The problem of this study was to determine what influence the labor codes of Virginia and West Virginia have bad on their respective economies. Data for the study was collected from several state and federal agencies, the bulk of this information coming from the commerce and labor departments of each state. This thesis contains information that could be a valuable guide to regulatory bodies in determining the need for possible changes in existing labor legislation in these states or the need for new legislation in the respective states. It was determined that the extent of influence that a state’s labor code has had on the economy of the state or the degree of influence that a state's economy has had on the development of it's labor code could not be determined based upon the statistical data that is now available. Data was selected from key industries in the two states with particular emphasis placed upon those statistics pertinent to the subject matter of collective bargaining and concerning such matters as weekly wages, hours worked per week. and average hourly earnings. / Master of Science