[CHARLESTON, W. VA.] United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:
“The wholesale attack on workers, their families and their communities that is playing out in the State Capitol has gone on long enough. It’s time for the out-of-state puppeteers who are driving this assault on West Virginia families to step aside and let the people of West Virginia have their say.
“The Legislature has gone out of its way to needlessly divide West Virginians for the benefit of a wealthy few. They and the front groups that are responsible for this travesty know this effort isn’t about creating jobs or attracting new businesses to West Virginia. Their actions are about one thing and one thing only: stripping away the rights of workers and tearing down the strength workers and families have when we speak with one voice.
“The UMWA supports putting the so-called ‘right to work’ bill on the ballot for a vote next November. Before the legislature takes away the right of working families to earn a fair living working at a safe job, those families deserve the right to vote on it.
“I urge Governor Tomblin to veto this regressive bill, and I urge those members of the Senate and House of Delegates who care about building a better future for all West Virginians to support a constitutional amendment referendum on this question instead of blindly overriding the Governor’s veto and setting our citizens against each other.”
