2019 Annual Coating & Corrosion Expo Announced
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WESTON – The International Union Painters and Allied Trades District Council 53 is hosting the 7th annual Coating & Corrosion Expo this week at the FTI Training Center in Weston to provide free training related to surface preparation and coating application.
“Corrosion costs US households, businesses, and government agencies more than $300 billion each year” said Brian Stanley of District Council 53. “That’s $1,100 for every man, woman and child in this country. Corrosion results in excessive maintenance/repair/replacement, lost production/down time, product contamination and loss of product.”
A statement from the West Virginia AFL-CIO regarding House Minority Whip Mike Caputo
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The following is a statement from West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword and Secretary-Treasurer Andy Walters regarding House Minority Whip Mike Caputo, UMWA International District 31 Vice President emeritus and a Vice President of the West Virginia AFL-CIO:
When the West Virginia Republican Party included a hate group’s poster among their sanctioned displays at “WV GOP Day” at the Capitol last Friday -- a blatant effort to agitate and incite anger -- the only reasonable choice for the Republican House leadership was to seek to remove the offensive content before the matter escalated. Unfortunately, they refused.
Coalition of Retired Employees to Hold Annual Legislative Breakfast Meeting
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Members of the West Virginia Coalition of Retired Public Employees (CORPE) will gather at the state Capitol for a breakfast on Thursday, February 14, to remind legislators of the thousands of retired public employees who are struggling to get by.
“Retirees who are part of the Public Employee and Teachers retirement systems are dealing with undue hardships because they have not had a Cost of Living Adjustment and are not provided the tax exemptions that other West Virginia public retirees get on their pension,” noted CORPE spokesman Ernest “Spud” Terry. “Meanwhile PEIA is underfunded and health care costs continue to rise.
Memorial Service for Victims of Farmington #9 Disaster Sunday
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United Mine Workers of America, District 31 will be holding the 50th annual memorial service for the victims of the Farmington #9 Disaster on Sunday, November 18, 2018. The service will be held at the #9 Memorial site in Mannington, West Virginia beginning at 1:00 PM.
UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts will be the keynote speaker.
“On the 50th Anniversary of the Explosion, as we honor the 78 miners who perished in the Farmington #9 Disaster, we must understand that fifty years does not wash away the pain of losing a husband or fill the void left at the passing of a father or family member. There is no amount of time that can heal such deep wounds. But we do need to take some solace in the fact that these brave miners did not die in vain. Because of their sacrifice and the determination of their families, thousands of miners and their families have been spared a similar fate. We owe much to these martyrs and their families. May God Bless each of them.”
– Cecil E. Roberts
UMWA International Secretary-Treasurer Levi Allen will offer remarks
UMWA International District 31 Vice President Mike Caputo will emcee the event.
Family, Friends and the community are all invited to attend. Because of the anticipated crowd at the service this year, parking at the site will be limited. Parking will be available at First Exchange Bank and Miller Hardware in Mannington. Shuttle service to and from the Memorial will be provided. UMWA staff will be available to assist individuals at the parking locations. Please follow the parking signs to access these locations.
What: 50th Farmington #9 Memorial Service
When: Beginning at 1:00 PM, Sunday November 18, 2018
Where: #9 Memorial Site, Mannington, West Virginia
The following is a statement from West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword regarding Governor Jim Justice’s press conference this morning
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Governor Justice must think West Virginians are stupid. While dismissing as “rah-rah” a historic strike here that led to educators across the country standing up for fair wages and benefits, the governor held a press conference one month before the election making promises about things he says he’ll do months from now. Give us a break – everyone knows Mitch Carmichael and Bray Cary can’t be trusted.
Cleary Jim Justice doesn’t understand the scope and scale of PEIA if he thinks that one-time money is going to lead to a long-term fix for the fund. But what’s truly alarming is his mention of possible privatization. That would just be giving his fat cat CEO pals a pay raise at the expense of plan participants because we all know that when privatization happens, plan participants lose tens of millions of dollars in benefits in exchange for multi-million-dollar CEO salaries and golden parachutes.
Today was nothing short of a blatant diversion attempt to take attention away from all the chaos going on at the State Capitol. Jim Justice foolishly thinks he can mention just the possibility of pay raise in the future and everyone will forget the real reason educators and other public employees got any pay raise and a PEIA task force to start with: the brave souls who stood up and said, “Enough is enough.” West Virginia voters will not fall for it.
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.
