top of the ticket this election season, it's easy to overlook state level races. Jim Waters' column in the Oct. 16 Messenger-Inquirer illustrated the danger of not paying attention. In it he spouts the usual Republican drivel about so-called "right to work" laws.

These laws enable parasitic moochers to come into union workplaces and receive all the pay and protections that the union fought for without paying their due share of that fight. If you don't want to pay union dues, just take a walk down to the nearest staffing agency and enjoy your near-poverty wages and lack of stability. I've done that before, and will happily pay my dues to keep from experiencing it again.

People like Mr. Waters and Gov. Matt Bevin have a dim view of Kentucky manufacturing. Their idea of competitiveness is slashing wages, as if proud Kentuckians deserve no better than the scraps of our economy. The Democratic state-level candidates on your ballot have a much grander idea. Invest in education and trade schools so that instead of begging for scraps, our working class can have a seat at the table. Instead of selling ourselves short as America's China, let's be America's Germany. Our future hangs in the balance.