Posted on 01/21/2016 1:47:23 PM PST by MichCapCon
CHARLESTON — Thousands of union members crowded the West Virginia Capitol Wednesday night to protest right-to-work and other items on the Legislature’s agenda.
In a campaign organized by the West Virginia AFL-CIO, union members were bused to the Capitol to kick off lobbying efforts for the state's 60-day legislative session. The protesters gathered under the Capitol dome and chanted at legislators who were on their way to the governor’s annual state of the state address.
Union officials want to prevent any changes to prevailing wage requirements for government-funded construction projects, avoid cuts to government employee health benefits and prevent West Virginia from becoming the nation's 26th right-to-work state.
Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin have all passed right-to-work laws since 2011. If West Virginia follows, unions in the state will no longer be able to compel workers in unionized workplaces to pay dues or fees as a condition of employment.
Bills to make West Virginia a right-to-work state and repeal prevailing wage mandates were introduced Wednesday. West Virginia Senate President Bill Cole is the lead sponsor of the right-to-work bill.
Cole — a Republican campaigning to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin — was also the lead villain of the union protest. Boos and chants of “vote him out†echoed off the Capitol walls as Cole made his way through the crowd to attend the governor’s speech.
Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler, Cole’s Democratic opponent in the governor’s race, was one of several elected officials to address union protesters and ask for their support of his campaign.
Republicans have a large majority in the West Virginia House of Delegates and expect to have an 18-16 majority in the Senate, pending the resolution of a dispute over who will replace a senator who was elected as Democrat in 2012, switched to the Republican Party in 2014 and then resigned to take another job two weeks ago.
Capitol building officials were unable to provide an estimate of how many attendees passed through security screens Wednesday evening.
That’s amazing. I lived and worked in WV in the 80’s and it was the most virulently pro labor place I EVER lived...and I grew up in a union household in NJ.
Hey,
All you union stupids.
United mine workers union has lost you how many jobs?
Keep electing Manchin and crappola like him who will place their lips on obammy’s ass and sell your jobs to wind or some other crap.
All those unemployed coal miners have had it with the unions that took them for granted and rolled over for Obama and the environmental wackos and threw coal (and them) under the bus.
I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Sen. Joe Manchin (who’s a pretty canny ex-Gov.) change parties, if this measure passes, because his union support (and campaign contributions forcibly wrung from the rank and file) will dry up.
Do you guys seeing Tomblin vetoing this?
My old company, CSX Transportation, announced last week that it will be closing down its administrative offices in Huntington due to declining coal traffic, affecting about 120 employees.
Surprisingly, more than a few of those folks supported Obama back in 2007, despite his comments then about coal.
Not sure. He’s in a very uncomfortable place, no matter which way he jumps.
I wonder how many of those bussed-in protestors are from out-of-state? I think the answer is almost all.
A large percentage of WV residents are extremely poor and ill-educated. Mining was the only decent paying job for the HS (or less) drop out and now it’s gone.
West Virginia is a powder keg with desperation as the lit fuse. Remember, this is “bitter clinger” central.
Well, yes. Unions are the twisted spine of the democratic party, they don’t oppose anything as hard as they do right to work laws. Do any dems support it?
The good news is West VA doesn’t require a supermajoirty to override most vetoes, just a majority. Still, only 1 Tomblin veto was overridden in 2015.
If the rats get to fill that State Senate vacancy though....
After years of job losses, raping and pillaging by unions, more than a few people are waking up. West Virginia is the poster boy for sometimes you can fix stupid.
Democrats have killed blue collar jobs. Unions just keep voting dem
Another interesting bit of West Virginia trivia is that it is only one of three states where ObaMao lost every single county in 2012. Who can name the other two?
Norfork southern is going to be idoling some rail ways in West Virginia due to less coal demand, There’s also been talk of but out but they’ve so far resisted it.
Darnest thing is that vacant seat is in Wyoming County, which is in heart of the coal fields next to Mingo, McDowell, and Logan, on top of that it’s so damn corrupted voter fraud is gonna be big problem.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/21/west-virginia-senate-passes-right-to-work/
(Sorry - never learned how to post a link! Cut and paste works though.)
17-16 WV Senate vote to pass the measure. Score 1 for the good guys!
Link above actualy works - to my great shock and delight!
Tomblin has stated he is opposed to RTW. The pending court decision by State Supreme Court is crucial to passage. Or failure...
Oklahoma and Utah (although that was a bit of a one-off for Utah, given that it does have some moonbat areas that like to vote Dem, and Salt Lake County was trending that way, as it voted for Zero in 2008).
Utah and Idaho off the top of my head.
You are correct, though Salt Lake County’s margin for BO in 2008 was miniscule, less than 200 votes, so hardly a trend. More like a one time stupid attack.
SLC is marginal with respect to other races. It went for Sen. Mike Lee in 2010, 49-47%. Even Orrin Hatch, who had a desultory opponent in 2012, carried it by a subpar 52.8%.
For Governor, in the 2010 special, Gov. Gary Herbert won just 51%. In 2012, against desultory opposition, got just 55%.
The Salt Lake County Mayor (not the city, which hasn’t elected a GOP Mayor since 1972) last elected a GOP Mayor in 2000, the first and only time it did. It has elected two Dem moonbats in 3 races in a row, the most recent one winning 54% in 2012 for an open seat.
I would definitely say this is a bad sign and that SLC has been Californicated. Unfortunately, virtually every state capital county is moving or has moved to the Democrats in the past decades.
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