Tue, 04/28/2020
Many Virginia public employees will soon have new rights to bargain regarding their working conditions, pay, and benefits in the workplace. On March 22, 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation that grants certain public sector workers the right to collectively bargain, marking a huge step forward to bringing bargaining rights to Virginia’s workers.
The new law amends Section 40.1-57.2 of the Virginia Code, removing the blanket ban on collective bargaining and leaving the decision of whether to allow collective bargaining for public employees up to localities within the Commonwealth. “Locality” means counties, towns, cities, and school boards in the Commonwealth, but does not include state employees. The new law specifies that localities must pass an ordinance to grant public sector workers of that locality the right to collectively bargain, and outlines several topics related to those rights that the locality must cover in an ordinance. Among these are including procedures for the certification and decertification of labor unions as bargaining representatives and establishing a process that allows labor organizations to intervene in matters involving exclusive bargaining representation.
Localities may decide to pass an ordinance granting its public sector workers the right to collectively bargain on their own; however, to press the issue of allowing collective bargaining in a locality, members of a proposed bargaining unit can show a certification of a majority of support to the locality. A locality then has 120 days upon receiving certification vote on whether to adopt an ordinance allowing collective bargaining. Localities have the right, under the law, to vote not to grant collective bargaining rights to their public sector workers. This means that unions may need to explain to both the locality’s governing body and residents, the important reasons to provide collective bargaining rights to workers. The specific rules and timelines that a locality must follow in order to vote whether to pass an ordinance (if a bargaining unit has not certified support and triggered the 120 day deadline), to draft and pass the ordinance, and then implement the ordinance will vary by locality.
Because the new state law does not provide much as far as what must be included in a collective bargaining ordinance, the localities’ ordinances will largely define the employees’ bargaining rights. For instance, the ordinances will have to address how unions get certified as collective bargaining representatives, the scope of what unions can negotiate over, and how bargaining impasses are resolved, among other topics.
The new law does not go into effect until May 1, 2021, but as explained above, unions can use this time to prepare for the steps needed to take the fullest advantage of this exciting development in Virginia. Gathering certifications, drafting proposed language for a locality’s ordinance, and deciding the priorities for collective bargaining rights are all things that unions should consider doing prior to the law’s effective date.
If you would like assistance in working with your members to secure their bargaining rights and strategizing what the new law means for your union, please contact MSE at info@mselaborlaw.com.
