Labor

As a proud union member, I know that workers in Kentucky have the power to build a commonwealth that truly empowers all of us. For centuries, powerful business interests have built their wealth on the blood and sweat of Kentucky’s workers. Legislators in Frankfort too often side with big business over the needs of ordinary workers. It’s time that we fight back. We need better wages, benefits, working conditions, and labor laws that help workers organize and fight for what is rightfully ours. 

 As a State Representative I will fight for:

• A living wage for all workers, including an increase of state minimum wage from $7.25 to $18/hour, future rates that are tied to cost of living, and a reinstatement of the prevailing wage law.
• A repeal of the “Right to Work (for Less)” Law of 2017, putting the power to organize back in the hands of workers.
• Crack down on employer wage theft by increasing penalties and protecting whistleblowers.
• Closing the loophole (KRS 337.285[2]) that excludes  retail, restaurant, hotel, residential care, and in-home companionship workers from overtime pay.
• Fund our public pensions for our teachers and public employees, reversing cuts and tier systems.
• An end to the practice of preemption so that cities can protect workers by raising the minimum wage above the state minimum when necessary.
• Paid sick and family leave for workers, no matter where they work. Paid family leave should be at least 6 months surrounding the arrival of a new child.
• Expand collective bargaining rights, giving college, university, and public employees the right to join unions and to strike just like private employees.
• End the misclassification of large corporations such as Uber and DoorDash, and some small businesses, as “independent contractors,” used to evade laws on fair pay, benefits, and workplace safety.
• Create good union jobs and end the state funding of any economic development without a community benefits agreement allowing workers to organize, as well as investments in infrastructure, education, and climate resilience that will create good paying union jobs for thousands of Kentuckians.