Press Release Archives
- Join a Labor Day Celebration!
- WV AFL-CIO Mourns the Passing of Former Delegate Ron Fragale
- Teamsters Overwhelmingly Reject Contract
- Join a Labor Day Celebration!
- Public Employee Representatives to Discuss Sweeping PEIA Legislation
- Workers Will Rally for Fair Treatment at Italian Opera-Themed Tecnocap Celebration
- Ceremony Thursday to honor WV workers who died on the job
- WV AFL-CIO Holds 30th Constitutional Convention
- Teamsters at Bluefield WV Coca Cola Distribution Center Reach Agreement for a New Contract Avoiding a Strike
- Union members will rally Thursday to urge Sen. Capito to support PRO Act
- Public Employees Launch Legal Challenge of Paycheck Bill
- Workers Memorial Event | Wednesday, April 28th
- Statement from West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword on Sen. Joe Manchin’s Co-Sponsorship of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act
- WV AFL-CIO: Gayle Manchin knows Appalachia
- WV AFL-CIO: Legislative leaders using COVID restrictions to shut out public
- Teamsters at AHF Products Ratify Agreement
- The WV AFL-CIO celebrates Labor Day
- Union representatives commemorate National Correctional Officers & Employees Week
- WV AFL-CIO's Annual Workers Memorial Service Tuesday
- WV AFL-CIO rescinds endorsement of Justice Hutchison
- West Virginia AFL-CIO Endorses Isaac Sponaugle for Attorney General
- West Virginia AFL-CIO Endorses Bob Beach for State Agriculture Commissioner
- WV AFL-CIO invites all West Virginians to celebrate working people this weekend
- WV AFL-CIO, UMWA President Cecil Roberts, local labor leaders to honor those who died on the job
- Teamsters Local 175 joins West Virginia AFL-CIO
- Details
“The West Virginia AFL-CIO thanks Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) for signing on as a co-sponsor for H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
In the words of Sen. Manchin, ‘this bill will level the playing field’ for union workers. It is no coincidence that 60 percent of our country would join a union today if given the opportunity, but just ten percent of America’s workers belong to one. For nearly a century, the odds have been stacked against our working people. And in that time, inequality has skyrocketed. Wages have fallen. And corporations have gotten away with countless instances of illegal union busting and workplace harassment.
The PRO Act is how we build a better future for West Virginia's working people. We will continue to advocate for this monumental legislation, now with Sen. Manchin’s support behind us. Thank you, Sen. Manchin, again for your support.”
- Details
West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword congratulates West Virginia’s Gayle Manchin on being selected by President Biden to co-chair the Appalachian Regional Commission:
“From her early years as an educator to her past decades leading a variety of organizations -- including those focused on 21st century job creation, children and families, and healthy lifestyles -- Gayle has dedicated her career to helping West Virginians succeed, and would bring tremendous insight to the Appalachian Regional Commission,” Sword said. “Most recently, I have witnessed first-hand her tireless work as a founder of Reconnecting McDowell, a public-private partnership to help revive McDowell County, which has struggled since the strong downturn of the coal industry. She understands the challenges the residents of Appalachia face, and will address them head-on.
“I am extremely hopeful the Senate will quickly confirm her nomination.”
- Details
While Governor Jim Justice is loosening restrictions on bars, restaurants and retail facilities in the state, the West Virginia Legislature continues to operate under a cloak of darkness, locking out the public without offering even an online opportunity for participation.
“As representatives of working families throughout West Virginia, the West Virginia AFL-CIO and its affiliates cannot sit idly by and let the legislative majority trample the rights of West Virginia citizens,” WV AFL-CIO President Josh Sword said. “We understand the critical need to observe social distancing requirements in order to keep everyone safe, but the legislative majority is using these personal contact limits to shut down interaction with the public altogether.
- Details
Teamsters at AHF voted by more than 92% to ratify the Company’s offer today, ending an approximately year long dispute. The last offer was rejected by a vote of 93% on February 23. 2020. The new offer includes a total raise of $2.05 over the life of the contract, including retroactive pay back to February 2020 when the offer was rejected. Additionally, the new contract keeps employee health insurance premiums at low increases. The new agreement term is four years, which includes the prior year of 2020.
- Details
Under the cloud of this pandemic, union leaders across West Virginia have been compelled to cancel or drastically alter annual time-honored Labor Day events, but they ask that all residents take a moment to recognize what the labor movement has meant to workers and their families in the quest for fair wages, good benefits and a safe workplace.
“This coronavirus has been very challenging, to say the least,” West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword said. “But the labor movement has responded with passion and dedication, fighting nonstop for worker protections despite the failure of some in our state and federal governments.
“That’s what the labor movement does and will continue to do.”
- Details
Representatives of correctional officers at the state and federal levels joined together during this 36th annual National Correctional Officers and Employees Week to honor the professionalism, dedication and courage exhibited daily by the men and women working in West Virginia correctional facilities.
“Correctional officers and employees face grave danger daily, but the current pandemic has brought unexpected and unprecedented risks that they are handling bravely, with professionalism,” said Dan Doyle, National Vice President of the American Federation of Government Employees.
Elaine Harris, international representative for the Communications Workers of America, which represents officers and employees within the state correctional system, noted, “In addition to working to preserve public safety in the traditional sense, these officers must also be concerned with carrying COVID-19 home to their loved ones and communities. It’s a lot to ask.”