By Amelia Ferrell Knisely for West Virginia Watch,
www.westvirginiawatch.com
The state’s two teachers unions officially merged into one organization this month, forming a new labor union called Education West Virginia.
With public education facing funding declines, insurance hikes and teacher shortages, leaders of the West Virginia Education Association and American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia said it was the right time to come together.
“This was a thoughtful, deliberative process that was almost three years in the making, seeking to build on strengths of the former organizations while also creating a stronger, more member engaged union than ever before,” said Kristie Skidmore, co-president of Education West Virginia. Skidmore formerly served as president of AFT-WV.
Skidmore and other co-president Dale Lee, former president of the WVEA, held a press conference Wednesday in Charleston to formally announce the merger.
“By joining together, we will fight the challenge,” Skidmore said.
The previous unions began discussing a merger back in 2018 during the West Virginia teachers strike, where thousands of school teachers and personnel demonstrated at the state capitol over pay and benefits.
The merger, which went into effect Sept. 1, comes as teachers and state workers just saw a major price hike to insurance premiums under the Public Employees Insurance Agency.
Due to the program’s financial issues, the agency’s finance board approved a round of July 1 premium hikes for state and local government employees as well as retirees. Both state and county employees using PEIA saw an increase of 40% in their out-of-pocket maximum as well as increases in co-pays. The monthly spousal surcharge for state employees more than doubled, from $147 to $350.
The increases are projected to equal roughly $113 million, but PEIA costs are expected to keep climbing due to medical inflation.
West Virginia has the lowest teacher pay in the country. Lee said the level of salary and benefits was contributing to the hundreds of unfilled teacher jobs across the state.
“Employees deserve affordable quality health care, and their collective voices will play an important role in driving home that message to the Legislature,” he said.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey has proposed a four-point plan to “fix” PEIA, MetroNews reported. It included: establishing a new plan for new employees; removing coverage eligibility for spouses who are offered health insurance through their own employer; and establishing a PEIA fraud unit.
The governor may call lawmakers in this month for a special session to vote on his PEIA plan, but there isn’t clear support among the GOP-super majority Legislature for Morrisey’s idea. The possible PEIA-focused special session could start as early as Sunday since lawmakers will gather in Charleston for September legislative interim meetings.
“We have to have a long term stabilization of PEIA,” Lee said. “We know that the cost continues to increase, and we also understand that we have to have some skin in the game, but all the skin can’t be ours. It has to be everyone going to the table and coming up with a long term stabilization for this plan.”
Lee said Education West Virginia will also ask lawmakers to increase mental health support for children in schools. He noted that a new state elementary student discipline law, which mandates screening students in trouble for underlying causes, is a good start.
“Children can’t focus on learning if they come to school hungry or stressed out or traumatized by the situations they face at home. The behavior disruptions and their violent outbursts from students are at an all time high based on what we’re hearing from our members,” he said. “It is critical that our state provide the mental health services and the resources students need.”
Lee and Skidmore will serve as co-presidents of Education West Virginia until spring 2027, when the union will have its first convention and elect a new president.
Education West Virginia will operate under the umbrella of West Virginia AFL-CIO.
“West Virginia has a very, very rich and historic labor history … and I believe that the creation of Education West Virginia will go down in history as one of the most important and influential labor actions our state will ever see,” said West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword.
“To watch two organizations who were fiercely competitive for membership for close to 50 years put the past behind them and join together to further their common goals — for educators, for children, for communities, for public education — to be here today, celebrating this historic accomplishment, proves yet again that in solidarity, anything can be achieved,” he said.
West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
