'The worst year on record for union construction workers in Kentucky'
By BILL FINN
State Director, Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council
2017 turned out to be the worst year on record for union construction workers in Kentucky.
After total Republican control for the first time in 95 years, the Legislature rammed through the "Right-To-Work" law, a total repeal of Kentucky’s Prevailing Wage law and "Paycheck Protection." For all the rhetoric about lifting Kentucky workers up, cutting the pay, benefits and job security of our workforce was their first and real goal.
They did this to us in a record 5 days and held a rare Saturday session in order to punish union households as their first priority of attack. Five Republican Representatives and one Senate Republican joined the Democrats to stand with us on these votes and they won’t be forgotten.
The General Assembly reconvenes on January 2 through April 15. Expect a renewed effort for dramatic cutbacks in Workers Compensation. Workers Comp “reform” failed to become law last year but injured worker benefits are in the cross-hairs for the 2018 Session. It is part of Bevin’s pro-business agenda to make Kentucky "more competitive." “Pro-business” in Kentucky means anti-worker. The cutback in Workers Comp benefits, duration and eligibility will truly kick injured workers while they're down.
The licensing of our skilled trades is next on the chopping block. While there are no pre-filed bills yet, expect to see “reform” and rollback of the qualification needed to obtain state licenses in various trades. The shortage of Kentucky workers in the skilled trades has raised alarm bells among our competitors.
Their lack of investment in training over the years has now reached a crisis point to find qualified workers. Republican lawmakers' answer to this dilemma is to lower the bar for the training and experience needed to qualify for a license. Over $100 million in Kentucky tax money (our money) is now available for apprenticeship training. Non-union contractors who failed to invest in training and had no skin-in-the-game were the first to line up for this free money. The union trades continued investment and expertise in our members training will always be the envy of the construction industry.
The public pension crisis is the fault of both parties' failure to keep the promise of a secure retirement. Governor Bevin’s promise of tax reform to find more money to solve this situation was a sound bite. Now the crisis will be solved by pension cut-backs alone. Few of our members are covered by public pensions but this issue affects thousands of our spouses and union families.
Kentucky’s biennial budget will be drafted starting next week. The revenue needed to balance the budget and start solving the pension shortfall is north of a billion dollars. As a result, there will be fewer tax dollars available for public projects. The budget for school systems, for road improvements and every other infrastructure need will be neglected, which will affect our members' employment opportunities.
The answer to start fixing this mess starts soon. On Feb. 20, there will be a special election in House District 49 (Bullitt County). Former Representative Linda Belcher, a solid supporter of the Building Trades is on the ballot to regain her old seat. Her opponent is the widow of Rep. Dan Johnson who voted against our interests every time in 2017. Another Special Election will be held on February 27 for HD 89. The District includes Jackson, Laurel and Madison Counties. The candidates for both parties in this race have not been determined yet.
On November 6, 2018, all 100 House Seats and 19 Senate Seats are up for elections. There is no other group of Kentuckians more negatively affected by total Republican control than Building Trades members this past year.
Please get involved, get politically active and let’s start working our way back for real help for Kentucky’s Working Families.