AG asks Supreme Court to lift right-to-work block

State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a petition Wednesday with the state Supreme Court, asking the court to overturn a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the state’s right-to-work law.

Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey issued the injunction last August as part of an ongoing challenge of the new law by the West Virginia AFL-CIO and numerous other unions. Those unions contend the law, passed last year, represents an unconstitutional taking of union resources, since unions would be required to represent employees in union shops who opt not to pay union dues under the law.

In the petition to the court, the attorney general’s office argues that the injunction has caused “irreparable harm to the state, and sowed confusion among employees, unions, and employers who lack clarity as to how to lawfully negotiate collective bargaining agreements while these proceedings continue.”

“The negative impact caused by this injunction demands immediate relief,” Morrisey said in a statement. “I urge the Supreme Court to consider our arguments and reach an expedited decision so as to eliminate confusion and mitigate damage to our state.”

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