Governor Glenn Youngkin may soon be considering a bill that would expand collective bargaining in Virginia.
Athena Jones is a home healthcare worker in Portsmouth who says she deserves the right to collective bargaining.
"And the reality is what collective bargaining does is say this is what we need as workers. It's not us or them. It's a ‘we’ thing," Jones says. "We can do this together. We can move the system together, not just for the one percent."
Back in 2020, Senator Jennifer Boysko of Herndon introduced a bill allowing collective bargaining for employees of local governments. Now, she has a bill that would expand collective bargaining to other public sector employees.
"We didn't go far enough, and I knew it back then. But it was what we could get passed at the time," says Boysko. "We need to expand the freedom to ensure that all of our public sector workers in Virginia, including our teachers and our social workers, our home care workers and campus workers at public universities have the right to negotiate for a fair wage and safe working conditions. They need a seat at the table."
If her bill is approved by the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin will have the final say about whether more people will be able to engage in collective bargaining in Virginia.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
