Both legislative representatives from our area here in Morgan County, West Virginia, Delegate Cowles and Senator Trump, voted for the "The "WV Workplace Freedom Act" (SB 1), as it's disingenuously called. And it passed today. Even if our Governor vetoes the bill as he said he would, our legislature is now Republican-heavy enough that they can override.
Otherwise known as a Right To Work bill (yes, I used ALEC’s website on purpose — feel free to compare this “Model Policy” to SB1), among other things, makes it illegal for unions to collect dues from employees who choose not to pay, even though they’ll still enjoy the benefits enjoyed by labor contracts negotiated by the union. SB 1 is opposed by unions, and favored by industry and business. Opponents claim this bill will weaken unions' power by destabilizing them financially. Unions are responsible for guaranteeing safe working conditions, good benefits, and reasonable wages. Unions raise the bar for all employers, so even most non-union employers in the same area find they need to offer at least what the unions are in order to attract workers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that
1 million new jobs have been created between 2010 and 2014 in RTW states. However, another
study reports that wages are lower in RTW states. So, maybe more jobs, but less pay. Who gets rich like that? Right, the shareholders and CEOs, because they have more worker bees making less money. In the meantime,
Wisconsin has lost 10,000 jobs since implementing their Right To Work law.
This is not a bill that will attract smart people to our state, or keep our young people here once they’ve finished college. Given a choice of working for $19 an hour with few benefits or working for $24.25 an hour with good benefits is a no-brainer. We'll see our good workers fleeing the state for better paying jobs. And think about this: Do you want your car fixed by someone making $19 an hour or $25 an hour? I want the better paid worker, because, honestly, they'll work harder because they know they're respected and valued. Do you want someone taking care of your mother who has good health benefits, or someone who has to scrape together the money for a doctor's visit? I want the happy, healthy worker taking care of mom.
If our legislature were serious about attracting new business they could do so much better than providing businesses with underpaid, unhappy workers. How about making sure our kids are getting a good education, and making it an attractive place to relocate for new workers with families ? We are now ranked 47th in the country for education. Our teachers are the poorest paid in the country, and West Virginia was recently voted the worst state for teachers. Will businesses be happy with our infrastructure? I doubt it. No company is going to come to West Virginia when the average internet speed is 5.35 Mbps, making us 45th in the country. We have no public transportation to speak of, no trains or major airports. And as a manager, frankly, I’d be afraid of coming to a state where not only are accidental drug overdoses the biggest killer of young people, but we also rank #1 in drug overdose deaths! Let’s do something positive to address these and the many other issues facing our state today instead of dumbing down our workforce.
Among other speeches on the floor, was Senator Karnes calling folks in the gallery "freeloaders" because they weren't at work that day (they were there protesting the bill!). This kind of contempt for hard working people in WV, while not always this obvious, should not be tolerated. We need to do everything in our power, even run for office ourselves, to get a West Virginia we can truly be proud of.