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
- Details
By Carrie Hodousek in News | March 08, 2015 at 4:52PM
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The statehouse steps were packed with nearly 7,000 union workers from across West Virginia during Saturday’s rally to fight back against legislation such as prevailing wage, right-to-work, public charter schools, and coal mine safety.
Chanting and yelling was heard from union leaders, iron workers, general laborers, school teachers, and coal miners during the “Mountaineer Workers Rising” rally.
- Details
By Paul J. Nyden
The thousands who gathered at the West Virginia Capitol for a labor rally on Saturday did not have kind words for the new Republican majorities in the Legislature.
“What the Republican-controlled Legislature is trying to do to working families is immoral. It will move our state backwards,” said Lou Ann Johnson, an associate member of the United Mine Workers union and a former aide to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. “These legislators ran on a platform of jobs, but what they are doing is sending exactly the wrong signal for the kind of jobs we want to create.”
- Details
CHARLESTON — While a cool breeze floated over the crowd, it did not snuff the fire in their hearts.
Some mumbled among themselves, and others had opened ears, as the president of the the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) shouted to an eager crowd.
“We have a powerful voice,” Richard Trumka said, his voice echoing across the capitol lawn and over the Kanawha River. “Every single politician in that building needs to hear our loud, clear message.”
- Details
CHARLESTON – Standing strong against politically motivated attacks on West Virginia working families, close to 7,000 made their way to Charleston today to celebrate “Mountaineer Workers Rising.”
“This has been a powerful display of unity that sends a clear message to the legislators who are at this very moment inside the State Capitol, making decisions that directly affect West Virginia families,” West Virginia AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue said. “The people who have gathered here today represent a huge segment of our state’s population, and they want lawmakers to know that they are paying attention.”
Carrying signs with messages of “Safety and Security for all West Virginia Workers,” “West Virginians for Worker Fairness,” “Stop the War on Coal Miners,” and “Right to Work is Wrong,” attendees rallied against efforts to pass legislation to loosen coal mine safety protections, bring down wages and diminish public education.
National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts and Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall were among the large delegation of labor international presidents and officers who spoke at the noon event along the river side of the Capitol. (Attached are quotes from featured speakers.)
- Details
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- It was a busy day at West Virginia's capitol.
Nearly 7,000 people were on hand to show lawmakers that they're listening.
The rally was called 'Mountaineer Workers Rising.'
Several pieces of legislation were hot topics including weakening coal mine safety regulations, scaling back or repealing prevailing wage, charter schools and a proposed "right to work" law.