Ky. workers endangered

Kentucky’s GOP was bolstered by millionaire donors, including the late President Ronald Reagan’s former economic adviser, and many other ultra-wealthy business elites. This should come as no surprise.

They have followed the same failed policy of “trickle down economics” for decades and continue to drive Kentucky into the ground; now we are one of the poorest states, one of the few still cutting long-term investments such as higher education, and we continue to push privatization everywhere we can.

But we must understand that the philosophy behind Reaganomics was exploiting worker insecurity. Where I live in Burlington, many people rely on warehouse jobs around Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport for a living. In fact, Amazon has just announced the creation of many new jobs. But will these be permanent and secure jobs? Doubtful. Amazon makes promiscuous use of staffing agencies to fill their labor needs during holiday seasons, works people at grueling hours, and cuts corners wherever they can — usually in labor.

We have to pay attention to quality over quantity for Kentucky’s growth, and the quality is rapidly deteriorating. The fall of Kentucky unions, no doubt solidified with the new right-to-work law, is the death knell for Kentucky workers.

This story was originally published March 9, 2017 at 7:16 PM with the headline "Ky. workers endangered."