West Virginia Sets Stage for Right to Work Majority Among the States

Employee Relations

West Virginia will likely soon become the 26th state to enact right to work legislation, pending an expected override of the Governor's coming veto.  A right to work bill passed by the State Senate last week was approved this week by the House of Representatives.  The law will relieve non-union employees of any legal obligation to pay fees to a union that bargains collectively on their behalf.  Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D) has vowed to veto the measure, but the GOP only needs simple majorities in each house to override him, which they appear to have.  The vote comes as a Kentucky judge struck down a county's enactment of a right to work ordinance.  The judge found that the National Labor Relations Act prohibits a county government from enacting right to work legislation, invalidating laws passed in about a dozen counties in the state.   Meanwhile, Virginia is considering adding right to work language to its constitution.