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Gov. Abigail Spanberger vetoed collective bargaining legislation Thursday, drawing major criticism from some of the state鈥檚 largest unions and labor advocate groups.
The governor previously expressed support for the bills that would allow more Virginia public workers to organize in unions and negotiate their working conditions and pay rates.
Spanberger first sought amendments to and , which one of the bill鈥檚 carriers, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surrovell, D-Fairfax, characterized as 鈥渁 total rewrite.鈥� On Thursday, Surovell confirmed the governor told him in a private call she planned to veto the measure.
The proposal, backed by the Virginia Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and various labor groups, would expand on a 2020 law that permits local government employees in Virginia to opt-in to collective bargaining if their localities allow it.
鈥淚 put forth amendments which would have required the state to set up a system allowing state employees, home care workers, and higher education service employees to enter into collective bargaining agreements first, in order to demonstrate the efficacy of this new system, with public employees in localities following closely after,鈥� Spanberger said in a explaining her veto.
The governor鈥檚 action came just over three weeks after legislators rejected her recommendations in their in Richmond on April 22.
Some Virginia counties and cities have allowed public school teachers, city hall janitorial staff, firefighters and other workers to do this and the proposed measure would have made it possible statewide.
Spanberger seemed on board with the bills, lawmakers said, and had attended a SEIU rally in Richmond in February in support of them.
Surovell said that he and fellow Democratic Fairfax County lawmaker Del. Kathy Tran, who carried the House version, compromised aspects of their bills during the legislative session as part of the process to get it to Spanberger鈥檚 desk.
But 鈥渨hen the session was over, (Spanberger) came up with an entirely new bill,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of hard to negotiate when the goal post gets put on a different field.鈥�
Spanberger鈥檚 proposed changes sought to delay provisions of the bill until 2030 and shift authority over how the system operates to a state board.
Thursday afternoon,聽 Spanberger defended the changes she鈥檇 suggested for the bill.
鈥淲hile preserving the enrolled bill鈥檚 focus on allowing public employees to achieve collective bargaining, my amendments would have also provided additional flexibility for public employers to take into account existing local budget timelines and processes,鈥� she wrote.听 鈥淗owever, the General Assembly rejected these amendments.鈥�
Workers call veto 鈥榓 betrayal,鈥� Hashmi reaffirms support of bills
With a May 23 deadline to take final actions on remaining legislation, SEIU members crashed a bill signing Spanberger attended earlier this week to urge her to sign the collective bargaining bills.
On Thursday ahead of the formal veto, Virginia Professional Firefighters, who鈥檇 been at their association鈥檚 biannual convention in Henrico County, stepped away to protest Spanberger鈥檚 planned veto.
Kurt Detrick, the new incoming president of the union association, called the governor鈥檚 actions 鈥渁n absolute betrayal鈥� after the conversations and advocacy the association has been part of with other unions throughout the legislative session.
He noted that Virginia鈥檚 firefighters and other groups had also lent their input and support when Surovell and Tran advanced their proposal to former Gov. Glenn Youngkin. That too, faced a veto.
Of Virginia鈥檚 roughly 11,000 firefighters, Detrick said about 8,000 to 9,000 of them still don鈥檛 have seats at the table because their localities have not opted in.
Many of these public safety workers want to push for safe staffing levels, which they hoped the bills鈥� success could enable them to do, Detrick said.
This would ensure that more staff are on duty at the same time to respond to emergencies. It would also require localities to pay more, a key concern for opponents of the bargaining bills.
House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, said that his caucus has 鈥渕ade repeatedly clear, this bill would have driven up local taxes unsustainably.鈥�
Tran鈥檚 and Surrovell鈥檚 new law would have mandated localities allow for collective bargaining, although there was also language to allow localities to reject the mandate if they lacked the local funding to handle it.
The Virginia Public Sector Labor Coalition, which includes SEIU and Virginia鈥檚 firefighters, also issued a press release calling Spanberger鈥檚 expected veto 鈥淥rwellian,鈥� because she had previously expressed support for the bills.
The labor coalition also chalked up the governor鈥檚 rejection of the bills to pressure from local leaders. Local officials from all regions of the state sent the governor of collective bargaining on Monday.
Thursday evening, Virginia Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, who was elected alongside Spanberger on the Democratic statewide ticket last fall, restated her support for the collective bargaining bills, a stance at odds with the governor鈥檚 position.
鈥淰irginia鈥檚 workers deserve the right to organize for fair wages, worker protections, and a seat at decision-making tables,鈥� Hashmi wrote. 鈥淚 am determined and optimistic that Virginia will make collective bargaining available to public sector unions.鈥�
The first-term lieutenant governor, a career educator and former state delegate said she would 鈥渃ontinue to fight for legislation that lifts up public servants.鈥�
Spanberger鈥檚 office has not responded to requests for comment on her veto.
