Labor groups, House Democratic Caucus urge inclusion of COVID bonuses in budget

Bonuses would come from federal stimulus money given to state

FRANKFORT, , KY. (WTVQ) – With the General Assembly set to vote on the state budget within the next five weeks, Teamsters Local 89, with a coalition of other labor organizations, urged legislators to include federally funded bonuses for those whose professions have put them at considerable risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Standing with them were members of the Kentucky House Democratic Caucus, which held three public hearings in December and took additional testimony from frontline and essential-support workers about the proposed federally funded bonuses. The meetings were in response to Governor Andy Beshear recommending the bonuses last fall.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, over a million workers in Kentucky were defined as essential,” Teamsters 89 Secretary-Treasurer Avral Thompson said.  “Almost all of Teamsters Local 89’s 16,000 members were among that group.  Essential Workers kept our economy going during uncertain times, and Teamsters in grocery, freight, manufacturing, package delivery and other fields were the backbone of it all. Our members and all essential workers in Kentucky deserve to be rewarded for putting their health on the line to keep the commonwealth’s economy strong during the pandemic.”

State Rep. Buddy Wheatley, who chaired the Kentucky House Democratic Caucus’ Essential Workers Work Group in December, said, “There will never be enough premium pay to settle the debt we owe to those Kentuckians who performed on the front lines each day, each hour, every minute, to keep us all safe and healthy during the pandemic.  These bonuses, however, would be a good start.”

Joe Baer, president of the Kentucky Professional Fire Fighters Association, said that “Kentucky’s professional firefighter have been on the front lines since this pandemic began and will continue to be there for our communities.”

“Educators have always been essential workers, but the last two years have shined a light on the tireless work of our school staff,” said Jessica Hiler, a Kentucky Education Association member who is president the Fayette County chapter.  “Their dedication and selfless efforts in the face of staff shortages, increased work load, and illness are nothing short of heroic.”

“Whether they are in a meatpacking plant with thousands of co-workers standing 12 to 18 inches apart or they are in a grocery store coming into contact with thousands of customers a day, these hard-working people exposed themselves and their family members to the virus so that all of us could stay fed,” said Bob Blair, President, UFCW 227.  “It was and, in many ways, still is a tremendous challenge that our people did not shy away from, not once. While they didn’t sign up to be frontline workers, that’s what they are. Grocery store workers and meatpacking workers deserve an essential worker bonus for the sacrifices they have made to be there for their communities when we needed them.”

“Construction workers were deemed essential early on during the pandemic,” said Chad Mills, the director of the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council for AFL-CIO.  “We were deemed essential because, without our services, people’s everyday lives would be dramatically affected.”

Budget negotiations between the House and Senate are scheduled to take place during the latter half of March.  The final version will be enacted by mid-April, and the budget will take effect on July 1^st.

TEXT OF RESOLUTION TO BE FILED BY STATE REPRESENTATIVE BUDDY WHEATLEY:

WHEREAS, since March 6, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has required Kentucky’s front-line and essential support employees to operate in dangerous, but necessary, work places; and

WHEREAS, many of our nurses, firefighters, EMS workers, and law enforcement and corrections officers have had to be in close proximity with those who were infected, putting not just their lives at risk but also their families’; and

WHEREAS, in operating and maintaining critical infrastructure and services, essential support workers have kept the lights on and our homes and businesses comfortable; stocked our grocery shelves; maintained our water and sewer systems; cared for our elderly; provided public transportation; cleaned our businesses, hospitals and other facilities; and undertaken many more essential tasks; and

WHEREAS, the American Rescue Plan Act permits Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to be used to provide premium pay to workers who protect and care for us and promote the health and well-being of our communities; and

WHEREAS, Kentucky’s front line and essential support workers provided public testimony to Kentucky lawmakers on three separate dates in December 2021, explaining why their professions should be reward with bonus pay; and

WHEREAS, More than 250 individuals contacted lawmakers to provide written and verbal testimony, along with numerous employee organizations representing healthcare and family services; first responders and corrections; education; transportation; food services and goods distribution; public works; and front-facing businesses;WHEREAS, the testimony submitted to Kentucky lawmakers in December represented approximately 1.2 million workers in the state.

NOW, THEREFORE, Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

The Kentucky House of Representatives bestows its highest honor and praise to the brave frontline and essential support workers in the Commonwealth who have performed heroically and continue to perform bravely in response to the coronavirus; and

The Kentucky House of Representatives calls upon the General Assembly and Governor Andy Beshear to award American Rescue Plan Act premium pay to front line and essential support workers who have served the commonwealth the last two years; and

 The Kentucky House of Representatives accepts Governor Andy Beshear’s invitation to participate in a work group, along with the Kentucky Senate, to formulate a plan to award premium pay to deserving members of Kentucky’s workforce.

This premium pay shall be awarded using guidelines issued by the US Dept of Treasury, with no state tax being deducted from the issued payments, and those payment be issued through a 2022-2024 biennial budget allocation.