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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.


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