Senator Joe Manchin weighs in on pay raise bill | WTOV

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said West Virginia Senate Republicans are not budging on negotiations when it comes to the work stoppage.

"The governor has stepped up and put the 5 percent out there, the House has approved it and the Senate Republicans, for whatever reason, have bogged down and basically entrenched themselves and not getting this accomplished,” Manchin said.

Manchin said he was confident the Republicans' one-party control in the legislature and the governor's office would help negotiations go more quickly.

The Legislative Conference Committee met Monday night, but no agreement was reached in terms of a pay raise bill.

During the meeting, the committee members discussed the merits of a 4 percent versus 5 percent raise.

If the conference committee cannot reach an agreement within three days, the bill would die and the original pay raise passed by the legislature and signed by the governor would go into effect.

In that bill, teachers would get a 2 percent raise the first year and 1 percent each of the following two years. Service personnel and state police would get a 2 percent raise the first year and 1 percent the second year.

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