Union Station: March 19, 2021
March 19, 2021
 Welcome to Union StationMarch 19, 2021Welcome to Union Station, our weekly newsletter that keeps you abreast of the legislation, national trends, and public debate surrounding public-sector union policy. 
West Virginia public employee strike bill enacted without governor’s signatureWest Virginia Senate Bill 11, which makes public employee strikes illegal, was enacted on March 16 without Gov. Jim Justice’s (R) signature. It will go into effect on June 2. About the billSenate Bill 11 codified the 1990 West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruling in Jefferson County Board of Education v. Jefferson County Education Association. That decision upheld a circuit court ruling that a Jefferson County public school teachers’ strike was illegal. The Supreme Court of Appeals concluded, “In short, we decline to alter the common law judicially. Public employees have no right to strike in the absence of express legislation or, at the very least, appropriate statutory provisions for collective bargaining, mediation, and arbitration. In view of our legislature's silence on these complex issues, we decline to intervene.” In 2018, West Virginia teachers went on strike for nine days. A year later, teachers participated in a two-day strike. The newly-enacted law says, “Public employees in West Virginia have no right, statutory or otherwise, to engage in collective bargaining, mediation, or arbitration, and any work stoppage or strike by public employees is hereby declared to be unlawful.” The law says striking is grounds for termination and requires forfeiture of prorated pay to the county board of education. The Republican-sponsored bill first passed the Senate 20-12 on Feb. 22. An amended version passed the House 51-44 on March 2 with 23 Republicans voting against it. The Senate amended the House version and passed the bill a second time on March 3 by the same margin. The final version of the bill passed the House 53-42 on March 4, with two Republicans changing their votes to support the bill. The bill was sent to Gov. Justice on March 10. According to the state constitution, “Any bill which shall not be returned by the governor within five days, Sundays excepted, after it shall have been presented to him shall be a law, in the same manner as if he had signed it.” Without Justice’s signature or veto, the bill became law on March 16. Justice was first elected governor in 2016 as a Democrat. On August 3, 2017, he announced he was switching parties, giving Republicans trifecta control of the state. Republicans currently hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. PerspectivesSupporting
Opposing
 What We're Reading
The Big PictureNumber of relevant bills by stateWe are currently tracking 84 pieces of legislation dealing with public-sector employee union policy. On the map below, a darker shade of green indicates a greater number of relevant bills. Click here for a complete list of all the bills we're tracking. Number of relevant bills by current legislative statusNumber of relevant bills by partisan status of sponsor(s)Recent Legislative ActionsBelow is a complete list of relevant legislative actions taken since our last issue.
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