VACo urges opposition to SB 917 (Surovell), which as introduced, would remove local authority by imposing mandatory collective bargaining for local governments if a group of employees petition and vote to form a bargaining unit. The bill would also create a state Public Employee Relations Board with no specified local government representation and impose binding arbitration, among other provisions. Furthermore, the bill has no provisions for grandfathering in local governments that have agreed to collective bargaining agreements with employee representatives already. VACo has reached out to the patron to share our concerns.
SB 917 is similar to previous legislation from previous general assembly sessions, which was reported on by VACo here and here. As a result of the 2020 session, compromise legislation from the then Senate Commerce and Labor Chair Senator Saslaw removed the ban on collective bargaining for local governments in Virginia, but ensured that the decision as to whether or not to engage in collective bargaining remained a local government option. Since the enactment of that law in May of 2021, several local governments and local school boards have opted to adopt ordinances in collaboration with labor groups allowing collective bargaining to proceed and have made collective bargaining agreements.
KEY POINTS
- Virginia is home to a diverse array of localities with significant variations in population, resources, and administrative capacity. Mandating a uniform collective bargaining framework ignores these differences and places an undue burden on many localities that lack the resources to manage the complexities of collective bargaining agreements.
- Disregard for locally tailored solutions disrupts established practices and agreements and creates unnecessary confusion and administrative burden.
- This legislation preempts local governance, introduces fiscal uncertainty, and disregards the progress made under the current framework.
VACo urges the General Assembly to respect the autonomy of local governments and reject this measure.
VACo Contact: Jeremy R. Bennett