Labor unions threaten legal action over access at West Virginia Capitol
The West Virginia AFL-CIO is threatening legal action unless the Legislature takes steps to increase public access to lawmakers that has been curbed in part by pandemic safety precautions.
“There are lots of things they can do to allow the public to participate, even during this pandemic, and thus far what they’ve done, it appears, is go above and beyond to keep the public out of the process,” said Josh Sword, president of West Virginia AFL-CIO, a coalition of unions representing about 75,000 members.
In a letter sent to Gov. Jim Justice, Senate President Craig Blair and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw on Wednesday, Sword and the WV AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Andy Walters said the Legislature has taken advantage of in-person limitations to “to pull the shades on visibility and access, and forcefully manage the legislative process with greatly reduced opportunities for accountability from citizens, the press and political opponents.”
The letter warns that if changes aren’t made in five business days, the union coalition will take action, including potentially going to court.
Read more: https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2021/02/25/labor-unions-threaten-legal-action-over-access-at-west-virginia-capitol/