DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE A UNION AT WVU?

YES! As campus workers in the US—domestic or international—we have the legal right to organize with our coworkers. At the most fundamental level, our constitutional freedom of speech and freedom of association protect our right to join or support a union, and to collectively advocate for improvements in our working conditions.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS

Public university workers in West Virginia do not have collective bargaining rights.

• What is collective bargaining? Collective bargaining is the process by which unionized workers negotiate a mutually binding contract with their employer that addresses things like wages, hours, and benefits.
• Why don’t we have that right here? Collective bargaining is not illegal for public sector workers in West Virginia, but there also isn’t any legislation saying that employers are required to bargain with a union that has been formed, or creating a process (like a union election) for obtaining official recognition.
• What can we do without collective bargaining rights? We can organize! Collective bargaining rights are helpful, but they are no replacement for a powerful union. No union can win a good contract without a large, active, and democratic membership that the employer knows is willing to take action to get what they want. With that same kind of power, we can create pressure for change that will make our employer wish they were at the bargaining table! 

RIGHT TO WORK

“Right to work” refers to a collection of anti-union laws passed in states across the country. These laws claim to grant employees who already have a union in their workplace “freedom of choice” by giving them the option to not become a member of their union. However, it was already illegal to force anyone to join a union. What right-to-work actually does is force unions to provide the benefits of union membership to workers who choose not to join or pay their fair share in dues. The goal of right-to-work laws is to drain unions of resources until workers can no longer effectively advocate for change or defend their interests.

While right-to-work laws do make it more difficult to sustain existing unions, they do not prevent us from joining or forming a new union. Contrary to common belief, being in a right-to-work state does not make it easier for our employer to retaliate against us for supporting unions, or prevent us from winning change through collective action.

CAMPUS ACTIONS

What kinds of actions can we participate in?

• Activities protected under the “Free Expression on Campus” provisions of the West Virginia code include, but are not limited to, “any lawful verbal and nonverbal speech. This may include lawful and protected forms of peaceful assembly, protests, speeches and guest speakers, distribution of literature, carrying signs, and circulating petitions.”
• Protests, specifically “…lawful protests in the outdoor areas of campus generally accessible to the members of the public (except during times when those areas have been reserved in advance for other events), or minor, brief, or fleeting nonviolent disruptions of events that are isolated and short in duration.”
• The creation of “Free Speech Zones” by the university is not allowed. “The outdoor areas of campuses of state institutions of higher education shall be considered public forums for the campus community, and state institutions of higher education shall not limit free speech by creating “free speech zones” or other designated areas of campus outside of which expressive activities are prohibited.”

What kinds of actions are prohibited?

• Public sector strikes are illegal in West Virginia (but this recent law is under the public K-12 schools section of the West Virginia code and may only apply to those workers).
• Activity that is considered significantly disruptive, including actions that “significantly hinders another person’s or group’s expressive activity, prevents the communication of the message, prevents the transaction of the business of a lawful meeting, gathering, or procession, or interferes with or prevents the operations and functions of a state institution of higher education by:
  • Engaging in fighting, violent, or other unlawful behavior;
  • Physically blocking or using threats of violence to prevent any person from attending, listening to, viewing, or otherwise participating in an expressive activity;
  • Using sound to drown out or muffle expressive activity; or
  • Violating a state institution of higher education’s reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.”