"Candidates for political office in this day and age who oppose providing domestic partner benefits to faculty and staff of our state universities are in denial of reality. We doubt this is a product of naivete — more likely it is a symptom of the cynical "whatever-it-takes-to-win" nature of the political game.
These are hyper-competitive times. No need to belabor this point. It's beyond documented — we're living it. Our competitive edge in the world economy is rapidly eroding even as argument over the nature of reality distracts us.
The reality of life in 2007 is this: people, while drawn into various communities by common beliefs and goals, do privately live their lives differently from one another. And as long as those lifestyles do not interfere with or impose their values on others, they are not the business of politicians, and certainly not that of business.
Reality: Domestic partner benefits are offered by 303 colleges and universities; 9,379 employers, including 79 Fortune 100 companies and 266 of Fortune's top 500, as well as 8,662 private companies; 13 state governments; and 145 city and county governments. (Data provided on the Web site of The Human Rights Campaign Foundation.)
Reality: Those employers include four of Kentucky's corporate leaders: Toyota, Lexmark, Ashland and Ford.
Reality: According to the latest Census Bureau information, 49 percent of today's workforce lives in households maintained by unmarried men or women.
In response to the recent decision of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees to provide domestic partner benefits to faculty and staff, UK President Lee Todd noted that, "A Top 20 public research university provides competitive pay and benefits to its exemplary faculty and staff. We've taken the time and received the input on campus, through the work-life initiative, to conduct a substantive analysis of where we need to improve our benefits to ensure that we recruit and retain the workforce we need to achieve our ambitious goals."
Logic is defied when a state mandates that its flagship university aggressively position itself among the nation's top 20 research institutions while sending messages that impede its ability to attract the talent it takes to meet that goal. Yet that is happening in Kentucky. Governor Ernie Fletcher suggests that he is considering action to block the provision of these benefits — access to childcare, health insurance and education — to the domestic partners of university faculty and staff.
Even if, in the end, no such action occurs, the message already sent by the campaign rhetoric of a governor struggling for reelection and of all those who agree with this position is that the talents of the knowledge economy might want to look elsewhere for welcoming, rewarding work environments.
Sometimes people try to make the issue of domestic partner benefits more complicated than it actually is.
Reality: Employers either try to be as competitive as possible in attracting talent, or they don't.
Reality: Employers either allow their personal prejudices to impede progress or they don't.
Business leaders have complained for decades that government has not kept pace with private sector innovation. We've often suggested that the best thing government can do is stay out of the way. Don't pass rules that impede our progress. Let the market innovate and evolve. Let employers recruit the best talent, develop the best products and services and attract the customers they need to grow and thrive.
We find it sadly ironic that some of these champions of the free market now find it necessary to interfere, impede progress and halt innovation.
In a complete turn about from a position taken only recently, Gov. Fletcher lately has toyed with spending hundreds of thousands of dollars — much of it extracted in taxes paid by Kentucky businesses struggling to maintain a toehold in today's competitive environment — to fund a special session that would include a call to block the implementation of domestic partner benefits at state universities.
Strange, since only back in February Fletcher stated that university boards "have the responsibility of looking at how they are spending their money and what they are doing to make sure they recruit the absolutely best educators they can."
Why such a profound change of position in so little time?
Two Republican candidates are challenging Gov. Ernie Fletcher in the May 22 primary: former Congresswoman Anne Northup and Paducah businessman Billy Harper.
On April 23, KET broadcast a debate among the three Republican candidates for lieutenant governor. They included Fletcher's running mate, Robbie Rudolph, as well as House Minority Floor Leader Jeff Hoover, Northup's running mate, and Harper's running mate, Dick Wilson.
All three stated their opposition to providing domestic partner benefits at public universities. Rudolph trumped all with the announcement that a special session to block the benefits was now in the cards.
Whatever reasons these politicians might have to oppose domestic partner benefits, it still boils down to a policy that discriminates against a select group of workers and inhibits the ability to recruit skilled individuals for our workforce.
Reality: The simple truth is many families look different than they did decades ago. Businesses large and small, in the Bluegrass and beyond, recognize this and understand it. Four progressive multinationals with close Kentucky ties all provide domestic partner benefits.
The commonwealth has pressing needs that may demand a special session of the legislature. The World Equestrian Games need funding. Blue Grass Airport needs state funding to acquire federal support. We have other pressing needs as well — education, addressing health care costs, our transportation infrastructure. The consideration of this possible last-minute addition by the governor is political opportunism at its worst. It's a distraction from the real issues Kentucky faces. It's an invocation of fearful prejudices long since left behind by the leaders of successful businesses. It represents the wrong direction for business and the wrong direction for Kentucky.
While researching for his book, The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida discovered that heterosexual employees — including those without domestic partners — often view domestic partner benefits as an indication of an employer that understands the value of diversity, inclusiveness and creativity. "If you want to grow, you have to be diverse," Florida said in response to an e-mail query for this commentary. "Creativity is brutal; it does not conform to any of the social categories we have imposed on ourselves. Places that don't include gays or lesbians, or any other group, will stagnate and fall behind. Those that welcome all will thrive."
In a statement to Business Lexington, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 13,000 business leaders and customers employing more than 400,000 Kentucky workers, said of the controversy, "While the Kentucky Chamber has not taken a position on UK's decision to offer domestic partner benefits, the chamber has a long history of supporting the right of employers to set their own workplace standards, including wages and benefits, without excessive government regulation."
We're looking to those who aspire to lead Kentucky into the future to address issues relevant to business competitiveness in the 21st century. That can only include recognition of the realities of the world in which we all live.
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