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Virginia labor’s anger over Spanberger veto

May 14, 2026

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I broke the news yesterday that Gov. Abigail Spanberger would veto the public sector collective bargaining legislation.

Watch what she said about the veto to me after a bill signing in Fairfax yesterday.

Today, Spanberger made her veto official and offered a similar explanation to what she told me yesterday.

“I believe additional amendments are needed to the enrolled bill currently before me,” Spanberger wrote. “Accordingly, I veto this bill.”

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones shared his disappointment in Spanberger’s veto.

“I join union members, home care workers, public servants, and working families across the Commonwealth in their disappointment in today’s veto,” Jones said in a statement.

Below, I report on how labor leaders are reacting to Spanberger’s veto.

And I share a nice homage to Doc Watson by way of Billy Strings.

Want to get in touch, or have stories you want me to cover? Reply to this email or reach out to me directly at michaeloconnor@couriernewsroom.com.

Michael O’Connor

Reporter, Dogwood

A demonstrator holds up a sign urging Gov. Abigail Spanberger to sign legislation to expand collective bargaining rights at a separate bill signing event in Fairfax on May 13, 2026. (Michael O’Connor/Dogwood)

It’s hard to overstate the anger, confusion, and disappointment being felt by labor leaders, Democrats, and people who supported Spanberger across Virginia over her decision to veto the collective bargaining legislation.

It’s playing out in statements that they’ve issued. It’s popping up across social media. And I heard it directly today in interviews with two labor leaders: LaNoral Thomas, president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Virginia 512, and Doris Crouse-Mays, the president of the Virginia AFL-CIO, both of whom expressed dismay over Spanberger’s decision to veto the legislation.

Thomas recalled how as a candidate, Spanberger pledged to sign collective bargaining legislation if it reached her desk and how earlier this year, after taking office, she shared her commitment to making collective bargaining rights for home care workers a reality.

“We had high hopes for her,” Thomas told me. “We believed that she was being authentic and honest with us. She just flat out flipped. It is shocking.”

Watch a leader with the firefighters union reacting today to Spanberger’s veto plans in a video by Tyler Englander with 8News.

Sonia Vazquez Luna, a Manassas City Council Member and business manager for LiUNA Local 572, is running to replace state Del. Michelle Lopes Maldonado (D-Manassas), who is stepping down at the end of the month.

Catch up on the bear cub that strayed into Richmond this afternoon with this report by Graham Moomaw and Ned Oliver for The Richmonder.

State Del. Lily Franklin rallying with workers in Richmond on April 22, 2026. (Michael O’Connor/Dogwood)

I haven’t seen much from state Democrats about Spanberger’s veto of collective bargaining, but state Del. Lily Franklin of Blacksburg shared her reaction on social media.

“So what does the veto mean?” Franklin posted. “This bill wasn’t just about wages, and it wasn’t abstract. More than 11,000 firefighters could have bargained for better safety equipment and healthcare coverage.”

Franklin goes on to note that the legislation could have given teachers another voice in their salary negotiations and helped protect home healthcare workers from wage theft.

“This veto closes the book on all of those possibilities,” Franklin said.

It’ll be interesting to see how others in the party respond.