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RIGHT TO WORK STATE GEORGIA LANDS KIA PLANT

Lexington, KY    The long awaited announcement from Kia Motors Corporation regarding the location of its first U.S. plant is in and the winner is Georgia.

The $1.2 billion plant in West Point, on the Georgia-Alabama line southwest of Atlanta is expected to employ 2,500 when production begins in 2009.

While there was speculation for many months about which state Kia would select, one factor was never in doubt.  Only employee choice states appeared to be given serious consideration. 

“As is the case in far too many situations, Kentucky was crossed off the list of potential sites in favor of states that allow employee choice,” says Doug Alexander, executive director of the Commonwealth Progress Council.  “Once you are relegated to the no call list, other factors that would work in Kentucky’s favor simply do not get considered.”

Potential sites in Kentucky were ignored as attention focused on Right to Work states Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. 

Kia Motors is owned by Hyundai, the automaker that passed over a site in Hardin County in 2002 in favor of a locating in Montgomery, Alabama.  Site consultants for Hyundai have since indicted that Right to Work was a key factor in Hyundai’s decision not to locate in Kentucky.

In a letter to Gene Strong, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, consultants for Hyundai have stated in writing that “Kentucky was initially recommended as a potential site for the facility due to the fact that we knew Kentucky’s commitment to economic development and the auto industry. . .However, one of the key issues and reasons Hyundai did choose Alabama over Kentucky was due to the fact that Alabama was a right-to-work state and Kentucky was not.”

Kia and Hyundai are not the only companies to find employee choice states in the South attractive.  Toyota and Honda Motor have also built plants in Alabama and Nissan built its latest plant in Mississippi.  Toyota plans to open a truck plan in Texas this year.

“It hurts to see Kentucky lose out on opportunities like the Kia plant when we know we can compete if we had the chance,” says Alexander.  “Giving workers the right to decide for themselves whether or not they want to join and pay dues to a union costs our state nothing and puts us in a position to compete for more jobs and opportunity.”

The Commonwealth Progress Council is an independent, non-partisan public interest association that supports programs and policies designed to promote economic development, job creation and employment opportunities in Kentucky.  The Council supports legislation that would give Kentucky workers the right to decide for themselves whether or not to join and pay dues to a union as a condition of employment.

Doug Alexander

859-373-0333

mobile:  859-221-1032

fax:  859-313-5385

Commonwealth Progress Council

2628 Wilhite Court

Suite 100A

Lexington, KY  40503

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