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Tomblin vetoes right to work, prevailing wage bills

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued vetoes Thursday on SB1, the right to work bill, and HB 4005, repealing the prevailing wage, both measures high on the GOP agenda this year.

Tomblin said he disputed that the state needed a right to work law.

“The issue of right to work has been discussed for a number of years, but I have never had a company cite right to work as a barrier to relocating to West Virginia. We do not lack prospects. Our issues are best addressed by improving our workforce and creating new development opportunities,” Tomblin said in a prepared statement.

Tomblin said the state has welcomed more than $10 billion in new investments and expansion projects without a right to work law.

“I do not believe West Virginia needs a right-to-work law, a law that would lead to little if any economy growth and may lower the wages of West Virginia workers,” the governor said.

Tomblin said he had worked with lawmakers last year on prevailing wage by exempting projects less than $500,000 and setting up a system to improve the wage rate calculations.

“These new rates have been in place for less than a year — we need to give this new methodology time to work…

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