2020 WV Senate race: on Jobs


Paula Jean Swearengin: Supports living wage and workers' rights

Q: What would be your top priorities, if elected?

A: A Living Wage and Workers' Rights. Minimum wage has not kept up with the cost of living. It has been nearly ten years since the last modest increase the federal government was willing to pass. Over that same time, the wealth gap grew larger than ever. This is about justice and basic human decency. If you work hard and you work full time you shouldn't live in poverty. And all workers should have their rights protected! I support strong unions and collective bargaining. I am forever proud to have stood on the lines and at rallies at the Capitol with the West Virginia teachers and public employees who helped reignite the Labor movement across the country.

Source: Ballotpedia statement for 2020 West Virginia Senate race Apr 10, 2018

Paula Jean Swearengin: Supports protections for unions, ending "right to work" laws

Supporting industry also means supporting workers. That's why we support federal protections for Unions and demand a living wage for all individuals working across the country. We all deserve good-paying jobs, that's why our campaign supports a federal jobs guarantee, worker rights expansion and ending stifling right to work legislation.
Source: 2020 West Virginia Senate campaign website PaulaJean.com Jul 6, 2020

Paula Jean Swearengin: Wants a living wage, but not advocating for set amount

Swearingen said she wants West Virginians to have a living wage. She is not advocating for a set amount, she said. She pointed out that $15 an hour in California is not much. For many West Virginians, on the other hand, $15 would be a "game changer."

"I'm not stuck on the amount," she said. "We need to make sure people can make a living, but we also need to make sure that small businesses can create a path. "We don't want small businesses to go bankrupt because we're paying $15 an hour."

Source: The Register-Herald on 2020 West Virginia Senate race Jan 18, 2020

Richard Ojeda: Against right to work laws, active union participant

Ojeda was strongly against right to work laws and was one of the influential members of unions. Owing to his active participation in the union, he managed to receive donation of $121,440.
Source: 2020 West Virginia Senate campaign website VoteOjeda.com Mar 5, 2020

Richard Ojeda: Ensure coal miners able to transition to "real jobs"

Ojeda, whose brief presidential campaign emphasized an economic populist message, wrote that as a senator he would ensure the coal miners who make up much of the state's electorate would be able to transition to "real jobs" when coal companies "pull pitch and runs."
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2020 West Virginia Senate race Jan 13, 2020

Richard Ojeda: Strongly against right to work laws

Labor rights: Ojeda was strongly against right to work laws, and was one of the influential members of unions. Owing to his active participation in the union, he managed to receive donation of $121,440.
Source: 2020 West Virginia Senate campaign website VoteOjeda.com Jun 1, 2020

  • The above quotations are from 2020 West Virginia Senatorial race: debates and news coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Jobs.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by West Virginia on Jobs.
  • Click here for more quotes by Shelley Moore Capito on Jobs.
Candidates and political leaders on Jobs:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Feb 14, 2023