The West Virginia Legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Feb. 12 to become the nation’s 26th right-to-work state. The law, which goes into effect on July 1, allows workers in unionized workplaces to not pay dues, while continuing to enjoy union benefits. The legislation has been a Republican priority since the party took over the Legislature.

Lawmakers also overrode Tomblin’s veto of a bill that repeals the state’s prevailing wage law, which mandated a minimum wage for workers on state-funded construction projects. 

Senate Democratic Minority Leader Jeff Kessler, a candidate for governor, called it “a horrific day.”

“This is not based on any empirical evidence; this is based on a political attack upon unions, upon workers, upon families, upon our communities.”

The change in West Virginia comes at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court has on its docket Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a lawsuit that argues that all states should be “right to work” for public employees. [See Labor Spotlight on Page 5.]

West Virginia Gazette Mail, Feb. 12