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Workers hold rally in downtown Charleston to protest Right to Work, prevailing wage repeal

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Incensed over the passing of Right to Work legislation and the repeal of prevailing wage, a crowd of about 100 West Virginia workers staged a rally in downtown Charleston Tuesday night in advance of a dinner to honor Sen. President Bill Cole.

The crowd lined Virginia Street and Dickinson Street during rush hour, holding signs and chanting “Cole Must Go” and “Right to Work is Wrong.”

“That’s a big phony description; Right to Work and workplace freedom,” said former WV AFL-CIO President Jim Bowen. “It has nothing to do with it. It’s a right to freeload and that’s ridiculous.”

Protestor Rob Hinerman said that the pair of bills hurts all workers in the Mountain State, whether or not they’re members of a union.

“We all think they’re going to put a hurting on working families in West Virginia. That’s what we’re here for,” he said.

Cole is the lone GOP candidate for governor. WV AFL-CIO Communications Consultant Stacey Ruckle said voting against him in November is the only recourse now.

“We know Right to Work is a failure in many other states. We already know the statistics and the facts, and we presented them, but to no avail,” Ruckle said. “There’s a lot of big corporate money behind this effort, so we have to fight back at the polls.”

Bowen echoed the sentiment that Right to Work hasn’t helped in other states.

“Indiana gave us a good example; they’re a Right to Work state, and Carrier (air-conditioning company) just sent 2,100 jobs to Mexico,” he said. “I doubt if they’ll create one job, in fact, this will cost lots of jobs here in this state.”

Both bills were vetoed by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin last Thursday, and then overridden by the House of Delegates and Senate the next day.

“Our leaders, our legislators and our platform for years have advocated for workplace freedom and the repeal of the antiquated prevailing wage statutes,” the WV GOP said in a release after the vetoes. “Today, thanks to the leadership of Senate President Bill Cole, Speaker Tim Armstead and the conservative majorities that voters sent to Charleston, we have kept that promise.”

On July 1, West Virginia will become the 26th Right to Work state.





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