CHARLESTON, WV — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s campaign has been officially endorsed by all of the major education groups in West Virginia. Manchin has the support of the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA), the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia (AFT-WV), and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association (WVSSPA)
Following this year’s strike, Mountain State educators are fired up to support Manchin’s efforts to ensure a strong education system in West Virginia, and oppose Patrick Morrisey’s efforts to lock up educators during the 2018 strike.
These groups represent tens of thousands of teachers, bus drivers, school cooks, custodians, office employees, instructional paraprofessionals, school nurses, retirees and many other education professionals that help educate West Virginia students.
The leaders of WVEA, AFT-WV, and WVSSPA issued a joint statement in support of Joe Manchin:
“There is a clear choice in this election for public education professionals because Senator Manchin has always supported public education in West Virginia, while Patrick Morrisey threatened to file an injunction to silence public school educators seeking better pay and benefits.
“As governor, Joe increased the pay of teachers and state employees by 3.5%. He filled in the annual step increments on the salary schedule and revised the pension plan to allow teachers and service personnel to move from the mandated defined contribution system to the defined benefit system. Educators can count on Joe. He’s a true West Virginian who will always fight to keep qualified educators in our state.
“Patrick Morrisey is no friend of public education. This year, Morrisey opposed every West Virginia educator seeking higher wages and secure benefits. When there was a bipartisan deal on the table, Morrisey showed his true colors and refused to stand with the education professionals of West Virginia.”
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin said, “I will always stand with our educators, and I’m honored to have them stand with me in this campaign. Our economy in West Virginia depends on great public schools; that means giving our teachers and school service personnel the support they need. When West Virginia’s educators spoke out earlier this year, they were successful. If every educator speaks out in this election, we will be successful once again.”
