Against the monopoly
"I'm not against unions, unions can be here," Stigall said. "I'm against the monopoly, ... that those workers have to be members of the union even if they don't want to be, they have to be."
Jimmy Duncan, president of United Steel Workers Local 1009, said it is not the first time Right to Work has been mentioned in Kentucky. He said there have been attempts to attach it to another bill, but it has never gotten through committee.
"I don't understand the title - Right to Work," Duncan said. "Everybody in this country has already got the right to work. It should be titled something like divide and conquer - that's what it's all about."
If an industry or business is unionized in Kentucky, all the employees are under a contract. They have to be a member of that union to be an employee. The act would give employees a choice, which could result in a division of workers within the company.
"That's why corporate America is pushing this thing," Duncan said. "They want to be done with unions. They don't want to have to negotiate with me or whoever it may be. They want to go after the working person. I see bigger problems with CEOs making millions and millions of dollars ... and ride a company into the ground. Nobody's wanting to pass laws to stop that. They want to go after the unions that represent the working people."
Labor unions may suggest job security, but Stigall said it may be a little easier for employees to slack on the job if they are protected by a union contract. Duncan said slackers exist in all areas of the workforce - both union and non-union jobs.
Stigall: Bill would help recruit industries
"If a company does their job right and takes care of their employees, there's no need for a union," Stigall said.
If the bill passes, Stigall said he thinks it will bring more opportunity to recruit top-quality companies in Boyle County and the state.
"We don't even know who might consider Kentucky because they won't even look at us because we're not a Right to Work state," said Stigall.
Duncan used Hobart and Caterpillar, two local industries, as examples of industries coming to Danville. He said the two industries both came to a point when it was time to negotiate a contract and decided to come to Danville where there was a non-union workforce.
Stigall said he hasn't heard much support for the act from the eastern side of the state. However, he said western Kentucky has shown more support for Right to Work.
"The chairman of ... this committee said it will never get out of this committee because he doesn't want to talk about it, but if the public will start talking about it and supporting it, they'll have to do something about it," Stigall said. "It's kind of sad legislators won't talk about something because they are afraid of what it does to them politically."
Some people don't want change, Stigall said. But to achieve economic development and growth, Stigall said Kentucky should support Right to Work.
Duncan said he has yet to hear any members of Local 1009 support Right to Work. However, he said he is sure there are some who do. "Not all unions are bad."
Stigall said, "If it gets defeated hugely, who's going to go out on a limb and bring it up again?"
