by Steve Haner
Legislation to expand the potential for union contracts to cover most local and state employees is on the verge of approval if Democrats in the House of Delegates and Senate can reconcile two versions of the bill.
They might also have to reconcile with locally elected Democratic officials. Many of them have openly opposed the plan to remove the authority they were granted in 2020 to decide whether their employees could bargain collectively, an option many localities have not taken.
Local officials also note that that state is leaving with them the burden of paying for the higher salaries and benefit costs which are likely to result. The only additional state dollars being included in the pending budget cover creation of a new Public Employee Relations Board to manage the new bargaining process.
On the long list of transformative 2026 legislation heading for the desk of new Governor Abigail Spanberger (D), this might have the deepest impact on the state’s political future. Public employee unions are the backbone of her party in the cities and states where they can organize.
For the first time under these bills, state employees will also be allowed to organize and negotiate a contract. The House bill leaves out employees of the state’s higher education institutions, and the Senate bill exempts home care workers. Both delay implementation until 2028, a planning period the Virginia Education Association complains about on its webpage advocating for these bills.
