West Virginia Becomes 26th Right to Work State

West Virginia needs the economic help. These two new pieces of legislation plus the SCOTUS action to block temporarily the "Clean Power Plan" may result in some economic relief to the coal mining state.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/lawmakers-override-veto-make-wva-work-state-36895943

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...e-court-halts-obamas-emissions-rule/80085182/

 

Thank God the people of WV have finally stopped closed shop union activity.

 

Unions are like any big organization, they can become corrupt.

It's fun to watch some see some corruption and say, "It will never work" ....Those people lead us to today's market where Monopolies are given the red carpet and Unions are slammed. 1% take all.

 

I don't see it helping WV much, but I support right to work legislation. Closed shops are a legalized protection racket. If stores get shaken down for protection money, it is illegal; when individuals do, it is okay as long as the AFL-CIO mobsters get it.

Beautiful state, but most of its acreage seems to be on a mountainside which makes it undesirable for a lot of business I would think. That is reflected in relatively low agricultural output for its size and climate as well.

 

It was killing economic growth there, no doubt.

 

Yes, those bloody workers cause so much trouble, don't they?

We should keep burning coal, global warming is just a pinko liberal conspiracy!

 

No troubles but now there will be more workers, so who knows ??

The global warming alarmists are alive and well. Meanwhile the real world data and the IPCC lower probablility limit show that the earth is warming at ~ 2 deg C per century and that even Draconian reductions in CO2 production by the OECD 90 (industrialized) countries will significant effect on this rate. Two tenths of a degree C per decade is something that the world with it's wealth increasing at ~ 4% per year can easily adapt to.

Where does socialism work ??

 

Just when you think families in West Virginia couldn't get any poorer, they just did.

 

What monopolies are those ??

If labor unions are so good for workers why are private sector union memberships so low. Public sector unions are dominant but that is caused by the conflict of interest between politicians and the unions. FDR warned about that and was steadfastly against public sector unions.

 

To hell with the union coal miners. They voted in lockstep for Obama in 2008, who for 7 years has done nothing but put them on the unemployment lines.

 

Yes, Obama warned the coal industry he would bankrupt it. If West Virginians voted in lock stop for Obama they do have themselves to blame, but I am glad they gave them selves right to work laws. Maybe they will now understand reality.

 

time to get out of W. Virginia, coal has been fading a long time. Blaming Obama is just childish and immature. There is a big switch to nat gas going on, has nothing to do with Obama. Coal is in its death throws.

 

Coal is not in its death throes except as part of government policy. Many states still depend on coal as a major source of power. Each day ten trains carrying coal from Wyoming to power plants in Iowa and Nebraska pass by our farm. Obama promised he would bankrupt any new coal power plant. Yes, I know about the big switch to natural gas, and I know about oil fraking. That competition is different from government hostility to a commodity.

Obama's economic policy is hurting West Virginia and the rest of the nation. Millions of people, probably some in West Virginia unrelated to the coal industry have left the labor force during Obama's tenure. His policy makes it harder for those leaving the industry to find new, good jobs. Refusing to blame Obama is "childish and immature."

 

Melodramatic. Last I heard West Virginia already had some union-free mines over toward kentucky/south of Charleston. Logan County area maybe. I forget where exactly now, but know they exist(ed) as someone I went to school withhad family who worked in one.

 

I was not being melodramatic. I was being accurate. Obama said he would hurt the coal industry. Some union free mines is nice but not the same as a state wide right to work law. I think it will help West Virginia's economy in the long term,.

 

Right to work is simply a cover for union busting. If you want to see what coal mining looks like in an environment where employers set all the rules look to China. There the death rate is about 100 times that of the US, and that doesn't include respiratory diseases that substantially shorten lifespan.

 

you are naive, W. Virginia is dead, coal is fading. carloads on rails are falling, the switch to nat gas is on. http://www.eia.gov/coal/annual/pdf/table1.pdf

 

It isn't "busting" the unions.

The unions are still there.

It's just that now you aren't FORCED to join them just because you want to get a job.

 

Yeah, no-one is removing safety requirements.

 

How? Show me. My employees pay about $900 per year in union dues, that's 30 hours of their labor going to the union and the really good employees are stuck with the wages the union negotiated for them.

 

And they aren't forced to pay union dues which are used to support candidates that they may not agree with. If the benefits of union membership are worth the cost of dues then workers would unionize in the private sector. Labor unions had their time in our history but are no longer needed in the private sector. In the public sector they are representations of corruption between politicians who support them in order to receive campaign contributions.

 

If natural gas is less expensive and has other advantages it will replace coal over time. But it is counterproductive to shut down coal fired power stations which are providing energy at competitive prices. The way to compare fuels is based on energy content. The link below shows the cost per mmBTU (one million British Thermal Units) and it show that Henry Hub Natural Gas and Central Appalachian coal cost the same. Powder River Basin Coal however is ~ 20% of the cost of both. The chart only covers the time period between 10/14 tp 10/15.

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/mont...fm#tabs_spot-1

The EPA regulations have indeed resulted in many coal fired plants to be shutdown or converted. This is costly in itself and results in the loss of coal mining jobs, agian for no benefit even if you believe in the IPCC models. Converting a power plant from coal to nat gas with no price per mmBTU benefit makes no sense.

 

you are cherry picking stats. it will be cheaper to close older coal plants and build new gas plants as it is too costly to retrofit emissions controls on older less efficient plants and older coal plants tend to use less efficient eastern coal.

 

Are you in West Virginia? Or are you in NM? Your employees belong to a union? How the heck did that happen? Not to worry if you are in NM, your governor wants Right to Work legislation.

Without knowing your circumstances (business, what union, employee benefits etc.) I do have some thoughts, please correct them because I'm sure they will have errors. What kind of benefits were negotiated for your employees? You pay your employees $30.00 per hour and they pay $900.00 /year in dues? This is roughly 1.44% of their pay, a more than justifiable expense on their part for decent pay and benefits - I'm sure many across the country would be eager for this kind of pay. Tell me, since you pay them I assume you own the company - what would you pay them if they didn't have a union?

 

How is this cherry picking ?? If coal is equivalent on a $ per energy unit to natural gas how does it make sense to incur the cost of converting the coal plant to nat gas ??



https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update/resource_use.cfm#tabs_spot-1