Recent Press
- WV AFL-CIO devastated at sudden passing of former President Kenneth Perdue
- A statement from West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword regarding Senator Joe Manchin’s decision to not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate
- Join a Labor Day Celebration!
- Ceremony Friday to honor WV workers who died on the job
- Teamster Members Unanimously Authorize Strike At Coke
- The PEIA Cost Shifting Bill (aka SB 268)
- Public Employee Representatives to Discuss Sweeping PEIA Legislation
- Union leaders’ statement on Senate PEIA bill
- Workers Will Rally for Fair Treatment at Italian Opera-Themed Tecnocap Celebration
- A celebration of former WV AFL-CIO President Jim Bowen's life Sunday
- A statement from Mike Caputo regarding the passing of Jim Bowen
- Former WV AFL-CIO President Jim Bowen Passes Away
- This Labor Day weekend, celebrate the momentum of working people
- A statement from West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword regarding the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
- Ceremony Thursday to honor WV workers who died on the job
- 2022 AFL-CIO Convention - In Memoriam
- IUPAT DC 53 HOLDING PROTEST MONDAY
- WV AFL-CIO Holds 30th Constitutional Convention
- United Food Operation Food Drive Kickoff Friday
- A statement from West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword on Senator Joe Manchin’s position on the Build Back Better Act
- IUPAT DC 53 Hosting Open House for National Apprenticeship Week
- Honor and Celebrate the Labor Movement this Weekend
- Teamsters at Bluefield WV Coca Cola Distribution Center Reach Agreement for a New Contract Avoiding a Strike
- A statement regarding the passing of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
- Union members will rally Thursday to urge Sen. Capito to support PRO Act
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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.
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West Virginia AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue said he is deeply disappointed by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s decision to sign legislation that puts West Virginia coal miners at risk.
“In his long career as a lawmaker, Governor Tomblin had always worked to adopt laws that help protect coal miners – until now. Senate Bill 357 is a disappointing step backward in mine safety, and I had hoped the Governor would veto the legislation,” Perdue said.
SB 357 abolishes the West Virginia Diesel Commission, which protects the health and safety of miners in underground mines that use diesel powered equipment. It also increases the distance a rail track can be from the working face area from 500 feet to 1,500 feet -- a distance of five football fields an injured miner would have be transported to reach rail transportation to the outside.
But the most troubling element of the bill strips language intended to protect miners from ventilation dangers related to smoke and fire in instances of moving equipment -- a provision became the focus of attention after the 1972 Blacksville No. 1 Mine Fire in Monongalia County that killed 9 West Virginia coal miners.
“It’s only been five years since the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster that took 29 coal miners’ lives, yet this legislation removes safety provisions intended to protect West Virginia miners in the event of a fire,” Perdue said. “I am shocked and saddened by the Legislative leadership’s pursuit of a bill that places profits above safety, and I am very disappointed that Governor Tomblin apparently did not join the majority of Democrat legislators in seeing the danger the legislation poses to miners.”
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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.
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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.
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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.