Mobilization Frustrates Forced-Dues Scheme

Uphill Fight to Block Virginia Monopoly-Bargaining Bill Continues

As soon as Democrat politicians seized full control over Richmond last November, Big Labor bosses began demanding that forced union dues be brought to the Commonwealth of Virginia. And a number of so-called “experts” publicly suggested they could pull it off.

New Gov. Abigail Spanberger had a consistent record of supporting Big Labor power grabs while serving in Congress, including two votes for effective repeal of all state Right to Work laws nationwide!

Avalanche of Committee Mail and Email Messages Alerted Virginia Citizens

Moreover, Scott Surovell, the new state Senate majority leader, listed Right to Work destruction as one of six things the legislature “must” do to support Big Labor.

Sure enough, a bill to repeal Right to Work was filed before the 2026 session even began.

But over the course of a few short weeks this winter, the political calculus changed dramatically.

The National Right to Work Committee sent four statewide letters urging action as well as two letters to every elected county and city official, supplemented by more than 130,000 emails, urging identified pro-Right to Work Virginians to contact their state elected officials. An aggressive radio ad campaign blanketed the state, as Right to Work staff conducted media interviews and Right to Work op-eds were placed in Virginia’s largest newspapers.

Thousands of freedom-loving Virginians responded to these communications by flooding Ms. Spanberger and their state senators and delegates with postcards and emails that sent a clear message: “Leave our Right to Work law alone!”

During last year’s campaign, already under pressure from Committee members and supporters, the governor-to-be had tried to fudge the issue by claiming she would oppose “full” Right to Work repeal. That left the door open for her to sign forced-dues legislation leaving Virginia Right to Work in name only.

But post-election, after being hit with another round of communications from pro-Right to Work constituents, Ms. Spanberger finally ditched the weasel word “full” and started saying she was against Right to Work repeal, period.

Other prominent Democrats evidently joined her in accepting the profound unpopularity of forced union financial support as their desks filled with heaps of angry postcards from their constituents.

For example, Majority Leader Surovell has became extremely quiet on the Right to Work issue, and when the Cavalier Daily published an article describing him as a proponent of repealing Right to Work, he was quick to correct them!

Ultimately, the paper published a retraction. 

Without Mr. Surovell’s open support, it will be extremely difficult for Big Labor lawmakers to push legislation killing or gutting Right to Work protections through the Senate, which Democrats control by an extremely narrow margin.

But it seems Mr. Surovell has decided not to incur the wrath of his constituents by leading the charge for Big Labor on this issue.

“With the passage of Virginia’s ‘cross-over’ deadline — the day by which legislation dies unless it has been adopted by at least one chamber — shortly before Newsletter press time, it seems Right to Work destruction is off the table in 2026,” noted Committee Vice President John Kalb.

“Virginians have just scored a victory that they should be proud of, but they can’t rest on their laurels for even a minute.

“The bill to authorize forced dues is thwarted, but a bill [H.B.1263/S.B.378] that would forcibly unionize the entire state and local public sector, including many localities that have voted against unionization, is still very much alive.”

Mandatory Monopoly-Bargaining Bill Is a Grave Threat in Richmond

“If it passes, every public employee will lose the right to represent himself, every local government will lose the right to make workforce decisions for itself, and every Virginian will feel the crushing weight of mounting taxes,” added Mr. Kalb.

“It’s critical that Virginians redouble their efforts and make it clear to their politicians that monopolistic unionism won’t be tolerated in either the public or the private sectors.

“Unfortunately, Gov. Spanberger, despite recently bowing to political reality with regard to Right to Work, so far hasn’t lifted a finger to try to discourage disastrous monopoly-bargaining legislation from being steamrolled through the General Assembly.”

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