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Five Questions for MAGA Republicans As They Continue Undermining Access to IVF

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From the DNC’s “War Room”:

Five Questions for MAGA Republicans As They Continue Undermining Access to IVF

Tomorrow, in an effort to protect access to in vitro fertilization for families across America against attacks by MAGA Republicans, Senate Democrats will bring the Right to IVF Act to the floor for a vote. In the two years since Donald Trump’s handpicked Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v. Wade, MAGA Republicans have continued to push their extreme anti-choice agenda and are now threatening access to IVF, a medical procedure that has helped millions of Americans start and grow their families. Anti-choice MAGA Republicans are relentless in their crusade against women’s access to reproductive care – and Trump has made clear that he will double down on these attacks if he retakes power. But President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats up and down the ballot will continue to defend reproductive freedom, including IVF.

1. Seventy percent of Americans believe access to IVF is a good thing. Will you continue to push an out-of-touch agenda that ignores your constituents who want more reproductive freedoms, not less?

Trump is literally campaigning on it. And it’s a page straight out of Project 2025’s plan for a second Trump term.

Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership, pg. 5: “Allowing parents or physicians to ‘reassign’ the sex of a minor is child abuse and must end.”

And Trump’s MAGA minions in the House are hellbent on ripping away care, too. 

The 19th News: “Seven of the 12 appropriations bills include provisions to restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care — which would cut gender transition care for people who receive Medicare, Medicaid or a subsidized plan under the Affordable Care Act.”

2. Do you believe every American should have the freedom to start and grow their family when and how they choose?

Trump’s Project 2025 cronies want to restrict access to IVF.

Politico“Anti-abortion advocates worked for five decades to topple Roe v. Wade. They’re now laying the groundwork for a yearslong fight to curb in vitro fertilization. Since the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos are children, the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups have been strategizing how to convince not just GOP officials but evangelicals broadly that they should have serious moral concerns about fertility treatments like IVF and that access to them should be curtailed.

“They plan to appeal to evangelical denominations and their leaders to take a firm stance that IVF as practiced in the U.S. destroys human life. That, they hope, will reshape how conservative Christians — and in turn, the officials they elect — view the issue, just as it did on abortion. Ultimately, it could lead to laws that create a patchwork of IVF access in the United States, where the procedure is more accessible in liberal states and more limited in conservative ones.”

3. Would you let Donald Trump and his anti-IVF cronies set the extreme MAGA agenda?

TIME: “Roger Severino, a prominent attorney for the Christian right, led the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights during the Trump administration. In 2017, The Atlantic called him ‘the man behind Trump’s religious-freedom agenda for health care.’”

“Severino calls for HHS to prohibit women’s health facilities that receive Title X funding from distributing condoms. And by declaring that life begins at conception, his manifesto appears to commit HHS to finding ways to outlaw IVF, which relies on generating multiple embryos, most of which are not implanted. It could also eliminate birth control methods like the IUD and even some forms of the pill.”

HuffPost: “Donald Trump Has Deep Ties To Anti-IVF Movement”

“While in the White House, Trump and his administration praised, appointed and worked with some of the nation’s most extreme thought leaders who believe the IVF process is akin to murder. Trump hosted the Alabama Supreme Court chief justice who wrote the IVF ruling twice: once during his 2016 campaign and in 2018 at the White House. (This is the same chief justice who recently appeared on a QAnon conspiracist’s show.)”

4. Donald Trump never stops bragging about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade — which has paved the way for devastating abortion bans and attacks on everything from medication abortion to IVF across the country. How much longer will you enable these attacks?

CNN: “How the reversal of Roe v. Wade led to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children”

New York Times: “[The Alabama ruling was] made possible by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in its 2022 Dobbs decision, which was a result of Mr. Trump’s appointment of three justices.”

Politico: “Louisiana is set to make possessing abortion pills without a prescription punishable by up to 10 years in prison

Rolling Stone: “Inside the MAGA Plan to Attack Birth Control, Surveil Women and Ban the Abortion Pill”

“The attacks on mifepristone and resurrection of Comstock stand out as particularly harmful proposals, but they are only two of the dozens of ways the Republicans behind Project 2025 envision restricting access to abortion and contraception if they win the White House next year. Elsewhere in the document, there are proposals to eliminate the morning-after pill from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate under the rationale that it is a ‘potential abortifacient.’”

5. Do you support extreme anti-abortion legislation that could rip away IVF access from Americans who want to start a family nationwide? 

Politico: “At the same time that they are professing support for IVF, dozens of congressional Republicans have signed onto so-called personhood legislation with no carve-out for embryos in clinics, which, if enacted, would upend how the procedure is practiced in the United States.”

Matthew Yglesias, Bloomberg: “In case anyone is still covering the IVF question, today’s new Republican Study Committee budget specifically endorses the idea that embryos have the full legal rights of persons under the 14th Amendment.”

Associated Press: “Republicans block Senate bill to protect nationwide access to IVF treatments”

Business Insider: “Most House Republicans have cosponsored a bill declaring that life begins from the moment of conception, a position under increased scrutiny after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are ‘unborn children.’

“This Congress, 125 House Republicans — including Speaker Mike Johnson — have cosponsored the ‘Life at Conception Act,’ which states that the term ‘human being’ includes ‘all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.’

“The bill does not include any exception for in vitro fertilization (IVF), a reproductive treatment that allows mothers to fertilize several eggs outside the womb in order to increase the chances of a viable pregnancy.”

NBC News: “But with the landmark Roe ruling protecting those rights gone, efforts by conservative lawmakers and judges to advance fetal personhood bills pose a real threat to some fertility treatments, including IVF, reproductive rights advocates say.”

NEW CPI REPORT: President Biden’s Economic Agenda Is Reducing Inflation While Trump’s Plan Would Raise Prices on Working Families 

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From the DNC War Room:

NEW CPI REPORT: President Biden’s Economic Agenda Is Reducing Inflation While Trump’s Plan Would Raise Prices on Working Families 

Today’s CPI report shows that President Biden is bolstering the economy from the bottom up and middle out. Thanks to President Biden, the American people are seeing one of the strongest job markets in American history: over 15 million new jobs, rising wages, and historically low unemployment rates, and this month, lower costs from airline fares to gas prices. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is promising more tax breaks for the ultra-rich while rooting for the economy to crash for his own political gain. The contrast is clear: President Biden is dedicated to delivering economic results for hardworking families, while Trump is running on the same disastrous trickle-down MAGAnomics agenda to help his wealthy special interest backers – not the middle class.

President Biden is driving down inflation while maintaining a historically strong job market and exceeding expectations in jobs numbers last month.
Heather Long, Washington Post: “Good news on inflation today. You can really see it in the chart. The pinkish line (‘core inflation’) is the lowest since April 2021.”

Heather Long, Washington Post: “You can really see the inflation cooldown at last

Food +2.1% in past year –>smallest since 2020
Restaurants +4% in past yr–>smallest since 2021
Core inflation 3.4% –>smallest since 2021
Commodities -1.7% –>smallest since 2004
New vehicles -0.8% –>smallest since 2018
Pet food -1.1% –>smallest since 2020

Hopefully this trend continues and we see more services cooling off.”

Carl Quintanilla, CNBC: “* lowest headline MoM #CPI since May 2020
* lowest core MoM since Aug 2021”

Simon Rosenberg: “Inflation was zero in May. Groceries only up 1% over the past year, the prices of many items are failing. The spate of positive economic news in recent weeks has been remarkable. US economy is so strong, the ‘envy of the world.’”

Barron’s: “CPI Report: Inflation Cools to 3.3% Annual Rate”

Wall Street Journal: “Fed Rate Decision Today: CPI Undershoots Forecasts; Futures Gain”

U.S. Department of Labor: “Notably, the share of working age women in the labor force rose to a historic high of 78 percent. This is the highest the rate has been since we began tracking the data in 1948, and it is a welcome sign after the devastating effects that COVID-19 had on working women. Overall, the labor force participation rate among prime-age workers continues to outpace its pre-pandemic levels.”

CNBC“U.S. job gains totaled 272,000 in May, much more than expected”

The Hill“US adds 272,000 jobs in May, blowing past expectations”
Americans benefited from declining airfares in May after President Biden’s work on antitrust enforcement. 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: “The index for airline fares fell 3.6 percent in May, following a 0.8-percent decrease in April.”

NBC News: “Judge blocks JetBlue-Spirit merger after DOJ’s antitrust challenge”

“A federal judge Tuesday blocked JetBlue Airways’ purchase of Spirit Airlines
 after the Justice Department sued to stop the merger, saying the deal would drive up fares for price-sensitive consumers by taking the discount carrier out of the market.”

New York Times: “JetBlue-American Partnership Struck Down by Federal Judge”
Donald Trump’s plans for the economy could actually worsen inflation for the country. 
The Atlantic: “Trump’s Plan to Supercharge Inflation”

“But a growing number of economists and policy analysts are warning that Trump’s second-term agenda of sweeping tariffs, mass deportation of undocumented migrants, and enormous tax cuts would accelerate, rather than alleviate, inflation….

“In a study released last month, the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics calculated that the tariffs Trump says he will impose on imports would dramatically raise costs for consumers…

“[Former Treasury Secretary Larry] Summers identified multiple pillars of Trump’s economic agenda that could accelerate inflation. These included compromising the independence of the Federal Reserve Board, enlarging the federal budget deficit by extending his 2017 tax cuts, raising tariffs, rescinding Biden policies designed to promote competition and reduce “junk fees,” and squeezing the labor supply by restricting new immigration and deporting undocumented migrants already here. Others note that top Trump advisers have also hinted that in a second term, he would seek to devalue the dollar, which would boost exports but further raise the cost of imported goods.”

Axios: “Trump’s inflation bomb: How his second-term plans could make it worse”

CNBC: “Trump could drive inflation higher with his second-term economic agenda, analysts say”

Vox: “Trump’s team keeps promising to increase inflation”
Trump had the worst job record in modern American history.
USA Today: “Fact check: Chart of job growth by president shows historic unemployment under Trump”

Newsweek: “Trump Leaving Office With 3M Less Jobs Than When He Entered, Worst Record Since Depression”

Fortune: “Trump to leave office with the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover”

Washington Post: “President Trump took office at the crest of the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. He leaves presiding over the worst labor market in modern U.S. history, as an already-sputtering economic recovery has turned negative.”
Trump’s MAGAnomics agenda put tax cuts to billionaires above the livelihoods of working families.
Center for American Progress: “The most significant piece of legislation former President Donald Trump signed during his first term had a dramatic cut in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent as its centerpiece. That corporate tax cut did not trickle down to ordinary workers but cost $1.3 trillion and helped fuel a record $1 trillion in stock buybacks the year after it passed.”

Forbes: “Trump Tax Cuts Helped Billionaires Pay Less Taxes Than The Working Class In 2018”

CBS News: “Two years after Trump tax cuts, middle-class Americans are falling behind”

Guardian: “They were billed as a ‘middle-class miracle’ but according to a new book Donald Trump’s $1.5tn tax cuts have helped billionaires pay a lower rate than the working class for the first time in history.”

Politico: “The nation’s fiscal outlook looks ever bleaker, thanks in part to deficit spending during President Donald Trump’s first term, Congress’ nonpartisan budget scorekeeper projected Tuesday.”
Trump actively rooted for the U.S. economy to crash for his own political benefit, regardless of how it affects hardworking Americans. 
CNN: “Trump says he hopes any economic crash would happen before he could serve a possible second term.”

“When there’s a crash, I hope it’s going to be during this next 12 months because I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover. The one president – I just don’t want to be Herbert Hoover,” Trump said in an interview that aired Monday on the right-wing platform Lindell TV.”

The Hill: “Trump says he hopes economy crashes in next 12 months: ‘I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover’”

USA Today: “Donald Trump says he hopes economy tanks this election year ‘because I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover’”

Video: New Ads Thank Senator Kaine For Defending Contraception Rights

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From Americans for Contraception:

New Ads Thank Senator Kaine For Defending Contraception Rights

Americans for Contraception Makes Six-Figure Digital/OTT Buy in Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. – Americans for Contraception has released new ads thanking Virginia Senator Tim Kaine for defending contraception rights as part of a larger campaign to thank Democratic senators for voting in favor of the Right to Contraception Act.

Despite its overwhelming public support — from over 80% of Americans, including 68% of Republicans — nearly every Republican senator voted on June 5 to block passage of the Right to Contraception Act, which would have protected the right to contraception in federal law.

The ads feature personal stories emphasizing the necessity of contraception for health, family planning, and freedom and express gratitude to Senator Kaine for supporting the Right to Contraception Act. Viewers are urged to call their senators and thank those who supported the Right to Contraception Act.

“THANK YOU, SEN. KAINE” – VA

Here’s the VA ad featuring Ann, a mother of twins:

I wanted to be in charge, and I was. I started taking the pill two decades ago so that I could plan when and how to start a family. Then, I was blessed with twins.

We won’t let extremists take away our freedoms. Almost every Senate Republican voted against the right to condoms, the pill, and IUDs. But Senator Tim Kaine has our back, voting for the Right to Contraception Act.

Call Senator Kaine and thank him for protecting our freedoms.

Click to watch: Thank You, Senator Kaine, for Protecting our Freedoms, and Keep on Fighting! – Ann 

Here’s the VA ad featuring Brian, a father of two kids:

It’s my most important job, not my work, being a father to my two kids. They’re out of the house, but I can’t help but worry. And now that extremists are threatening the rights, it’s scary, especially when almost every Senate Republican voted against the right to condoms, the pill, and IUDs.

But Senator Tim Kaine has our back, voting for the Right to Contraception Act. Call Senator Kaine and thank him for protecting our freedoms.

Click to watch: Thank You, Sen. Kaine, for Protecting our Freedoms and Keep on Fighting! – Brian

For more information, visit https://www.americansforcontraception.org/.

Wednesday News: “Trump is not America’s Le Pen: He’s worse”; “Alito’s ‘Godliness’ Comment Echoes a Broader Christian Movement”; “MAGA propagandists juggle conspiracy theories following Hunter Biden verdict”; “Youngkin wants to discard another climate law without legislative consent”

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by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, June 12.

Video: Likely 2024 VA GOP US Senate Nominee Hung Cao “flips out when someone from Southwest Virginia confronts him about his ‘podunk’ comments”

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Check out the video, below, which demonstrates yet again that Hung Cao is completely unfit to hold any office, let alone U.S. Senator! For more information on this extremist – the likely 2024 Virginia Republican U.S. Senate nominee – see:

Oh, and let’s make damn sure we reelect Sen. Tim Kaine by a HUGE margin this November!

Virginia NAACP and Students Sue the Shenandoah County School Board

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From the Virginia NAACP:

Virginia NAACP and Students Sue the Shenandoah County School Board

A new lawsuit alleges the Shenandoah County School Board violated the US Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunity Act by reinstating Confederate school names.

RICHMOND, VA – Today, the NAACP Virginia State Conference (Virginia NAACP) and five Shenandoah County students filed a federal lawsuit alleging the Shenandoah County School Board is creating an unlawful and discriminatory educational environment for Black students. The Virginia NAACP’s lawsuit meticulously outlines the shameful legacy of segregation and discrimination in Shenandoah County and how restoring the Confederate names embraces that legacy in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Education Opportunities

On May 9, 2024, the School Board approved renaming Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School to their prior Confederate names, Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary School. The three namesake Confederate leaders – Robert E. Lee, General-in-chief of the Confederate States Army, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, Lieutenant General of the Northern Virginia’s Second Corps Army, and Turner Ashby, Brigadier General – fought to preserve slavery and segregation.

“My belief is the Shenandoah County School Board reaffirmed their commitment to White supremacy and the celebration of a race-based rebellion against the United States of America with their vote to name public schools after military leaders of the Confederate States of America,” said Rev. Cozy Bailey, Virginia NAACP President, “When students walk through the halls of renamed Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary School, they will do so with inescapable reminders of Confederate legacies that enslaved and discriminated against African-descended people. This community deserves better.”

According to the complaint, forcing Black students to attend a school honoring Confederate leaders creates a school environment that denies them an equal opportunity to an education and violates their right to Equal Protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and First Amendment right to free speech.

“By voting for Confederate names, the school board is subjecting children to discrimination, said Marja Plater, Senior Counsel, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. “A Black high schooler who wants to play on the soccer team must wear the Stonewall Jackson ‘Generals’ uniform. The student must honor a Confederate leader who fought to keep Black people in chains as slaves. Exposing children to this persistent racism and hate harms their self-worth and long-term health.”

“Public education should benefit everyone, irrespective of race or class.  Every student is entitled to an education free from discrimination,” said Ashley Joyner Chavous, Of Counsel, Covington & Burling. “The school board’s decision to reinstate the Confederate school names and imagery creates a school environment that denies students of color an equal opportunity to education. These actions are a slap in the face of the many Shenandoah County families and community members who have been working for decades to build a stronger and more cohesive community.”

Shenandoah County has a long history of running a segregated school system and opposing integration. In 1959 – five years after the US Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the County constructed the Stonewall Jackson High School as an all-White school. The Confederate names signaled to Black students and their families that they were not welcome at the schools, and it took another several years for the first Black students to enroll in high school during the 1963-64 school year.

The Virginia NAACP is bringing this lawsuit on behalf of its members and families, including students in the Shenandoah County school system. The families whose children attend Shenandoah County Public Schools seek the removal of Confederate names and mascots and to prevent any future naming involving Confederate leaders.

The Virginia NAACP will not allow localities to advance white supremacy. The Virginia NAACP will continue to fight against policies and legislation that serve to send the Commonwealth of Virginia backward.

A copy of the complaint can be found here.

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ABOUT THE VIRGINIA NAACP

Founded in 1935, the Virginia State Conference of NAACP Branches (Virginia NAACP) is the oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization in the Commonwealth, overseeing over 100 NAACP branches, youth councils, and college chapters. The Virginia NAACP is focused on being the preeminent voice of Black Virginians and advocating for policies and programs to benefit Blacks and people of color. You can read more about the Virginia NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas by visiting NAACPVA.org.

ABOUT THE WASHINGTON LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE

The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs works to create legal, economic, and social equity through litigation, client and public education and public policy advocacy. While we fight discrimination against all people, we recognize the central role that current and historic race discrimination plays in sustaining inequity and recognize the critical importance of identifying, exposing, combatting, and dismantling the systems that sustain racial oppression.

ABOUT COVINGTON & BURLING LLP

Covington has demonstrated a strong commitment to public service. The firm is frequently recognized for pro bono service, including 12 times being ranked the number one pro bono practice in the U.S. by The American Lawyer. Much of the firm’s pro bono work is anchored in meeting local needs, serving economically disadvantaged individuals and families

Tuesday News: “The U.S. Economy Reaches Superstar Status”; “Justice Alito Caught on Tape Discussing How Battle for America ‘Can’t Be Compromised”; “Trump finds new ways to praise and celebrate Jan. 6 rioters”; “Youngkin’s illegal attempt to kill Clean Cars emissions standards”

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by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, June 11. One week to go until Virginia’s primaries…

Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) Silent As Donald Trump Addresses Group “Seeking to End All Abortions”

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From the DCCC:

Jen Kiggans Silent As Donald Trump Addresses Group “Seeking to End All Abortions”

Today, 34-time convicted felon Donald Trump addressed an anti-abortion group that wants to “‘eradicate’ abortion ‘entirely’” and “calls the procedure ‘child sacrifice.’

Jen Kiggans has fully embraced Trump and his extreme anti-choice agenda.

Between the GOP nominee bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade, saying states’ Civil War-era abortion bans are “working brilliantly,” and floating a federal abortion ban – and now, pledging allegiance to an anti-LGBTQ+ organization that aims to end all abortions – once again, Kiggans owes Coastal Virginians an answer about why she is backing Trump’s anti-choice, anti-woman agenda. 

DCCC Spokesperson Lauryn Fanguen:
“Jen Kiggans’ silence as Donald Trump cozies up to extremists who want abortion ‘eradicated’ is yet another reminder that she will fall in line behind Trump’s plan to take away Coastal Virginians’ reproductive freedoms and pass a nationwide abortion ban.”

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Sen. Tim Kaine Releases First Plank Of Kitchen Table Economic Agenda, Highlighting His Work To Lower Prescription Drug Costs 

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From Sen. Tim Kaine’s reelection campaign:

Senator Kaine Releases First Plank Of Kitchen Table Economic Agenda, Highlighting His Work To Lower Prescription Drug Costs 

Lansdowne, VA – This afternoon at a senior center in Lansdowne, Virginia, Senator Tim Kaine released the first plank of his “Kaine Kitchen Table Agenda:” lowering prescription drugs. Around the commonwealth in the coming months, Senator Kaine will unveil new planks to his plan to highlight how he is working to lower costs for Virginians, so they have more room in their family budgets.

“I’m pleased we have a $35 insulin cap for seniors but there is more work we need to do. No Virginians should have to choose between lifesaving medication and groceries or rent. We need to have the $35 insulin cap for all Virginians so that every person in this Commonwealth will only have to pay $35 for this lifesaving medication,” said Senator Tim Kaine. “That’s why I am releasing the first plank of my Kaine Kitchen Table economic agenda today to lower the cost of prescription drugs because I am laser-focused on lowering costs for Virginia families across the commonwealth.”

Senator Kaine was a deciding vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which caps the out-of-pocket amount that seniors will have to pay for prescription drugs bought at the pharmacy at $2,000 a year, which is over one hundred million dollars in savings for Virginians. It also caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for insulin at $35 for a month’s supply, benefiting nearly 36,500 Virginians. He believes that these savings should be open to all Virginians and is fighting to lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. Senate.

Below is a picture of the event in Lansdowne:

Fairfax Education Unions and Over 27,500 FCPS Workers Overwhelmingly Win Landmark Union Elections

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Good news, courtesy of Fairfax County School Board Chair Karl Frisch and Fairfax Education Unions:

Statement: Fairfax County Public Schools Staff Collective Bargaining Vote

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA – Today, Fairfax County School Board Chair Karl Frisch released the following statement on the heels of news that instructional and operational staff in Fairfax County Public Schools – one of Virginia’s largest employers – have voted to allow Fairfax Education Unions to represent and collectively bargain for them:

“This is a historic and exciting day for Fairfax County. Collective bargaining will help staff retention and student success. After all, teacher working conditions are student learning conditions. Everyone wins when educators and other school staff have a seat at the decision-making table — pay increases, working conditions improve, and turnover becomes less common.”

“Growing up, my dad had a public sector union job, and my mother waited tables. Our family’s stable middle-class existence was a direct result of their hard work and the transformative power of collective bargaining. I am excited that our tireless educators and staff now have that right too.”

BACKGROUND:

In February 2020, the Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously to reverse its longstanding opposition to collective bargaining rights for teachers and staff, adopting an amendment sponsored by Frisch to the FCPS legislative program — issues the school division lobbies for and against in Richmond and Washington.

A few weeks later, the General Assembly came through, giving localities, including school boards, the option of granting collective bargaining rights to public employees. The Fairfax County School Board moved quickly, initiating a process following an “interest-based” model to draft a resolution for board consideration.

Each of the school division’s 17 certified employee associations was invited to participate in the collective bargaining resolution’s development, working with division counsel, staff, and experts for more than a year to reach a consensus.

Following that process, the Fairfax County School Board hosted a work session to discuss the draft resolution’s finer details. It also held a public hearing to receive feedback from staff, students, families, and other community members.

Last March, the School Board passed a resolution providing collective bargaining rights to teachers and other staff in FCPS, opening the door for today’s historic staff vote. Frisch sponsored the resolution, which was seconded by then-School Board Member Stella Pekarsky.