Kenny Perdue: In face of hostile Legislature, people turned out to be heard
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I must admit, at the outset of the 2015 regular legislative session, I was taken aback by the outright hostility and disrespect directed toward working people and the unions who represent them. I was troubled by opinion pieces in Charleston newspapers from a coal industry/big business representative, a corporate labor attorney and a former legislator that not only included untruths, but in a few instances, base mean-spiritedness.
But in the end, I’m grateful.
When faced with that reality, and the realization that the majority of legislators in office right now favor large corporate interests over the well being, safety and way of life of the middle class and working poor, West Virginians turned out by the thousands at the state Capitol March 7.
They demanded that the truth be told about a bill with the word “Safety” in the title that instead reversed mine safety regulations, and legislation called “Right to Work” that would lower wages and limit options in the workplace.
Mike Caputo: Governor's decision hurts coal miners
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I am deeply disappointed that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed Senate Bill 357, the so-called Creating Jobs and Safety Act of 2015, into law. I have said again and again as this legislation has moved through the process that it is a bad bill, one that strips vital protections that were put in place to keep our miners safe. I am saddened that Gov. Tomblin put coal industry operators, CEOs and profits above the health and safety of West Virginia’s hardworking coal miners.
Ross Eisenbrey: Right to work is wrong
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The so-called right-to-work law is wrong for West Virginia.
“Right-to-work” laws are about only one thing: starving unions of the funds they need to help employees bargain with their employers for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Because federal law and the Supreme Court declare that no one can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment or be forced to pay dues used for political purposes, right-to-work is unnecessary.
But it does something else and goes too far: It entitles employees to the benefit of a union contract—including the right to have the union take up their grievance if their employer abuses them—without paying their fair share of the cost.
Legislature Requests Additional Study on "Right-to-work"
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - State Republican legislative leaders are asking for additional study into the economic impact of a potential right-to-work law in West Virginia.
A news release Wednesday says Senate President Bill Cole and House Speaker Tim Armstead requested the research on March 6. It will be completed by the West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research later this year.
This year's right-to-work proposal would have made it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, to require workers to pay dues to a union. It wouldn't have applied to federal workers.
West Virginia union rally planned at Capitol on Saturday
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - National union figures are heading to West Virginia to rally against the Republican Legislature.
The rally will be noon Saturday at the Capitol. Labor leaders attending include: American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts and Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall.
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.
