Committee on Political Action | AFT West Virginia

AFT-WV makes early endorsements for three candidates

AFT-West Virginia’s Committee on Political Education (COPE) met on November 15, 2014 in Morgantown, WV and voted to endorse the following candidates for the May 2014 primary election:

• Natalie Tennant for US Senate

• Glen Gainer for US House of Representatives (1st District)

• Congressman Nick Rahall for US House of Representatives (3rd District)

“As West Virginians, it is our responsibility to support candidates who understand our culture, our challenges, and the needs of our people. In order to rebuild trust in the federal government, we must stand united

AFT-WV rescinds endorsement

Today, AFT-WV took action to rescind the endorsement of John Hutchinson for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, Division 3 seat. This decision was in response to Justice Hutchinson's recent decision to choose the special interests of corporations and union busters over WV working families and union labor in the recent Right-to-Work decision issued by the WV Supreme Court.

AFT-WV will always side with candidates that support working families. However, we will not support those candidates that choose to participate in any activities that reduce safety, rights, workplace protections

Primary Election Scorecard

I’m so proud of our WV teachers and service personnel! Last night, we saw the continued results of increased political activism of education employees and the labor movement. We had some amazing victories, including electing a fellow teacher who defeated Senate President Mitch Carmichael. AFT-WV’s endorsed candidates won in 87% of their primary races. Now we must all come together and work to ensure the candidates who support working families are elected in November. Together, we can create a better future for our profession and our children! - Fred Albert, AFT-WV President

Click here to view

2020 General Election Endorsements

The AFT-WV COPE Committee met via teleconference this week to endorse candidates for the 2020 General Election. Endorsements are based on questionnaire responses, interviews and voting records (where applicable.) Candidates who did not return a questionnaire are ineligible for endorsement consideration, as per the AFT-WV COPE bylaws.

Click here to view the endorsements.

AFT-WV Political Candidate Endorsement Process

AFT-WV, as a member of the WV AFL-CIO, participates the the AFL-CIO's endorsement process. This process begins with the local AFL-CIO labor councils, who interview and vote on endorsement actions to present to the state AFL-CIO COPE Committee.

Click here for a timeline of the AFL-CIO COPE process and meetings.

AFT-WV's guidelines for endorsing political candidates is set by the bylaws portion of the AFT-WV Constitution and Bylaws.

Below is the section of the bylaws that govern the Committee on Political Education:

ARTICLE II COMMITTEES

SECTION 1: COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL