Labor unions in Kentucky have filed suit formally challenging the legality of Kentucky’s new right-to-work law. In January, the Bluegrass State became the 27th state in the union to adopt right to work when the governor signed the bill into law. (There are now 28 right to work states in the country after Missouri law was signed in February). The Kentucky AFL-CIO and Teamsters Local 89 asked the Franklin Circuit Court in Frankfort, Kentucky to enjoin the law while their challenge that right to work violates several provision of the Kentucky state constitution goes through the courts. Elsewhere on the broad subject of right to work laws, we were a bit puzzled last week by the contention of a labor leader in the Detroit News that the Michigan right to work law doesn’t work because the attrition rate in the UAW since the law was enacted back in 2015 is less than 1%. If I understand the point, then wouldn’t that mean that the law does work – giving the worker the final say on whether to pay the union dues or not? In the case of UAW workers in Detroit, they want the union, and now they have it!
