ACLU, ACLU-KY FILE BRIEF SUPPORTING AFL-CIO AND KENTUCKY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Last week, the ACLU and ACLU of Kentucky filed an amicus, or “friend of the Court” brief, with the Supreme Court of Kentucky. The brief supports AFL-CIO Local 2629 and the Kentucky Education Association’s assertion that Senate Bill 7, which became law in 2023 over the Governor’s veto, violates the equal protection provisions of the Kentucky Constitution, and targets the free speech rights of unions and union members.

SB7 is unconstitutional because it gives special treatment to some unions while shutting out others. Specifically, it prohibits public employers from allowing their employees to use payroll deductions for union dues and union political activities – except when those payments go to unions representing police, fire, and corrections officers. Kentucky’s The law claims to prevent public funds from being used to support partisan political activity, but the law itself shows favoritism for certain unions, and by extension, their political speech, over others.

“The language about equal protection in Kentucky’s Constitution is sweeping and clear. Our constitution was designed to protect Kentuckians even more than the federal constitution,” said Corey Shapiro, legal director for the ACLU of Kentucky. “Equal protection under the law applies to all Kentuckians, and prohibits the legislature from using its power to pick favorites without a justifiable reason.”

“Kentuckians crafted their state constitution to provide even more protection against arbitrary government power than the U.S. Constitution,” said Terry Ding, staff attorney with the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative. “The government violates those protections when it passes laws that grant privileges to certain people or groups over others without justification.”