Abigail Spanberger Vetoes Mandatory Collective Bargaining, Defying Virginia Unions
since Democratic triad As he takes control of Virginia’s government in the 2025 election, two longtime progressive workforce policy priorities are front and center: repealing the state’s right-to-work law and requiring collective bargaining in the public sector. Now, less than six months before Democrats take power in Richmond, pro-union forces have arrived empty-handed. While unions may be disappointed, Virginia taxpayers have new reason to celebrate.
They also have an unlikely person to thank, at least for now: Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who vetoed collective bargaining legislation last week.
The drama traces back to the campaign process. Then-candidate Abigail Spanberger secured the Democratic nomination Strong support for unions. He even managed to do this secure approval The vote by the Virginia Police Benevolent Association, a police union that has largely backed GOP candidates in recent elections, against Republican candidate Winsome Sears further underscores Spanberger’s pro-union appeal.
Despite his strong ties to organized labor, Spanberger said several times during his campaign that he did not support a “complete” repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work law, which has existed in the state for nearly 80 years. This has led many observers (including yours truly) to try to read the tea leaves behind his statements, including whether he still supports some version of a “partial” repeal of the right to work.
But in the case of public sector collective bargaining, uncertainty was much less. Spanberger during the campaign He replied “yes” In his candidate survey, he asked whether he would “support or sign legislation that will guarantee the collective bargaining rights of all public employees.”
Virginia is one of the few states that has banned collective bargaining in the public sector since a 1977 state supreme court decision. Democrats during former Gov. Ralph Northam’s time in office in 2021 changed The law evolved into a system of participation whereby local governments could enact regulations allowing public sector collective bargaining. (Only a small portion preferred).
Virginia Democrats’ goal in 2026 was to turn collective bargaining into a statewide mandate, not a local choice. Democratic lawmakers earlier this year introduced A bill that would make this mandate a reality. The bill cleared the state Legislature and went to Spanberger’s desk, where union interests were kept in mind. confident It would be signed by the governor.
But Spanberger surprised many by sending a message. revised version We sent the bill back to the Parliament. Made a modified version of the governor material changes bill, including replacing the “shall” language as in the scope of collective bargaining.will be involves “negotiating wages, hours, and benefits”May“, thus cutting the normative text. At the same time, the implementation of the law for local regions was postponed from 2028 to 2030 and chose Advisory rather than binding arbitration to resolve contract disputes.
Perhaps most importantly, Spanberger’s version gave more authority to a new government agency that would be created under legislation known as the Public Employee Relations Board. One analysis A report by the Economic Policy Institute noted that the original bill contained detailed rules on union elections and contract negotiation timelines, while Spanberger’s version left those matters to the agency’s discretion.
Unions argued that this meant: regulatory death penalty Given that five members of the board are appointed by the governor, this raises fears that a future Republican leader could pack the board with anti-union members. Spanberger’s revised version also eliminated the requirement that two board members be union representatives, further weakening the union’s influence on the process.
Faced with this revised bill, the state legislature bowed to union pressure and rejected Spanberger’s changes. This put the ball back in the governor’s court, emboldening him to veto or pass the original bill. spanberger chose to veto.
Predictably, union interests cried foul, I see it as a bait and switch and likens Spanberger to his Republican predecessor, Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Although Spanberger vetoed protects He said he supports public sector collective bargaining and “will continue to look forward to where there will be a bill that I will sign into law.” Virginia Democrats will keep their trio at least through the 2027 state elections, perhaps giving them enough time to resolve the dispute before the balance of power in Richmond potentially shifts.
In the meantime, Virginians can enjoy this reprieve; because public sector collective bargaining remains a bad bet from a policy perspective. There is research to create It notes that forced bargaining increases state and local government spending by $600 to $750 per person per year, which can mean a much larger tax burden for a small family. The proposed Virginia law is estimated to cost the state $50 million annually, while the cost for local residents could range from $50,000 to $403 million over a two-year period.
In other words, Virginia taxpayers dodged a bullet with Spanberger’s veto. They will have to hope he continues to hold the line.
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