Posts tagged West Virginia
ALEC Releases 4th Edition of “States That Work” Labor Policy Rankings
September 14, 2026 // “States That Work shows that the states giving workers the greatest freedom to earn a living are also creating an environment where businesses and families can thrive,” said report author and ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force Director Alan Jernigan. “From protecting Right to Work to removing unnecessary licensing barriers, states have a clear roadmap for expanding opportunity without growing government.”
Report: The Battle for Worker Freedom: Grading State Public Sector Labor Laws
September 10, 2026 // Union executives are prioritizing recruitment. The fastest-growing category of public sector labor legislation expands collective bargaining into new workplaces. On the strength of these new laws, union executives are slowly replacing their membership losses since 2018. From 2018 to 2025, the country’s four largest government unions report a net decline in membership of 87,919, or 1.3 percent. However, they also report a collective gain of 232,502 members, or 3.5 percent since 2024. This report awards full letter-grade increases to Idaho (now A) and Louisiana (now B) due to their adoption of pro-worker labor reforms this past legislative session. However, the drops in grades—Nebraska (D), Nevada (D), and Rhode Island (F)—are the result of these states prioritizing union executives over workers and enacting laws helping unions recruit, politick, organize, and strike. Thirteen states now have an “A” or “A+” grade—up from twelve in the previous edition of this report—while six states earned an “F”—up from five over the same time period. Overall, the research finds 25 states fall below a “C.”
Beverage Market strike nears 100 days as workers seek better pay and benefits
August 19, 2026 // Union representatives allege there have been confrontations involving people working at the business and those on the picket line. According to representatives, one striking worker was struck by a vehicle and another was shoved. The circumstances surrounding those incidents and whether any charges were filed could not immediately be independently verified.
Socialists Push ‘Rank-and-File’ Plan to Steer US Labor Unions
August 18, 2026 // From 2018 to 2021, the Young Democratic Socialists of America, DSA's campus wing, adopted what it calls the "rank-and-file strategy" as a national priority, urging members to take jobs in what YDSA called strategic sectors: education, healthcare, and logistics. The Democratic Socialist Labor Commission, DSA's internal labor arm, published a pamphlet describing the approach as a way to rebuild "a militant, left-wing, and democratic labor movement."
Op-ed: Faster Labor Contracts Act is bad for workers, good for union bosses
August 6, 2026 // Under current law, when workers vote to form a union, the employer and union negotiate a first contract through free collective bargaining. The FLCA inserts unrealistic Washington timelines and bureaucracy into this process. The bill passed the House after seven Republicans signed a discharge petition to bypass the Speaker and committee review to force a floor vote, all with no committee hearing, no CBO score, and no expert testimony. The bill is now before the Senate.
Beckley beverage delivery strike continues without agreement
July 26, 2026 // The Washington, D.C.-based Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an independent federal agency that assists unions and employers in resolving labor disputes, provided the mediator. However, the agency lacks the authority to force either party to accept an agreement. Farley said the mediator separated the parties and explored possible compromises during an eight-hour session that ran from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Beckley feels impact of stale contract negotiations with beer distributor
July 4, 2026 // Ian Moore, union steward, said he believes Johnson’s true objective is to bust the union. Moore said the company is also trying to eliminate jobs by eliminating helpers who assist drivers on delivery routes and are paid by commission. The rule changes would turn the position into an hourly one and eliminate the 40-hour guarantee at the same time. Johnson said the company is using management, sales staff and mechanics to run the product delivery routes right now. “She [Johnson] paid for them to get their Commercial Driver’s License, so that’s who’s pretty much driving right now,” Moore said.
Pennsylvania minimum wage bill stalls in state senate amid push for $15 an hour
July 1, 2026 // Citing the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office, many GOP members say an increase in the minimum wage would result in layoffs, reduced hours, increased costs to customers, and the destruction of small businesses. At this point, House Bill 2189 remains in the Senate but off the table and unlikely to be debated or voted on—at least for now.
Portable Benefits Win in Six More States
June 24, 2026 // A company willing to contribute toward benefits risks having the independent contractor reclassified as a traditional W2 employee, which brings new tax obligations, wage rules, and liability. Faced with that risk, most companies contribute nothing. Independent contractors are left to pay for benefits on their own, and many go without, with no safety net if they get sick, lose work, or grow old without savings. Portable benefits laws cut that knot. They establish that a voluntary contribution to a worker’s benefit account does not make the worker an employee. The account under this framework belongs to the worker, rather than the company, and follows them from one contract to the next. Contributions can fund health coverage, retirement savings, paid leave, disability protection, and emergency income, the protections a traditional job provides.
Organized Labor’s Violent Privilege: The Supreme Court Loophole Shielding Union Officials from Prosecution
May 27, 2026 // Under federal precedent, they can often destroy property, assault workers, threaten communities, and even commit murder with reduced risk of serious prosecution — as long as the acts advance “legitimate union objectives” such as higher wages or work rules. This extraordinary immunity stems primarily from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in United States v. Emmons, which gutted key provisions of the Hobbs Act. Combined with practical limitations in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), it has created a regime where violence during labor disputes is frequently treated differently under the law. The Emmons Decision: A Judicial Loophole In United States v. Emmons, 410 U.S. 396 (1973), three IBEW members were indicted for firing high-powered rifles at utility transformers, draining oil from equipment, and blowing up a substation during a strike. The Supreme Court held that such violence did not constitute “wrongful” extortion under the Hobbs Act (18 U.S.C. § 1951) because the union had a “claim of right” to pursue legitimate bargaining goals.