State labor leader concedes diminished influence on 2016 electoral outcomes

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Once the home of one of the most powerful labor movements in the country, one of West Virginia’s most prominent labor leaders concedes that labor isn’t quite as powerful in the Mountain State.

“That’s pretty obvious,” Steve White, Executive Director of Affiliated Construction Trades, said Monday morning on MetroNews “Talkline” with Hoppy Kercheval. “And I think that’s not a good thing for the state in the sense that, who is out there to argue and fight for good paying jobs, safety on the job, a drug-free job? That’s been what labor has done.”

The House of Delegates will remain virtually unchanged, with Democrats picking up two seats at most. The State Senate shifted four additional seats to the GOP.

“I’m pretty disappointed,” White said. “Obviously, those are key issues that affect our members and the state. But, so goes the election. Onto the next one, I say.”

Exit polling for union households isn’t precise, but the general consensus thus far is that union households didn’t make up as large a portion of the electorate as they have in previous elections.

Simultaneously, President Obama won union households in 2012 by a significant margin. In 2016, Hillary Clinton is estimated to have lost anywhere between two and sixteen points off President Obama’s 2012 totals–possibly more.

While Secretary Clinton still won the majority of union households, President-Elect Trump gained more votes from union households than either of the past three Republican Presidential nominees–including President George W. Bush.

White did say that labor isn’t necessarily an arm of the Democratic Party, citing the defeat of Ray Canterbury (R – Greenbrier, 42). Canterbury finished third in a race for two seats in District 42 by 293 votes.

According to White, that’s a blow. And, he knows the disconnect between West Virginia’s Democratic Party and the national Democratic Party could make things worse.

“The West Virginia Democratic Party cannot survive being tethered to the D.C. Democratic message,” he said. “It will not survive under those scenarios. The West Virginia Democratic Party has to find a way to get it’s vision out that is more in tune with West Virginia voters. That’s clear.”

In the foreseeable future, White’s not sure which trends and patterns will remain thanks to the uniqueness of President-Elect Donald Trump’s support in West Virginia.

“Clearly, the Trump factor and the drag of the Clinton factor,” he said. “It’s just obvious.”

Despite labor’s reduced influence on West Virginia’s elections, White said there are still battles left to be fought. He took Right-to-Work off the table, but said labor is going to continue to focus on a repeal of the changes to prevailing wage.

“The prevailing wage law was one of the best economic development tool our state has ever had, and by getting rid of it we are losing good paying jobs,” he said. “Not only to out of state companies, but to imported workers.”

Click here for full election results.





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