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Labor Groups Watching Kentucky House Races

Voters will determine Tuesday whether Republicans will take control of the Kentucky House for the first time in nearly a century. 

Someone closely watching House races is Jeff Cone, Vice President of the United Autoworkers Union Local 2164 in Bowling Green.  He fears Kentucky will become a right-to-work state under a GOP-lead House. 

Republicans argue Kentucky is losing jobs to neighboring states with right-to-work laws, but Cone says they’re not the kinds of jobs Kentucky wants to attract.

"It's a race to the bottom," Cone told WKU Public Radio.  "These new jobs that are coming in offer lower wages and little to no benefits.  It's fine to be bringing in new industries, but at extremely reduced wages."

Right-to-work legislation is a major tenant of House Republicans’ agenda should the GOP gain enough seats to lead the Kentucky House.  Republicans already control the state Senate. 

Kentucky is one of the last remaining states in the South that does not have a right-to-work law which allows workers the freedom to decide whether or not they want to join a union and does not make union membership a condition of employment.

Lisa is a Scottsville native and WKU alum. She has worked in radio as a news reporter and anchor for 18 years. Prior to joining WKU Public Radio, she most recently worked at WHAS in Louisville and WLAC in Nashville. She has received numerous awards from the Associated Press, including Best Reporter in Kentucky. Many of her stories have been heard on NPR.