Miles Stanley was born in Dunbar on October 2, 1924. Before his untimely death at age 49, he would become one of West Virginia’s most important labor leaders.
Stanley served in the army artillery during World War II. He then went to work in a steel factory and, in 1947, became president of his local union. After rising quickly through the labor ranks, he was elected president of the newly created West Virginia Federation of Labor AFL-CIO in 1957. In this influential position, he urged the Appalachian region to develop a more skilled workforce. And, for his emphasis on human rights in the workplace, he was named as an adviser to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. In the mid-‘60s, he moved to Washington, D. C., for several years to serve as a personal assistant to national AFL-CIO president George Meany. However, in 1967, he returned to West Virginia, where he continued to build the state’s AFL-CIO into a major political force.
Miles Stanley died suddenly of a heart attack on May 3, 1974. The state’s AFL-CIO building in Charleston is named in his honor.
West Virginia’s highest court ruled Friday that a judge made a mistake blocking the state’s “right-to-work” law from taking effect after it was passed last year while the court challenge against it continued.
The Supreme Court, divided 3-2, concluded the unions opposing the law “failed to show a likelihood of success” in challenging its constitutionality.
They didn’t identify any federal or state appellate court that struck down such a law based on similar challenges in more than 70 years, Justice Menis Ketchum wrote. He noted that similar laws have been enacted in 27 other states.
The state AFL-CIO and other unions argued the law constitutes illegally taking union assets since they still have to represent all employees in a union shop, including those that the law would allow to stop paying union dues. They also asserted that it violated their rights to freedom of association and their liberty interests.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey granted the preliminary injunction, saying enforcement could cause irreparable harm to unions and workers until the legal questions are resolved.
The law doesn’t affect existing contracts, only future agreements the union and employers have not yet negotiated or accepted, Ketchum wrote. “The unions therefore have no protected property right that the Legislature has taken,” he wrote.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Allen Loughry wrote that issuing the injunction “was not merely imprudent, but profoundly legally incorrect.” The Taft-Hartley Act expressly allows states to prohibit compulsory union membership or dues remittance, and the U.S. Supreme Court “has essentially spoken on all critical aspects of this issue,” he wrote.
The law was passed in early 2016 by the Legislature’s majority Republicans. They contended it would attract businesses and give workers freedom by prohibiting companies from requiring employees to pay union dues as a condition of employment.
Democrats argued the measure solely aimed to undermine unions for political reasons, allowing workers to benefit from union representation without paying dues. Democrats also argued the economic benefits were unproven and wages would drop.
Justice Robin Jean Davis dissented in an opinion that wasn’t available from the court Friday. Justice Margaret Workman agreed in part and dissented in part in an opinion that also was not immediately available.
Several labor unions say they intend to sue West Virginia over a recently enacted Right-to-Work law.
Lawmakers approved the bill in February after Governor Tomblin vetoed it. Senate Bill 1 took effect last week.
The bill makes it illegal for unions to require nonmembers to pay union dues or fees.
Unions argue the fees cover the cost of contract negotiations that these nonunion members benefit from, but several members of the Republican-led Legislature argued the measure would help create jobs.
The state’s largest labor union, the AFL-CIO, and several other labor organizations, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the United Mine Workers of America, notified the Attorney General’s office by letter Monday that they intend to sue the state over the law.
“First and foremost, we believe it’s unconstitutional per the West Virginia state Constitution because it clearly prohibits the illegal taking of property without due process and compensate and that’s essentially what the Right-to-Work bill will do,” Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO Josh Sword said Monday.
“It will require union or force unions to represent people that don’t pay anything into the union.”
West Virginia’s Right-to-Work law was based on a similar billed approved in Indiana. Last month, a federal court ruled Wisconsin’s version of the law was unconstitutional.
According to West Virginia code, anyone who intends to sue the state must send notification 30 days in advance and file the suit in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
One of the hot-button issues in the 2016 legislative session is whether or not West Virginia will adopt Right-to-Work laws limiting union power.
Right-to-Work legislation would prohibit unions from requiring dues from workers who do not wish to be part of the union.
At a press conference Wednesday, AFL-CIO President, Kenny Perdue, argued the legislation lowers wages and worker protection, and does nothing to help West Virginia as a whole.
“It will be harmful to families,” Perdue said. “The rhetoric of the other side is so strong, but we believe the rhetoric is an untruth and is a making a huge move to destroy the lives of so many people in this state.”
Union workers from Oklahoma and Virginia also spoke about the negative effects of Right-to-Work in their states, urging West Virginians to reject the legislation.
Republican lawmaker say a right-to-work law will promote job growth in West Virginia and could increase average wages.
That was the message the director of the Affiliated Construction Trades of West Virginia, Steve White, delivered during a gathering of union officials and members at the state Culture Center Wednesday.
White, his union and other members of the AFL-CIO gathered to speak out against a bill that’s fast tracked through the West Virginia Senate. Senate Bill 261 would repeal the state’s prevailing wage, the hourly, overtime and benefit rates contractors agree to pay their employees when bidding on publicly funded projects.
The bill was introduced in the Senate last week and single referenced to the Committee on Government Organization, which passed a committee substitute Tuesday changing the bill from a total, immediate repeal to expiring the wage rate on April 1, 2015.
“We all know that the federal government has really picked the winners and losers when it comes to our coal industry and the same thing happens with prevailing wage,” Sen. Craig Blair, the bill’s sponsor and chair of the Government Organization Committee, said Wednesday.
“It’s the state government actually picking out the winners and losers.”
Blair maintained repeal would allow government money to be spent more wisely, resulting in savings for West Virginia taxpayers, but White said there’s no evidence to support Blair’s position.
Credit Ashton Marra / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Members of the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions gathered in the Great Hall of the state Culture Center.
In his research, White said he found states that have repealed the requirement have seen no costs savings on public projects and lower overall wages for construction and trade workers.
Some Democratic lawmakers have stood with union leaders to oppose the change, including Sen. Ron Miller who called it a chipping away at workers’ rights during the committee meeting Tuesday.
“Over the past few years, we’ve kind of ignored the workers in many ways. This particular piece of legislation doesn’t just chip, it takes a crow bar and a sledge hammer to workers’ rights,” he said Wednesday.
Both Miller and White, however, maintain there is room for compromise in the bill. White would like to see that come in a change to the calculation of prevailing wage rates and a minimum cap on projects.
Current wage rates are set through a survey the state sends to all state contractors asking about their going rates. White said that could be changed to a process that includes the gathering of more data.
White also said unions would agree to a $250,000 minimum project requirement for new construction projects and a $100,000 for renovations. Once those limits are reached, White said, the prevailing wage would kick in for construction and trade workers.
Credit Ashton Marra / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Sen. John Unger, a Democrat from Berkeley County, was one of many lawmakers who attended the rally.
“We see that we could find common ground, but we’re not having an opportunity to talk about common ground. Instead, bills are being pushed out on party line and we don’t want to be caught between the parties, we just want to have our contractors and workers have a fair deal,” White said.
Senate Bill 261 is scheduled to be reported back to the full Senate Wednesday, leaving it to be voted on early next week.
Blair expects members on both sides of the aisle to attempt to amend the bill on the floor, and expects some of those amendments to be approved, but said leadership does not intend to slow the bill any further.
“We know that the clock is our enemy. We’ve got to make sure we can get this legislation through our chamber, through the other chamber [and] to the governor’s office,” he said.
“The governor always has the potential to veto it and then we have the potential to override that veto.”
Blair said his party does not want to lose a crucial piece of legislation because they couldn’t beat the clock.
