In 2021, Virginia took a historic first step that empowered thousands of local government workers to form unions and collectively bargain if their employers also adopted local enabling laws.
Since then, several localities have agreed to give their workers a voice. Workers have won first-ever union contracts in dozens of city, county and local school districts, including major AFSCME victories in the City of Alexandria and Arlington County.
Despite strong public support for Virginia public employees, too many anti-worker politicians have so far refused to even bring local collective bargaining bills to a vote. Even worse, critical public employees working for the state and its higher education institutions were not included at all.
“It is simply not right that our freedom to be a part of a union is dependent on our zip code,” said Natalie Boyd Thomas, a social worker and AFSCME organizing committee member in the City of Portsmouth. “We show up every day and work hard to make our communities better and stronger; we deserve the same rights and freedoms as anyone else.”
However, last month, state legislation championed by AFSCME and coalition partners was reintroduced to expand collective bargaining rights to all Virginia public service workers. It is supported by Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
“State workers deserve a voice,” said Shenitia Banks, a direct service associate at the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute. “Throughout the commonwealth, we work during emergencies, hold critical agencies and services together, and do it all with dedication and compassion every day. To address problems like staffing shortages and other issues that impact services, we must have a seat at the table.”
Virginia is one of a handful of southern states that have for decades, dating back to the Jim Crow era, explicitly banned public service workers from entering into collective bargaining agreements with their employers.
Research shows that strong collective bargaining laws help states reduce staff vacancies and turnover, improve public services and decrease racial and gender wage disparities.
There is already evidence in Virginia that collective bargaining improves wages and staffing levels. As of 2024, roughly 1 in 5 state jobs were unfilled, and the median salary across the state workforce was a full $5,000 less than the median city employee salary in Richmond, which has adopted its own collective bargaining ordinance, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
AFSCME members in Virginia are coming together to demand that 2026 be the year that all vital public employees in the state have a real seat at the table.