House Republicans are hoping to roll back some of the new labor laws that Democrats put into the code when they were in power. However, Senate Democrats are standing in the way.
Employees of your local government may be organizing. That's because of a new law that allows them to engage in collective bargaining. Since that new law went into effect, agreements have been inked in Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Arlington County and Alexandria.
Darrell Turner is a teacher in Richmond who says collective bargaining improves public education.
"When educators and school divisions negotiate contracts," Turner says. "It results in better schools and that's better for our students, our families and our community."
Republican Delegate Kathy Byron of Bedford County has a bill that would roll back the ability of local government employees to engage in collective bargaining. Her bill passed the Republican-controlled House on a party-line vote. But Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw says he disagrees with the argument that collective bargaining will lead to higher taxes.
“So, let’s say to cover the cost of that they had to go up a penny on the real-estate tax," Saslaw says. "Yeah, that would bankrupt most of the people who live in Fairfax. Sure.”
Saslaw is chairman of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, where he says Byron's bill has no chance of passing.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
