Joining a 14-state coalition of attorneys general, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron signed on to a letter Thursday urging leadership of the U.S. Senate to reject a new bill in Congress that would require workers to join unions.
The “Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021,” or “PRO Act,” would negate state right-to-work laws and require workers to pay union dues in order to keep their jobs.
“The Commonwealth has already made it clear where we stand on this issue by passing a Right-to-Work law in 2017, and our letter opposes the PRO Act because it would undermine this important law and the will of Kentuckians,” said Attorney General Cameron. “It’s my job to defend our laws as they are passed by the General Assembly, and to push back against federal legislation that would harm Kentucky workers.”
The attorneys general assert that the PRO Act undermines the Right-to-Work laws passed by 27 states, including Kentucky. The coalition also notes in the letter that they are responsible for upholding the laws in their states, including laws that guard the freedom of employees to keep their jobs regardless of whether they pay union dues, according to a press release.
“The PRO Act would only worsen the situation for many businesses across Kentucky, several of whom have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic,”said Ashli Watts, President and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber. “The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce was in full support of Kentucky’s Right-to-Work law, and we applaud Attorney General Cameron for his efforts in urging Senate leadership to oppose the PRO Act.”
Kentucky’s Right-to-Work law, passed in 2017 by the General Assembly, was upheld by the Kentucky Supreme Court in 2018, after facing a challenge from the Kentucky AFL-CIO and other unions.
Attorney General Cameron joins South Carolina and the attorneys general of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia in sending the letter.
You can read the letter here.
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