Posts tagged Virginia
New Bill Would Allow Virginia Public Workers to Unionize
February 11, 2026 // The legislation was previously vetoed by former Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin. He argued the bill would impede the government’s ability to provide critical services and cost taxpayers millions each year.
Hampton Roads mayors want Virginia localities to keep control over collective bargaining
February 4, 2026 // Bills moving through committees in the General Assembly, however, would remove that power from localities. If signed into law, Virginia would create a state-level public employee relations board to oversee the process and arbitrate disputes. The bills could shrink Virginia’s public-sector pay gap, which is among the largest in the U.S., according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute; public employees in Virginia make more than 25% less than private-sector workers with similar schooling and backgrounds. The EPI’s report, published in January, found closing the pay gap could also lead to better public services, less turnover and improved racial and gender pay gaps.
‘Right to work’ unlikely to change much in Va. this year, union and business leaders agree
January 20, 2026 // Speaking at a Jan. 14 forum sponsored by Advance Arlington, Slaiman said a contentious fight over Virginia’s unionization framework would get in the way of more pressing priorities in a year when Democrats have control of the governorship and both houses of the General Assembly. “We’re not going to disrupt this [legislative] session. We’ve got too much of an agenda,” said Slaiman, whose union local represents 15,000 workers. Addressing right-to-work’s future “will come later,” he said.
Watson Commentary: Making the AFL-CIO great again: labor policy in 2026
January 20, 2026 // The biggest labor issue of all might be the changing composition of what remains of the union movement. Goodbye, manual-labor men; hello purple-haired they/them grad students.
Opinion: Labor relations group: Big labor Virginia state senator spins anti-right-to-work fables
January 6, 2026 // Right-to-Work is overwhelmingly popular with the commonwealth’s citizens, and states with such laws typically enjoy far faster employment growth and substantially higher cost-of-living-adjusted disposable incomes than forced-dues states.
Unions Winning Nearly 80% of Elections, But Fewer Elections are Held
January 2, 2026 // Unions also fared more favorably in elections in which employees filed a petition to decertify (vote out) the union—unions won 41% of those elections. When the company filed a petition to vote out the union, unions won 78%, a remarkable win rate considering that the reason employers file such a petition is because of objective evidence of employee dissatisfaction with the union. Among the most prolific filers, the Teamsters saw 195 election petitions to a vote, winning 71% of the contests. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was an option in 152 elections and won 83% of them. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers won 89% of the 75 representation elections they contested.
Op-ed: About Right to Work, Will the Real Abigail Spanberger Please Stand Up
December 4, 2025 // Reforms that weaken Right to Work laws will make Virginia less attractive to employers—reducing job growth and increasing Virginians' cost of living. Governor-elect Spanberger should reassure Virginians that she opposes any legislation weakening her citizens' Right to Work because she understands that protecting worker freedom is central to her abundance agenda.
Rivers Casino Portsmouth First Virginia Gaming Property to Unionize
November 5, 2025 // The Local 822 Teamsters chapter said workers at the Portsmouth casino backed unionizing with 95% support. The Norfolk-based union, which primarily represents freight and manufacturing employees in the region, says the Rivers Casino contract sets a precedent for fairness, wages, and workplace protections in Virginia’s rapidly emerging gaming industry. Local 822 represents workers at UPS, UPS Freight, ABF Freight, and Pepsi. Rivers has now been added to the list.
Starbucks workers union planning pickets, rallies through Nov. 2. See in which states
October 27, 2025 // Starbucks, for its part, says it is willing to bargain with the union, which the company says represents about 9,500 of its "partners," or employees. "Workers United only represents around 4% of our partners but chose to walk away from the bargaining table. If they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk," corporate spokesperson Jaci Anderson said in a statement to USA TODAY. "Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners," Anderson said. "We’re investing over $500 million to put more partners in stores during busy times. The facts show people like working at Starbucks. Partner engagement is up, turnover is nearly half the industry average, and we get more than 1 million job applications a year.”
Lessons from D.C.: Why “$30 by ‘30” Wage Plan Could Leave Servers with Less
October 26, 2025 // Mr. Mamdani’s plan is being aligned with a renewed push by progressive New York legislators to eliminate the tipped-wage system, which would require restaurant workers to be paid the same minimum wage as all other tipped-wage positions. Legislation has been percolating in Albany in recent years that would phase out the tipped wage by 2028, with a prominent “Living Wage for All Coalition” now launching to guide the effort to fruition. Behind the coalition is the group One Fair Wage, which has been spearheading a systematic effort to eliminate the tipped-wage system in progressive jurisdictions across America. One Fair Wage has seen success in large cities such as Chicago and Washington, D.C., but as these policies take hold, the economic reality is starting to bite.