With “Right-to-Work” (For Less) Repeal Being Discussed, It’s Clear Which Party’s Been the Friend of Virginia Labor…and Which One Has NOT Been

With “Right-to-Work” repeal being discussed right now, and with the possibility that it could at least be weakened in the 2020 Virginia General Assembly, it’s interesting to know which Virginia General Assembly members have been friends of working people, and which have not been. With that question in mind, see below for the Virginia AFL-CIO’s 2019 scorecards for Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate members on labor issues. Results?

• The WORST Democratic “right” voting percentage on the House of Delegates floor was still a very strong 86%, with the vast majority of House of Delegates Democrats at a perfect 100% Virginia AFL-CIO score on the floor, with a few in the mid-to-upper 90% range.
• Scores are not quite as good for the State Senate Democrats, but still, they’re not too shabby, with all but two (Dick Saslaw, Lynwood Lewis) Senate Democrats either getting 100% from the Virginia AFL-CIO or in the 93%-98% range.
• In stark contrast, House and Senate Republicans have (not surprisingly) been godawful on labor issues, with the “best” State Senate Republican only at 35% “right” votes on the floor, and with the “best” House of Delegates Republican only at 57% “right” votes on the floor – and most in the 20%s or 30%s.
• So…yes, for anyone who ridiculously thinks that “both parties are the same” or whatever, in reality there is a *huge* difference between Virginia Democrats and Virginia Republicans on labor issues – according to the Virginia AFL-CIO.

Oh, and check out Activate Virginia’s “whip count” spreadsheet for where Democrats currently stand on “Right-to-Work” (for less) repeal: Democrats support repeal in the House of Delegates by a 49-2 margin, and in the State Senate by a 12-5 margin. Needless to say, based on their horrendous Virginia AFL-CIO scores, Virginia House and Senate Republicans will overwhelmingly and/or unanimously OPPOSE “Right-to-Work” (for less) repeal. But yeah…looks like we’ve got a State Senate problem, and unfortunately not just on this issue.

P.S. See below for floor votes on the 2016 constitutional amendment codifying “Right-to-Work” (for less) in the Virginia constitution. Note that every single House and Senate Democrat voted NO – the right way – on this amendment, while every Republican (other than three not voting) voted YES.