Members of the General Assembly are debating restrictions on labor unions.
Back in 1947, Governor Bill Tuck signed Virginia's Right to Work law, which limits the power of unions by preventing employers from requiring employees join a union as a condition of employment. Now, Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earl-Sears wants to add that law to the Virginia Constitution.
"What we are proposing is not anti-union. Not at all. What we are saying simply with this amendment is, again, very simple, we do not want a worker to be forced to unionize," she says. "That's it. Forced. That's the key word. Forced."
A similar amendment was on the ballot back in 2016, and 54% of voters rejected it.
"Virginians have already rejected this type of proposal. We know that Right to Work is really a right to work for less. It's a right to work for starvation wages," says Senator Jennifer Carroll Foy — a Democrat from Prince William County. "And here in Virginia, we’re about protecting workers while also ensuring that we preserve our rightful place as the best place in the nation to live, work and raise a family."
She says she would like to see the Right to Work law overturned, although she has not introduced legislation to do that this year.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
