Good stuff by the Virginia Public Sector Labor Coalition, which comprises Virginia AFL-CIO; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); American Federation of Teachers; American Federation of Teachers-American Association of University Professors; Communications Workers of America (CWA); SEIU Virginia 512; Virginia Education Association (VEA); Virginia Professional Fire Fighters (VPFF); UNITE HERE; and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400. The coalition collectively represents hundreds of thousands of Virginia workers.
VIDEO: Virginia Public Service Workers Call on General Assembly to Reject Anti-Worker Changes Gutting Collective Bargaining Bill
RICHMOND, Va. — In case you missed it, Virginia public service workers on April 17 held a virtual press conference calling for the General Assembly to reject Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s proposed changes gutting historic legislation that would allow more than half a million Virginia public service workers — including teachers, firefighters, county and city workers, state workers, and home care workers — the freedom to collectively bargain for fair wages, benefits and working conditions. The legislation as passed stands out as the session’s most significant win for affordability for working families.
While the governor could have opted to strengthen the bill by amending it to include all workers, she instead chose to exclude more workers, diminish worker protections, and force many local public service workers — including teachers, firefighters and social workers — to wait until the next decade for collective bargaining rights. The dozens of changes made to the bill weaken the ability of workers to bargain meaningful contracts.
“The governor’s substitute delays collective bargaining rights for local government employees until January 1, 2030. Every professional firefighter and paramedic in Virginia works for a local government. That means the governor is asking us to wait until she is out of office, and until the next decade. That is not a compromise. That is a delay,” said Kurt Detrick, President, Local 539 Portsmouth Professional Firefighters and Paramedics. “We’ve been fighting for this for years. The General Assembly passed a bill. Both chambers. They did their job. We are asking that the governor do hers. Reject the substitute. Sign the bill. Don’t make Virginia’s firefighters and paramedics wait until the next decade for rights that are long overdue.” [View Detrick’s full remarks HERE].
“Thousands of local employees across Virginia have spent years organizing, passing local ordinances, and building unions so we can have a real voice at the table,” said Tia Littlejohn Adams, Accountant for the City of Alexandria and member of AFSCME. “We fought for standards that protect fairness, including binding arbitration, where a neutral third party makes the final decision when workers and employers can’t agree. The governor’s substitute bill would turn binding arbitration into advisory arbitration. And if the decision is only a suggestion, what incentive does an employer have to negotiate in good faith? This bill weakens the rights we’ve already fought so hard for to win, and there is nothing pro-worker about that.” [View Littlejohn Adams’ full remarks HERE].
“Under the bill substitution, my fellow public school employees and I would not have the protections necessary to organize for mutual aid and support,” said Kathryn Brown, elementary school teacher from Waynesboro and member of the Virginia Education Association. “Retaliation is real. Five bus drivers in Richmond were fired just for attending a school board meeting last year to speak up about their working conditions. Thankfully, their union was able to negotiate for their reinstatement, but without any local resolution, we [in Waynesboro] will be on our own. We’re calling on the General Assembly to please vote no to the substitution. Protect the rights of all Virginia’s public servants and return the original bill to Governor Spanberger to sign.” [View Brown’s full remarks HERE].
“This substitution also takes away the guarantee that workers can negotiate for working conditions and benefits, which is the foundation of what the bargaining process is,” said Athena Jones of Portsmouth, Home Care Worker and Chair of the Home Care Chapter of SEIU Virginia 512. “Home care workers make all work possible. Every day, we help seniors, we help people with disabilities live safely in their homes instead of being forced to live into institutions. The care strengthens families. We support communities and help Virginia invest in care and home care, rather than more costly alternatives. It is essential. It is life-sustaining work, yet home care workers are paid poverty wages with no health care, no real protections, and the substitute version of this bill does not create a meaningful pathway with protections needed to change this reality.” [View Jones’ full remarks HERE].
“Putting many of the protections outlined in the bill into the hands of a regulatory process creates instability and insecurity for workers and institutions alike,” said Cecelia Parks, member of United Campus Workers and librarian at the University of Virginia. “I’ve seen the impact of uncertain federal and state regulatory environments at UVA, when research funding is unexpectedly cut and university governance is subject to the whims of partisan politics. These changes and the atmosphere of fear that they create make it difficult for workers to do their jobs and for institutions to make long-term plans and steward resources responsibly.” [Watch Parks’ full remarks, read on her behalf by President of the United Campus Workers of Virginia Harry Szabo HERE].
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Authorized by the Virginia Public Sector Labor Coalition, which comprises Virginia AFL-CIO; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); American Federation of Teachers; American Federation of Teachers-American Association of University Professors; Communications Workers of America (CWA); SEIU Virginia 512; Virginia Education Association (VEA); Virginia Professional Fire Fighters (VPFF); UNITE HERE; and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400. The coalition collectively represents hundreds of thousands of Virginia workers.
