Skip to main content

West Virginia Becomes the 26th Right to Work State


Earlier this month, West Virginia became the 26th right to work state after the Republican controlled legislature overrode Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomlin's veto of the legislation.  The "Workplace Freedom Act" is set to become effective on July 1, 2016.

Readers might remember my post earlier this month on the topic, in which I noted it was only a matter of time before right to work laws became effective in West Virginia (West Virginia on Verge of Becoming the Next Right to Work State).  I would not call this development much of a surprise, considering the Republican controlled legislature had the necessary votes to overcome the Governor's veto (all that was needed to overcome the veto was a simple majority...and Republicans in West Virginia had numbers on their side).  What is perhaps most interesting is how fast Republicans were able to move this legislation through the House and Senate.  Remember, this was the first bill introduced in the 60 day legislative session back in January! 

It will be interesting to see if other states such as Missouri or Montana attempt to use this "lightening fast" approach to pass similar right to work bills.  Some might remember that Missouri had recently attempted to pass right to work legislation as recently as last September, but lacked the necessary votes to overcome the Democratic Governor's veto of the bill.  For the time being, a majority of states have right to work legislation laws in place...and more states might soon be added to that list.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike

A few months ago, readers might remember that I pointed out that the New Jersey Legislature had voted to approve a minimum wage hike in the state .  Under the approved legislation, the minimum wage rate would rise to $10.10/hour in the next year and at least $15/hour over the next five.  (The current minimum wage rate in the state is $8.38/hour).  In that article, I had noted that the bill was then going to go before Governor Chris Christie for his approval or veto. As I had suggested previously, I thought that the Governor would likely veto the bill based upon his prior actions and comments on similar legislation.  Well, a few days ago, Governor Christie did just that and vetoed the bill on the grounds that it "would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unfathomable."  Pointing to the increase in hourly minimum wage rates, the Governor referred to the bill as a "really radical increase."  (It is interesting to c...
Post a Comment
Read more