Here's the latest:
What happened in court on June 14?
On June 14, Circuit Judge Tera Salango put a halt to a new state law that forbids employers from deducting union dues from public employees’ paycheck, ruling that “I do find and believe the petitioners will suffer irreparable harm without this injunction.”
“The governor and many members of the Legislature have not hidden their dislike for the labor unions. There have been open attacks on the unions in the media, and they are welcome to criticize who ever they please but when a law is passed that treats a certain group differently from others, then it should be subject to additional scrutiny,” explained Salango.
The order is in effect until Salango has a full hearing on the merits of the case.
What does that mean for teachers and service personnel?
Judge Salango’s ruling doesn’t overturn the new law; it simply delays its implementation and allows a full hearing on the issue to be held at a later date. The date for the full hearing has not been scheduled yet.
Due to the political landscape of our upper courts and legislature, any victory at the lower court level is likely short lived. AFT-WV will proceed to transition to our edues system in order to continue to serve our members in the event of the law going into effect in the future.
AFT-WV continues to encourage all members to sign up for dues deduction using our edues system at www.aftwv.org!