Recent Press

West Virginia AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue said he is extremely grateful to Governor Earl Ray Tomblin for vetoing both Senate Bill 1, commonly known as “Right to Work,” and House Bill 4005, repeal of state Prevailing Wage.

“On behalf of 140,000 hard-working men and women represented by the West Virginia AFL-CIO, I would like to thank Governor Tomblin for seeing through the false promises offered by supporters of both these bills,” Perdue said. “Rather than endorsing legislation that only serves out-of-state corporate interests, the Governor stood up for West Virginia working families.”

Members of the West Virginia Coalition of Retired Public Employees (CORPE) will gather at the state Capitol Thursday, February 11, to remind legislators of the benefits owed to the thousands of retired public employees who are struggling to get by.

“It has been years since our retirees have been provided with a cost-of-living increase on their pensions, yet the state taxes the Social Security benefits and pensions of our retired teachers and public employees,” noted CORPE spokesman Ernest “Spud” Terry. “On top of that, retirees face the possibility of skyrocketing state insurance premiums that they simply cannot afford.”

Polling conducted in the last several days by nationally recognized firm Public Policy Polling clearly shows that most West Virginians hold unions in very high regard and do not want lawmakers to pass legislation that would weaken them.

“Time and again, we’ve provided the facts that show ‘Right to Work’ lowers wages, leads to more workplace deaths, does nothing to attract quality jobs and inserts government in private employer/employee negotiation -- and the underlying reason for those outcomes is ‘Right to Work’ weakens unions,” West Virginia AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue said. “That’s the sole purpose behind the legislation. And that’s why these big companies, the Chamber of Commerce, and these wealthy out-of-state interests want it.”

As West Virginia continues to recover from the far-reaching effects of Winter Storm Jonas, the West Virginia AFL-CIO sends out heartfelt thanks to the thousands of state Department of Highways and local government employees, first responders and utility workers who have dedicated so much time and energy to assisting state residents.

“Thousands of dedicated people -- working for the Department of Highways; state, county and local law enforcement; city and county governments; and utility companies -- have truly been put to the test,” West Virginia AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue said. “They’ve put in long shifts under very difficult circumstances, and we are extremely grateful for a job well done.”

oklahoma employmentCHARLESTON -- Workers from Oklahoma and Virginia visited Charleston today to talk about how so-called “Right to Work” laws hurt economies, lower wages, impair worker safety and eliminate jobs.

“We’ve presented countless facts and figures which show that a Right to Work law does nothing to help West Virginia’s economy, and instead would be harmful to West Virginia working families, but the rhetoric from the other side has been strong,” West Virginia AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue said. “We thought it was time West Virginians hear from working people who have experienced the damage Right to Work causes.”

Jesse Isbell of Oklahoma City lost his job of 36 years with Bridgestone Tire Plant, five years after the state of Oklahoma passed a Right to Work law.