RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Mayor Danny Avula sent a letter to the Spanberger Administration outlining his concerns with two statewide collective bargaining bills in the Virginia General Assembly, as the Richmond Times-Dispatch was first to report.
The bills would repeal a statewide ban on collective bargaining by public employees over things like salaries, benefits and workplace conditions. The RTD reports local officials would be required to negotiate with unionized employees if they elect to form collective bargaining units, giving lower-level workers the power to make decisions rather than elected leaders.
In his letter, Avula points to the city's successful adoption of collective bargaining four years ago, but said the current bill would impose costly burdens on local jurisdictions in six areas.
Those concerns include:
- Potentially having to reclassify employees
- Security concerns over granting use of an employer's email platform to employee representatives
- Limiting an arbitrator's ability to find a balanced compromise, which could strain budgets and the councils that must approve them
- A potential two-year period to develop the law's regulations, which Avula said would leave localities that have already adopted collective bargaining in limbo
Avula's letter said the bills as currently written could cause "significant implications" for local governments.
Avula provided the following statement in regard to the letter:
"Richmond officially enacted collective bargaining in 2022, making the City one of the first localities to use the authority granted by the Commonwealth allowing local public sector workers to unionize and collectively bargain. Simply put, we proudly support organized-labor in Richmond.
"Legislation passed this General Assembly session would expand public sector collective bargaining across the Commonwealth. The City, together with our partners in labor, is uniquely positioned to anticipate how changes to state code will impact existing collective bargaining agreements, City operations, and the services we provide to residents. Drawing on our early experience and partnership with labor, we offered the Governor’s staff and the legislation’s patrons our observations for consideration. Now that the state legislative process has moved forward, our focus is on strong and effective implementation.
"Collective bargaining is a valuable tool that strengthens our City services by investing in our most valuable resource – our people. We remain committed to our workforce and to successful implementation of this new statewide legislation."
Gov. Spanberger has until May 22 to sign or veto the bill, or allow it to become law without her signature.
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