Jack Conway campaigns against workers for union buddies

If Kentucky voters want greater freedom in the workplace and more economic growth, they should think twice about supporting Jack Conway’s mission to become the state’s governor in 2015.

A SurveyUSA poll sponsored by The Courier-Journal and WHAS-TV in Louisville and the Herald-Leader and WKYT-TV in Lexington found that over half of Kentuckians support right-to-work legislation, which would allow workers to opt-out of union membership and dues.

Unfortunately, state-level right-to-work legislation has been blocked by democratic lawmakers. Warren County Judge Executive Mike Buchannan was quoted in the New York Times explaining why county officials had to take matters into their own hands:

“[Kentucky state lawmakers] seem to be more responsive to their political parties than…to their citizens…we’ve had some union members that don’t want to pay the union dues but don’t want to lose their jobs.”

Union bosses – notorious Democrat supporters – are now enraged over having to actually earn their keep in the nearly a dozen counties that have passed right-to-work ordinances since December. And the state’s Attorney General – and democratic gubernatorial candidate – Jack Conway officially took their side a few months ago when he released an advisory opinion that painted local-right-to-work as unconstitutional:

“A local government may not enact a right-to-work ordinance.”

And it’s of no surprise that Conway has the support of many unions, such as Kentucky’s American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL–CIO), its website reading, “We hope to elevate that friend, Jack Conway, to the governor’s office.”

Additional endorsements from AFL-CIO affiliated unions are listed on Conway’s campaign website. The list includes:

• Teamsters
• United Food and Commercial Workers
• Service Employees International Union
• United Association of Pipefitters
• United Auto Workers
• United Steelworkers
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• International Union of Electronic Workers and Communication Workers of America
• American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees

Jack Conway’s stance against Kentucky’s labor reform trend not only makes him anti-democratic for putting the “needs” of his union friends over Kentucky voters, but also anti-growth.

Right-to-work counties have already seen an increase in business interest, which could mean thousands of new jobs. But Conway will not support the reforms.

Even in a democracy, voters’ voices can only be heard if their elected officials represent their interests and needs.

In Kentucky, Jack Conway is not that official.