CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The work for Education West Virginia has officially begun.
In March, the West Virginia Education Association and American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia announced plans to merge into the new union. The partnership and rebrand was made official on Monday.
Merger discussions took place for roughly three years before an agreement was reached.
Joshua Sword, president of the West Virginia AFL-CIO, says the long-time competing organizations had to work hard in the negotiation process.
“I was involved in the merger discussions over the past few years, and at times, negotiations were quite difficult,” Sword said during a Wednesday press conference. “In fact, there was uncertainty at times, as to whether the outcome would be successful. Sometimes we had to walk away from the table to take a break and reset.”
Former WVEA President Dale Lee and former AFT WV President Kristie Skidmore will serve as co-presidents for Education West Virginia through the spring of 2027. A new president will then be elected and will begin serving on July 1, 2027.
The boards for the two former organizations have combined to serve as a transitional board for Education West Virginia until July 1, 2027.
Lee says the statewide teacher strike in 2018 is what sparked the merger conversations.
“In 2018 when we sparked the ‘Red for Ed’ movement, we saw that it was successful because we were speaking in one, unified voice,” Lee said Wednesday. “We weren’t looking at AFT, WVEA, member, non-member or whatever. We stood up across the state as educators and confronted the things that were happening.”
Skidmore believes that Education West Virginia will have a louder voice at the table.
“I would certainly hope so,” Skidmore said in response to a MetroNews question. “We have stronger resources now. We’ve combined resources. We’re going to be able to get to our members faster and stronger.”
“There’s strength in numbers,” Lee added.
Student behavior:
One of the important issues Education West Virginia leaders will face is the state’s ongoing behavior problems within the classroom. According to Lee, teachers all over the Mountain State are reporting being victims of violent outbursts from their young students.
“The behavior disruptions and violent outbursts from students are at an all-time high based on what we’re hearing from our members,” Lee said. “We get reports constantly from teachers and classroom aids that are being kicked, hit and bitten by students.”
In April, Governor Patrick Morrisey signed SB 199, otherwise known as the “school discipline bill” into law. The new law gives teachers an outline for how to handle a student that is being disruptive or violent in the classroom.
The outline includes meetings with a school counselor or a behavioral interventionist or placing the student in an alternative learning environment.
Skidmore says Education West Virginia will be lobbying for additional help next legislative session.
“We’ll continue to advocate for mental health services for our children,” she said. “We’d like to see some piggyback bills on that to strengthen resources for our children and their families who are in need.”
“Children can’t focus on learning if they come to school hungry or stressed out or traumatized by the situations they face at home,” Lee added.
PEIA:
Perhaps the most pressing issue Education West Virginia is battling is the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA).
Premium increases and additional out of pocket costs have risen significantly for those under the agency due to rising costs.
In late August, MetroNews reported that Gov. Morrisey has a four-point plan ready to try and fix the issue. Two of Morrisey’s points include removing coverage eligibility for spouses who are offered health insurance through their employer and changing the cost split for new employees.
The new split would be 75-25, which has the employer paying 25 percent and the government paying 75 percent. PEIA currently has an 80-20 cost split for all under the agency.
“One of the things that we will continue advocating is to change the language from a specific 80-20 to the language that the (PEIA) Task Force recommended in 2019, that the state shall pay no less than 80 percent and the employee should pay no more than 20 percent,” Lee said.
State lawmakers will be at the Capitol from Sunday through next Tuesday for regular interim meetings. Some have speculated that Morrisey will call a special session to try to implement changes to PEIA.
Lee says he wants all members to let their voice be heard no matter if a special session is called or not.
“We can’t wait and just sit back,” Lee said. “Our members have to notify their delegates and senators now and talk to them about the impact that this is having and the possible impact that this plan, if it goes through, will have on their pocketbooks.”
Story by Aaron Parker, MetroNews