The West Virginia Education Association is a left-of-center teachers’ union representing teachers throughout the state of West Virginia. It conducts legislative lobbying and other activities and claims to represent 10,000 of the state’s roughly 20,000 K-12 public school teachers. The group is the state-level affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest government-worker union in the United States. ^{1 2 3}

The WVEA is officially organized as a professional association rather than a labor union due to the state not recognizing government worker collective bargaining. ⁴ The WVEA lobbies for a variety of pro-union public education stances such as increased funding for public schools, and has led a strike in 2018 that violated state law against public employee strikes and closed schools throughout the state for 13 days. ^{5 6 7}

In 2024, the WVEA announced plans to merge with the WV-AFT, the state affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. ⁸

Background

The West Virginia Education Association was founded in 1864, shortly after West Virginia obtained statehood. Originally, an all-white teacher’s union, the WVEA merged with the West Virginia State Teachers Association, the union for African American teachers in the state, in 1954 shortly after the Brown v. Board of Education decision. ⁹

The WVEA does not have the power to collectively bargain due to state laws, and as such it is not formally organized as a labor union but rather a professional association of K-12 teachers, however, the group conducts other activities consistent with other state teachers’ unions including legislative lobbying, local-level advocacy, and campaign events. The group is the official West Virginia affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest government-worker union in the United States which exerts significant influence in left-of-center politics and public policy. ¹⁰

Strikes

Despite state laws that forbid strikes among state employees, the West Virginia Education Association has been involved in two notable strikes in its history in 1990 and 2018. The 1990 strike lasted 11 days and involved teachers in 47 of the state’s 55 counties and mostly centered around salaries, but also led to the establishment of faculty senates in schools and other new programs. ¹¹

In 2018, the WVEA, National Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia initiated another strike that closed schools and lasted for thirteen days. The 2018 strike centered around teacher pay and health care and called for a 5 percent raise. ¹²

Political Activities

The West Virginia Education Association endorses candidates for state and federal office in West Virginia and endorses mostly Democratic candidates for the state legislature and statewide offices. ¹³

Proposed Merger with WV-AFT

In 2024, the West Virginia Education Association announced plans to merge with the WV-AFT, the state affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. A new name for the organization had not been announced as of fall 2024 and the merger was expected to take effect in late 2025. Regarding the merger, WVEA President Dale Lee said, “Our members have enthusiastically embraced the merger of our organizations and I am pleased that we are making significant progress toward a unified organization. Our educators, students, and public schools will remain our priority as we continue to battle the attacks on public education. I’m excited about what the future holds.” ¹⁴

1. “About Us.” West Virginia Education Association. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://wvea.org/aboutus/
2. “NEA Affiliates.” National Education Association. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://www.nea.org/nea-affiliates
3. “West Virginia teachers will return to school post-strike after ‘cooling off’ period.” ABC News. February 28, 2018. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://abcnews.go.com/US/west-virginia-teachers-return-school-post-strike-cooling/story?id=53408407
4. Bidgood, Jess, and Campbell Robertson. “West Virginia Walkouts a Lesson in the Power of a Crowd-Sourced Strike.” The New York Times, March 8, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/us/west-virginia-teachers-strike.html.
5. “About Us.” West Virginia Education Association. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://wvea.org/aboutus/
6. “NEA Affiliates.” National Education Association. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://www.nea.org/nea-affiliates
7. “West Virginia teachers will return to school post-strike after ‘cooling off’ period.” ABC News. February 28, 2018. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://abcnews.go.com/US/west-virginia-teachers-return-school-post-strike-cooling/story?id=53408407
8. Patterson, Jessica. “Two teachers unions in West Virginia plan to merge.” ABC 13 News. February 28, 2018. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/two-teachers-unions-in-west-virginia-plan-to-merge/
9. “History.” West Virginia Education Association. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://wvea.org/aboutus/history/
10. “History.” West Virginia Education Association. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://wvea.org/aboutus/history/
11. “1990 Teachers’ Strike.” WV Encyclopedia. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/696
12. “West Virginia teachers will return to school post-strike after ‘cooling off’ period.” ABC News. February 28, 2018. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://abcnews.go.com/US/west-virginia-teachers-return-school-post-strike-cooling/story?id=53408407
13. “WVEA-PAC recommends pro-education Candidates. “West Virginia Education Association. March 27, 2024. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://wvea.org/wvea-pac-recommends-pro-education-candidates/
14. Patterson, Jessica. “Two teachers unions in West Virginia plan to merge.” ABC 13 News. February 28, 2018. Accessed September 8, 2024. https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/two-teachers-unions-in-west-virginia-plan-to-merge/