Two more counties in Kentucky are now right-to-work.
Fulton and Simpson County both unanimously passed polices that prevent union membership as a condition of employment Tuesday night.
The ordinances offer “local employees the choice of whether or not to join a union upon employment,” the right-to-work group My Check My Choice said in a press release.
Three counties, all in Kentucky, have now passed such ordinances.
My Check My Choice told The Daily Caller News Foundation another county will vote on preliminary approval for right-to-work while another will vote of final approval. They expect five more counties to approve the policy in the next two weeks.
This part of a larger initiative to push right-to-work policies at the local, as opposed to state or federal, level. Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul praised the group and local leaders for promoting “common sense” laws.
In a statement obtained by TheDCNF, the state House Republican Leader Jeff Hoover declared, “I firmly believe this is the beginning of a movement across Kentucky at the county level to make our Commonwealth more competitive with surrounding states by passing local option right-to-work.”
Hoover added, “Kentuckians are tired of seeing companies locate and new jobs created in areas like Tennessee and Indiana without ever looking at our state because of our lack of right-to-work laws.”
Union-backed groups have already started pushing back against right-to-work counties, arguing that the policy will harm workers. In the past month, Keep Ohio’s Heritage has become a vocal opponent. The group is an associate of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 18.
“While it’s disheartening to see, I feel that we can learn some valuable lessons from this new strategy,” Pat Sink, business manager for Local 18, said in a statement. “Labor advocates will have to adapt, but as long as we continue to push our message to the public and debunk the ‘benefits’ of this type of legislation we can continue to hold it back.”
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that Right to Work supporters will continue to come up with new ways to promote their agenda,” Sink concluded. “That’s why it’s important for labor supporters and unions everywhere to incorporate that same vigilance in the fight against it.”
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