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Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetos prevailing wage and right to work legislation

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (February 11, 2016) – Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin today vetoed House Bill 4005, repealing prevailing hourly rate of wages requirements:

“Last year, I worked with the Legislature to create a compromise on prevailing wage to help local communities by exempting projects less than $500,000 and to improve our state’s prevailing wage calculation. These new rates have been in place for less than a year – we need to give this new methodology time to work. We don’t need to pass bills that lower the wages of West Virginia workers and do little, if anything, to stimulate our economy.”

To read the governor’s veto message, click here.
Gov. Tomblin today also vetoed SB1, establishing the West Virginia Workplace Freedom Act, also known as right to work:

“Foremost, I dispute that West Virginia needs 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. Since becoming governor in 2010, West Virginia has welcomed more than $10 billion in new investments and expansion projects. 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.”

To read the governor’s veto message, click here.

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