RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia's collective bargaining laws for public sector workers will not be expanded this year, according to one of the sponsors of legislation.
State Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) told CBS 6 that he's been informed Gov. Abigail Spanberger will veto his legislation.
Surovell's bill, which passed the Virginia General Assembly with support from most Virginia Democrats and was opposed by most Virginia Republicans, would have expanded the right to collectively bargain to most public sector (government) workers in Virginia.
Current law requires that localities give their workers permission first. like we've seen happen in Richmond.
Those employees can use their collective power to bargain for things like higher salaries, better benefits, and improved workplace conditions.
"I’m thankful Governor Spanberger decided to listen to the bipartisan concerns over this legislation," Rep. Terry Kilgore (R-Scott) said. "As our caucus made repeatedly clear, this bill would have driven up local taxes unsustainably."
Senate Republican Leader Ryan McDougle (R-Hanover) called the governor's veto a "massive victory for Virginians."
"Even Democrats were screaming from the rooftops that this would’ve delivered the single largest tax increase in Virginia history," he said in a statement.
Some city and county leaders in Virginia opposed the bills as well.
Richmond Mayor Danny Avula previously sent a letter to the Spanberger Administration outlining his concerns with the collective bargaining bills.
In his letter to the Spanberger administration, Avula said the bills could cause "significant implications" for local governments.
"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," Avula wrote. "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," his later continued. "We remain committed to our workforce and to successful implementation of this new statewide legislation."
The Virginia Public Sector Labor Coalition called the veto a "betrayal."
"Instead of aligning herself with General Assembly Democrats who unanimously supported this bill, Spanberger instead vetoed the bill just as her predecessor Glenn Youngkin did, sending Virginia workers the crystal clear message that they are no better off than they were under a Republican governor. Many workers were excited by her promise to finally give them a voice on the job, and are now left questioning why she has left them behind," a statement says in part.
CBS 6 reached out to the governor's office for comment and we are waiting to hear back.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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