Governor Abigail Spanberger is disagreeing with Democrats who run the General Assembly about labor relations.
On the campaign trail last year, Abigail Spanberger said she did not want to overturn Virginia's right-to-work law, which has been a source of frustration for labor groups since the 1940s. Now, she wants to delay collective bargaining for many local government employees until 2030, after she's no longer governor.
"Allowing for state employees to go first in the process of going through creating their bargaining units if they choose to collectively bargain and really ensuring that we have a process that works – giving ourselves time for any level of adjustments," Spanberger says. "And then 18 months later would be the point in time when local public sector employees could begin their own process."
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell says local sector employees have been waiting for a seat at the table since 1949, and the governor's approach gives too much authority to a labor relations board that could change with the next election.
"That's extraordinarily dangerous because we're not going to have a Democratic governor forever," Surovell says. "We could have Glenn Youngkin right back in there. We could have Governor Miyares, Governor Cline, Governor Cuccinelli, I don't know. And I don't trust any of them to be making the right decisions when it comes to labor relations, and so it's very important that we put the right rules in statute."
Labor groups representing teachers, firefighters and service workers are calling on the General Assembly to reject the governor's substitute and insist on their version of the bill when they reconvene next week.
