From the President

/in , /by

“All Eyes on Frankfort Kentucky”
The stars seem to be aligning in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky in 2017. The new Kentucky House and Senate leadership, along with Governor Bevin, appear to be interested in labor reform. Specifically, they have discussed Right to Work and Prevailing Wage reform.  ABC has been a successful leader on these issues: namely, Right to Work in Indiana (2012), followed by Right to Work in Michigan (2013) and Wisconsin (2015).

ABC stands for freedom: freedom in the marketplace and freedom for companies and employees to choose who they want to work with and for. Under Right to Work, workers are guaranteed that choice. Employment should not be contingent on forced unionism or forced financial support to unions.
Furthermore, Right to Work has overwhelmingly positive effects on economic growth:

*         Following Right to Work in Indiana, 4 billion dollars in new, economic development have come to the state.

*         Manufacturing (in Indiana and Michigan) bounced back immediately. Indiana saw a 10% growth and Michigan, a 9% growth, effectively ranking them as number 1 and number 2 in manufacturing job growth (2014).

*         Allied Van Lines announced that four of the Top 5 states where families relocated in 2015 were Right to Work States

As to Prevailing Wage reform and repeal, ABC members may have mixed feelings. Some members have established their business models, based around the fact that Prevailing Wage would always be in place. Despite some success with this model, ABC believes that it is in the interest of the greater good to bid projects based on prices established by the free market, rather than on arbitrary government prices. ABC believes that supporting Prevailing Wage reform and repeal is the right thing to do for taxpayers.

ABC is conservative in nature. I read an interesting definition of a “conservative” the other day- after all, what is a conservative? “We cannot conserve the present of the future. Things in the past are like things in the present; they must be judged.” Conservatism at its cores judges based on principle. Therefore, ABC defines our support of legislative ideas based on the principles of freedom: freedoms to workers and companies to fully participate in a market economy where merit, performance, and integrity count instead of forced dues and forced pricing.