Lost in revision
The House of Delegates Appropriations Committee quietly removed some higher education employees from HB1263, its collective bargaining legislation, on February 13.
As of press time, HB1263 creates bargaining units for individual home care providers and state and local government employees. Per the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission’s fiscal impact review, the “state and local government employees” unit would include staff at public higher education institutions. Bargaining rights for faculty are no longer included in the bill.
“When the federal government attacked UVA, we put ourselves on the line to protect this institution,” said Ian Mullins, a University of Virginia professor and United Campus Workers member, in a February 15 press release. “We put ourselves out there and defended UVA in a very public way when our administrators wouldn’t. Collective bargaining would help faculty feel empowered to stand up for the university without fear of retaliation because we would have contracts we could use to defend ourselves.”
Organizers are now rallying behind the state Senate version of the legislation, SB378, with hopes that the final bill sent to the governor will include all campus workers. To drum up support and hear from chapters across Virginia, UCW is launching a statewide tour, beginning with UVA on February 21.
Primary update
Scottsville Supervisor Michael Pruitt ended his campaign to represent the 5th District in the House of Representatives and endorsed Democratic primary frontrunner Tom Perriello. “I joined this race knowing I’d face a hard, uphill battle. But with the newly publicized district maps, I now know that such a fight will do more harm than good,” said Pruitt in the February 11 announcement. “I know Tom Perriello will put in the work to stand up for rural, working Virginians in Congress.”
