Organizers with the United Campus Workers of Virginia met at the state capitol in Richmond January 16, calling on the General Assembly to support two bills that would restore collective bargaining rights for state employees.
“We had some really good conversations, both with allies that we’ve been working with for a long time, and then also with some of our new freshmen delegates,” says Cecelia Parks, a University of Virginia librarian and UCWVA organizer. “And also, you know, folks who maybe we’re not … as ideologically aligned with but we still have some really good, productive conversations with.”
At press time, one of those bills, HB1263, is awaiting committee referral in the House of Delegates. The other bill, SB378, has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor.
Legislation passed in 2020 allows cities, counties, and localities to adopt collective bargaining ordinances. Both Charlottesville and Albemarle have since approved such ordinances, but state employees—including public university staff, faculty, and student workers—are explicitly excluded from the 2020 law.
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed an effort to expand collective bargaining rights to all public sector employees last year. But with the January 17 inauguration of Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Democratic control of both state houses, UCWVA is optimistic about the legislation’s odds this year.
“The collective bargaining bill that was introduced really checks all of our boxes,” Parks says. “It explicitly includes higher education. It explicitly includes student workers. And we’re going to be monitoring, really continuing to advocate, throughout the session to make sure that student workers are not compromised or negotiated away, that higher education is still included in the final version of the bill that goes to the governor.”
