Union leaders’ statement on Senate PEIA bill
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CHARLESTON – With minimal discussion, the Senate today has adopted legislation making sweeping changes to insurance coverage for 230,000 PEIA plan participants. Senate Bill 268 will trigger a 26 percent increase in employee premiums for state participants; penalize public employees that are married; potentially lead to the exclusion of local police, firefighters and emergency services employees from PEIA; and create even more uncertainty regarding the status of retirees participating in PEIA.
The bill was passed in conjunction with a $2,300 across-the-board pay raise for some public employees that in all likelihood will be consumed by the increased new insurance costs.
A celebration of former WV AFL-CIO President Jim Bowen's life Sunday
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Members of the media are invited to attend the Celebration of Life ceremony for former West Virginia AFL-CIO President Jim Bowen, who dedicated his life and career to the betterment of working men and women across the state of West Virginia.
Jim served as president of the WV AFL-CIO from 1997 to 2004.
The celebration, which will include tributes from a host of labor leaders from throughout the state, will takeplace from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at Four Points Sheraton, 600 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston.
A statement from Mike Caputo regarding the passing of Jim Bowen
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The following is a statement from WV AFL-CIO Vice President, longtime UMWA representative, and state Senator Mike Caputo regarding the passing of former WV AFL-CIO President Jim Bowen:
“The world is a better place because of Jim Bowen’s efforts for working people across West Virginia and theentire United States,” Caputo said. “Every day, whether it was on the picket lines at the steel mills and coal mines or in the halls of the Capitol, if it was your fight, it was Jim’s fight. He always put himself before others, and led by example.
“Jim’s passing leaves a tremendous hole in our hearts, and I will dearly miss his friendship, but he will continue to inspire all of us in the labor movement here in West Virginia and beyond to fight even harder to give working families a better way of life. He would expect no less.”
Former WV AFL-CIO President Jim Bowen Passes Away
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Former West Virginia AFL-CIO President Jim Bowen, who dedicated his life and career to the betterment of working men and women across the state of West Virginia and the entire country, passed away today at the age of 87.
“I struggle to put into words how important Jim Bowen has been to the labor movement here in West Virginia,”said WV AFL-CIO President Josh Sword. “He was a mentor to me and so many others who strive to help workers secure good paying, safe jobs and have a powerful voice in the workplace.”
This Labor Day weekend, celebrate the momentum of working people
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This Labor Day weekend is a great opportunity to take a break, relax, and reflect on the accomplishments of working people across the country. But within the labor movement, the break will be brief, because worker organizing across the United States is rapidly building momentum, and support of unions continues to rise.
“This week, the national Gallup Poll showed approval of unions in our country has risen to 71 percent, the highest it’s been in nearly 60 years and a full 10 percentage points higher than it was just five years ago,” West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword said. “Workers in all fields are fed up with decades low wages, unsafe workplaces, unaffordable health care, and a lack of respect and dignity on the job.
“More and more, working people are realizing that when they have the freedom to join together to negotiate a fair return for their work, they win the power and voice they need to level the playing field.”
We are a group of more than 575 affiliated unions joined together for the common cause of fairness for all workers.
The future of the working men and women of America depends on a strong, united labor movement. The strength of that movement is in our numbers: thousands of men and women united, striving for the same common goals
- fairness, justice, and equality in the workplace.
