RICHMOND, Va. — In their remarks at today’s March for Working Families event, two of Richmond’s public service workers highlighted the importance of collective bargaining rights.
Both the Richmond City Council and the Richmond School Board opted into allowing their employees to bargain collectively following the passage of a 2020 law that partially lifted Virginia’s ban on public sector collective bargaining.
Felicia Boney, who has served the City of Richmond for more than 29 years, noted that the historic contract her union was able to negotiate with the city included “processes by which to raise our concerns in the workplace to ensure that we are respected, protected and paid. That’s what we all deserve and that’s why we fight for collective bargaining rights and Unions for All.”
Boney, who is the Richmond Chapter Chair of SEIU Virginia 512, added, “and when we thrive, we are better able to serve the communities that we care for.”
Anne Forrester, the president of the Richmond Education Association and a teacher in Richmond Public Schools, spoke to how her union made history by encouraging their local school board to become the first in Virginia to pass an ordinance allowing for workers to come together to negotiate collectively for a contract.
Forrester illustrated how when workers come together, they advocate for the communities they serve. Specifically, she cited REA’s campaign to draw attention to unhealthy conditions that students were experiencing in schools “including mold, extreme temperatures, pests and asbestos.”
SB 917, patroned by Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, and HB 2764, patroned by House Democratic Caucus Chair Kathy Tran, are currently making their way through the General Assembly. The companion bills would expand on the 2020 law by giving public service workers in every zip code — including teachers, firefighters, home care workers, state workers and employees of public universities – the freedom to collectively bargain.
The march was hosted by a broad coalition of partners and included calls for voting rights, affordable housing, union jobs and strong public schools. It began this morning at Abner Clay Park and concluded with a program at the Bell Tower.
About the Author
In the modern era, NOTHING good comes out of a Union. They are a group of self-serving, greedy bastards that will never be happy, until the bankrupt, demoralize, and close the very institutions they work for. They wouldn’t know an honest day’s work it slapped them in the face.