The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted Monday to kill Del. Kathy Byron’s bill that would have repealed a 2020 law empowering localities to give their employees the freedom to collectively bargain for a contract.
Since taking effect last year, Del. Elizabeth Guzman’s HB 582 and Sen. Dick Saslaw’s SB 939 have triggered a slew of collective bargaining ordinances. Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, and the Richmond School Board have all passed measures to opt-in to giving their workers a voice on the job. Prince William County has taken a step in that direction, while workers in Portsmouth, Richmond and Norfolk and teachers in Albemarle County and Prince William County are engaged in various stages of the process of securing collective bargaining rights.
“When educators and school divisions negotiate contracts, it results in better schools and that’s better for our students, our families, and our community,” said Darrell Turner, a preschool teacher at Blackwell Preschool Center, and Vice President of Richmond Education Association. “We work with students every day, and by having a voice at the table we can help them to get some of what they need most, which are better learning conditions through steps like better staffing, smaller class sizes, and better technology and supplies … We must protect our hard-fought right to negotiate our contracts. Those rights are far too important, both to us and to our communities.”
“During this pandemic, essential public service workers like me and my colleagues, have been on the frontlines of keeping our communities healthy and safe,” said Tammie Wondong-Ware, a Fairfax County employee and president of the Fairfax Chapter of SEIU Virginia 512 who for over 30 years has helped children, families, and older adults receive quality public services. “We have provided vital services of childcare, transportation, sanitation, mental health services, and so much more. We have been called essential, but not always treated as essential. Years without raises and lack of rights on the job have made it hard to care for our own families as we serve the community … Fairfax County, where I work, passed a meaningful collective bargaining [ordinance] last fall. I personally put a lot of time into working with the county to get this done, because I know collective bargaining is a powerful tool to ensure good union jobs and quality services for all people.”
“This bill would have wiped out years of advancement for public sector employees in the form of being able to collectively bargain for a contract with their employer,” said Joe Mirabile, an active front line firefighter and EMT in Prince William County. “COVID brought many new risks and challenges to our day-to-day. By giving us a voice on the job, collective bargaining would empower us to secure safer conditions and better help our community get through this pandemic.”
“I believe every person who works to make their community safer, stronger, and better deserves respect,” said Luis Velez Sr., an Arlington County Construction Management Specialist and member of AFSCME Local 3001. “As a resident of Alexandria, I was proud to stand with Alexandria City employees as they won a strong collective bargaining ordinance. I was even more excited, a few months later, as an Arlington County employee when we passed our own collective bargaining ordinance. City and county employees are now moving towards a more collaborative environment between our administration and our employees …. We have a lot of work to do as our localities continue to recover from the pandemic and we are stronger when public employees are respected, have a voice on the job, and strong unions to advocate for the communities that we serve.”
“Teachers are going into classrooms with decisions being made without their voice being heard,” said Yusun Beck, a preschool teacher in Norfolk. “Why is only one voice being heard at the table when decisions are being made for teachers? Collective bargaining is that voice for us teachers, and it’s a step in the right direction.”
Share
Contributors
