Press Release Archives
- Join a Labor Day Celebration!
- WV AFL-CIO Mourns the Passing of Former Delegate Ron Fragale
- Teamsters Overwhelmingly Reject Contract
- Join a Labor Day Celebration!
- Public Employee Representatives to Discuss Sweeping PEIA Legislation
- Workers Will Rally for Fair Treatment at Italian Opera-Themed Tecnocap Celebration
- Ceremony Thursday to honor WV workers who died on the job
- WV AFL-CIO Holds 30th Constitutional Convention
- Teamsters at Bluefield WV Coca Cola Distribution Center Reach Agreement for a New Contract Avoiding a Strike
- Union members will rally Thursday to urge Sen. Capito to support PRO Act
- Public Employees Launch Legal Challenge of Paycheck Bill
- Workers Memorial Event | Wednesday, April 28th
- Statement from West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword on Sen. Joe Manchin’s Co-Sponsorship of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act
- WV AFL-CIO: Gayle Manchin knows Appalachia
- WV AFL-CIO: Legislative leaders using COVID restrictions to shut out public
- Teamsters at AHF Products Ratify Agreement
- The WV AFL-CIO celebrates Labor Day
- Union representatives commemorate National Correctional Officers & Employees Week
- WV AFL-CIO's Annual Workers Memorial Service Tuesday
- WV AFL-CIO rescinds endorsement of Justice Hutchison
- West Virginia AFL-CIO Endorses Isaac Sponaugle for Attorney General
- West Virginia AFL-CIO Endorses Bob Beach for State Agriculture Commissioner
- WV AFL-CIO invites all West Virginians to celebrate working people this weekend
- WV AFL-CIO, UMWA President Cecil Roberts, local labor leaders to honor those who died on the job
- Teamsters Local 175 joins West Virginia AFL-CIO
- Details
CHARLESTON – To honor the 15 West Virginia workers who died on the job in 2021, the West Virginia AFL-CIO and the Kanawha Valley Labor Council will hold an in-person event at noon, Thursday, April 28, at the state Capitol commemorating the 34th annual Workers Memorial Day.
“As we do each year, we will read the names of West Virginia victims of workplace injury and illness, take a moment to pay tribute to them, and vow to keep fighting for the promise of safe jobs for all workers,” West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword said. “In 2021, 15 West Virginians lost their lives while on the job. They were first responders, public safety officers, coal miners, and machine operators, and they should have returned home safely to their loved ones.”
On April 28, unions of the AFL-CIO throughout the country will observe Workers Memorial Day to remember thosewho have suffered and died on the job, and to call for action to make workplaces safe.
The West Virginia event will be broadcast via Facebook Live.
WHAT: 34th Annual Workers Memorial Ceremony
WHEN: Noon, Thursday, April 28, 2022
WHERE: Lower Rotunda, State Capitol, Charleston
- Details
CHARLESTON – More than 150 labor leaders from across West Virginia gathered virtually today for the West Virginia AFL-CIO’s 30th Constitutional Convention to adopt policies and elect officers, including unanimously re-electing President Josh Sword, Secretary-Treasurer Andy Walters, and the fourteen incumbent vice presidents that make up the WV AFL-CIO Executive Board to four-year terms.
The elected board members are: Fred Albert, AFT; Heather Anderson, USW; Bob Brown, AFT; Mike Caputo, UMWA; Joe Carter, UMWA; Dan Doyle, AFGE; John Epperly, State Building Trades; Joyce Gibson, SEIU; Elaine Harris, CWA; Jessie King, LIUNA; Charles Parker, IUOE; Dan Poling IUPAT; Gary Southall, UFCW; and Brian Wedge, USW.
- Details
Teamster Local 175 members employed by Coca Cola Consolidated in Bluefield West Virginia voted by 95% to accept the company’s latest offer for settlement of a new contract. The contract expired on July 28, 2021. The companies latest offer resulted in additional wage increases as well as a drastic reduction in the amounts of money that the company had previously demanded that employees contribute to their health insurance.
- Details
West Virginia AFL-CIO leaders, West Virginia union members and friends will rally outside the Charleston and Martinsburg offices of Senator Shelley Moore Capito on Thursday, July 22, beginning at 11:30 am, to urge Senator Capito to support the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
During the rally, labor leaders will briefly discuss how the PRO Act, a labor rights bill, will reform inadequate labor laws and empower workers to exercise their freedom to organize and bargain. West Virginia workers will call upon Senator Capito to join Senator Joe Manchin and co-sponsor the PRO Act, legislation essential to making America’s economy work for working people.
At the same time, the Eastern Panhandle Central Labor Council will rally outside of Senator Capito’s Martinsburg office.
WHAT: Rally outside the offices of Senator Shelley Moore Capito
WHEN: 11:30 a.m. Thursday, July 22
WHERE: 500 Virginia Street East, Charleston; 300 Foxcroft Avenue, Martinsburg
- Details
A dozen organizations representing tens of thousands of public employees - including law enforcement officers and other first responders such as firefighters, as well as educators, state and municipal employees - have filed suit in order to block a new law that was passed with the sole purpose of retaliating against them.
“As is clearly stated in our circuit court filing, the so-called ‘Paycheck Protection’ Act discriminates against organized public employees who seek to ensure safe workplaces and fair treatment by their employers, and was passed by this legislative majority purely out of spite,” WV AFL-CIO President Josh Sword said. “House Bill 2009 selectively and discriminately prohibits paycheck deductions for public employees and their unions, a practice that has gone on for more than 50 years without a problem, while still allowing hundreds of other paycheck deductions to remain in place.
- Details
The West Virginia AFL-CIO is inviting the press and public to view a Facebook Live event at noon Wednesday, April 28, to honor the 17 West Virginians lost on the job in 2020. During the 33rd annual Workers Memorial ceremony, union leaders will read the names of West Virginia victims of workplace injury and illness, and vow to keep fighting for the promise of safe jobs for all workers.
“For the second time during this pandemic, the West Virginia AFL-CIO’s annual Workers Memorial ceremony will be held virtually to ensure all participants’ safety.” WV AFL-CIO President Josh Sword said. “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight the direct link between workplace safety and the health of our communities. Now, more than ever, we should be reminded of the tremendous risk those in essential professions are facing and the need for stronger worker protections.”
On April 28, unions of the AFL-CIO throughout the country will observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job, and to call for action to make workplaces safe.
“We will continue to work tirelessly in hopes that one day no one is risking their life to make a living,” Sword said. “And until every workplace is 100 percent safe, we should take time to honor and remember those who were injured or lost.”
WHAT: 33nd Annual Workers Memorial Ceremony
WHEN: Noon, Wednesday, April 28, 2021