A STATEMENT FROM KENTUCKY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (KEA) PRESIDENT EDDIE CAMPBELL REGARDING FRANKLIN CIRCUIT JUDGE DECISION, FINDING SB7 UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Frankfort, KY (September 12, 2023) —“KEA agrees with Judge Wingate’s Order, that SB7 violates Sections 2 and 3 of the Kentucky Constitution. SB7 is unconstitutional because it treats public employees differently based on which union represents them. All public employees should have access to payroll deduction without regard to their job duties. If the legislature’s concern really is the appearance of state involvement in politics, it makes no sense to allow continued payroll deduction for dues and voluntary political contributions to some public employees while denying it to others.

“The current legislature cannot seem to decide if public educators are state employees under the control of the legislature or not. Apparently, they want to treat them as state employees when outlawing payroll deductions with SB7, but not when they are passing salary increases. Educators have been left out of statewide pay increases since Republicans took control of both legislative chambers. Average teacher pay in Kentucky ranks 40th in the nation.

“As the largest labor association in the Commonwealth, KEA plans to rely on Judge Wingate’s opinion to reinstate payroll deduction but has not yet done so. KEA has successfully moved almost 80 percent of its members to an alternate payment method. This effort has certainly been a challenge, but KEA members have grown tired and angry with the legislature for targeting them – again – simply because they effectively advocate for public education.

“It is no surprise that attacks like these on public educators take a toll. It’s pushing good educators out of the profession and creating shortages of not just teachers, but of bus drivers, cafeteria workers, janitors, and every position that makes a school thrive. Educators routinely cite a lack of respect as one of the reasons for leaving. While legislators and other elected officials claim to be concerned about teacher retention, their actions in passing adverse legislation and then defending those actions in court say otherwise. 

“Taking payroll deduction for labor organization dues might seem like a small thing, but when members of the largest educator organization in the state lose access to payroll deduction while other more favored public employees do not, it certainly makes clear that legislators don’t respect educators or the choices they make. In passing SB7, the legislature thought it could and would demoralize our membership. In fact, our members are more energized than ever. Educators understand who it is targeting them, and they know who their allies are. We believe that fact will once again make a difference in November.”