Gov. Abigail Spanberger can either sign the collective bargaining legislation into law or she can veto a bill supported by unions who helped get her elected.
The Virginia Senate and House of Delegates effectively rejected the changes Gov. Abigail Spanberger proposed for collective bargaining legislation when lawmakers met in Richmond on Wednesday.
Both chambers, which are controlled by Democrats, voted to “pass by for the day” Spanberger’s changes to legislation that would expand collective bargaining rights to hundreds of thousands of public employees in Virginia.
The fate of the legislation now rests with Spanberger, who can either enact it, let it become law without her signature, or veto it as former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin did to similar legislation last year.
Asked for comment on the action related to the bill he carried, Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell told Dogwood, “My statement is that I hope she will sign the bill and we can work on her concerns next session.”
Spanberger’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The rejection of Spanberger’s changes comes after labor unions like Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Virginia 512, the Virginia Education Association, and local chapters of the International Association of Fire Fighters lobbied hard for lawmakers to do so.
These unions say that Spanberger’s version of the bill weakens workers’ rights and narrows the scope of what workers can negotiate over at the bargaining table. The unions also take issue with Spanberger’s proposal to delay expanding collective bargaining rights to local government and school board employees until 2030.
On Wednesday, a large crowd of workers and labor leaders from different unions rallied outside the General Assembly Building before lawmakers gaveled in for the veto session. Their message was twofold: lawmakers should reject Spanberger’s changes to the legislation, and Spanberger should sign the legislation passed by the General Assembly into law.
Fliers distributed by SEIU Virginia 512, which endorsed Spanberger when she ran for governor, read: “Governor Spanberger campaigned on a promise to expand collective bargaining rights for public service workers, but her administration’s version of the bill fails to meet that promise.”
Athena Jones of SEIU Virginia 512 said in a speech at the rally that Spanberger’s version of the collective bargaining bill is “not what we voted for.”
“That’s not what we endorsed,” Jones said. “We endorsed pro-worker.”
Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, said in a statement that, “Spanberger has a chance to do right by Virginians, as she promised.”
Several Democratic lawmakers stopped by the rally to voice their support for the version of the collective bargaining legislation they helped pass.
State Del. Kathy Tran (D-Springfield), who carried the bill in the House of Delegates, thanked the workers for pushing for the “strongest collective bargaining bill we can get in Virginia.”
“I’m with you in this fight,” Tran told a cheering crowd.
State Del. Lily Franklin (D-Blacksburg) and state Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D-Centreville) also stopped by.
Franklin said union jobs were the reason she grew up as part of the working class instead of the working poor and that she wanted to see Spanberger sign the version of the legislation passed by the General Assembly.
“Bringing up the working class is going to bring up the rest of Virginia,” Franklin told Dogwood.
Pekarsky told Dogwood that the General Assembly sent Spanberger strong collective bargaining legislation that would help improve the current state of workers’ rights in Virginia.
“I would love to see that bill get signed,” Pekarsky said.
