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Autoworker in Louisville was ready to strike but Kentucky didn’t get the call
LOUISVILLE — Richard Jones remembers when the United Auto Workers made concessions to Ford in 2008 as the automaker avoided a government bailout that General Motors and Chrysler, now Stellantis, took. Ford workers did without raises and cost of living adjustments, he said, to keep Ford in business during the Great Recession. “All this time […]
Longtime Kentucky labor leader will not seek reelection as state AFL-CIO president
A longtime leader of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO, a prominent union federation, is not seeking reelection as president after serving more than two decades in the position. Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan — who also served in roles with the Greater Louisville Building and Construction Trades Council and the Greater Louisville Central Labor Council […]
Pike County crypto mining operation approved for electricity discounts with conditions
Kentucky’s utility regulator approved last week more than $2.5 million in electricity discounts over several years from utility Kentucky Power to a cryptocurrency mining operation in Pike County. As part of its approval, the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) is requiring Kentucky Power follow several conditions to make sure the costs of the discounts given […]
In Kentucky’s rivers, researchers try to understand where the mussels have gone
PENDLETON COUNTY — Wendell Haag wades through the cool, moving water of the Licking River, his eyes scanning across the silty bed for the distinctive shells he’s studied for decades. The river is seemingly paved with the shells of freshwater mussels featuring various sizes, colors and species, buried into the sediment amongst the rocks, crayfish […]
Kentucky ban on collecting some union dues by payroll deduction struck down
A Kentucky judge has struck down a new state law that prevents some public-sector unions from collecting dues through payroll deductions. Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate in an order on Aug. 30 stated that Senate Bill 7 creates “favoritism” for some public sector labor unions exempted from the law — specifically unions representing jail and […]
Kentucky Supreme Court chief justice won’t run for re-election in 2024
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter won’t run for reelection in 2024, opening up the field for a new justice to be elected next year to fill his vacancy. VanMeter, who represents the 5th Supreme Court District covering much of central Kentucky, has served in various roles in Kentucky’s judicial branch over nearly three […]
Coal-fired power failures during winter storm come to light months later
Last December a mass of arctic air, later unofficially named Winter Storm Elliott, swept through Kentucky plunging temperatures to as low as eight degrees below zero. The frigid weather led to a power supply crunch across the Southeast as households and businesses tried to stay warm. Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, the state’s […]
Union leaders hear from young workers organizing in Louisville
LOUISVILLE — It wasn’t until two weeks ago that Troy Plumer joined a union, a local chapter of the United Campus Workers, after working for about a decade as an IT professional at the University of Louisville. The union, which represents staff and faculty, recently held a rally on campus to protest a new compensation […]
Kentucky fails to meet fiscal trigger to allow for another income tax cut
Kentucky Republicans’ goal of gradually eliminating the state income tax has met an obstacle of their own making. State tax revenues failed to meet a fiscal requirement set by the GOP-controlled legislature in order to consider further income tax cuts during next year’s legislative session, according to a letter from the state budget director. The General Assembly […]
Kentucky regulator denies electricity discounts for crypto mining proposal
Kentucky’s utility regulator has denied millions of dollars in electricity discounts offered by utility Kentucky Power to support a massive cryptocurrency mining operation in Eastern Kentucky. The Kentucky Public Service Commission in a Monday order stated Chinese-owned Ebon International, the proposed Lawrence County cryptocurrency-mining facility, would “unquestionably” create jobs along with tax revenue for local […]
Organizers out to help shape power generation in Kentucky for decades
On a recent August weekend, canvassers walked along a neighborhood street in West Louisville, cars and semi-trucks roaring down the nearby interstate just a few hundred feet away. Chase Smith with the progressive grassroots organization Kentuckians for the Commonwealth knocked on each door, asking people if they “have a couple of seconds to talk about […]
FBI arrests former prosecutor who was impeached, removed from office by Kentucky legislature
A former prosecutor who was impeached, convicted and removed from elected office by the Kentucky legislature earlier this year is facing several federal charges including wire fraud and bribery. FBI Louisville Field Office spokesperson Katie Anderson in an email confirmed Ronnie Goldy Jr. — who was the commonwealth’s attorney for the 21st Judicial Circuit serving […]